1971 Minnesota Vikings season

1971 Minnesota Vikings season
Head Coach	Bud Grant
General Manager	Jim Finks
Home Field	Metropolitan Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Place	1st NFC Central
Playoff Finish	Lost NFC Divisional Playoff (Cowboys) 12-20
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1970	1972

The 1971 Minnesota Vikings season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League. The Vikings won the NFC Central title as they finished with a record of 11 wins and three losses, before losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys at home, 20–12, in the NFC Divisional Playoff game.

In 2007, ESPN.com ranked the 1971 Vikings as the fourth-greatest defense in NFL history, saying, "[c]onsidering that their motto was 'Meet at the quarterback,' it's no surprise that the Purple People Eaters held opposing QBs to a 40.4 rating, one of the lowest ever." ESPN also noted that the 1971 Vikings "shut out three opponents, and only one team scored more than 20 points against them. As a result, Alan Page became the first defensive player to ever be named NFL MVP. Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and safety Paul Krause joined Page on the All-Pro team."

Offseason

1971 Draft

Main article: 1971 NFL draft

1971 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	24	24	Leo Hayden	Running Back	Ohio State
2	24	50	Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles
3	24	76	Eddie Hackett	Wide Receiver	Alcorn A&M
4	24	102	Vince Clements	Running Back	Connecticut
5	24	128	Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers
6	24	154	Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles
7	24	180	Gene Mack	Linebacker	Texas-El Paso
8	26	208	John Farley	Defensive End	Johnson C. Smith	originally Colts pick
9	24	232	Tim Sullivan	Running Back	Iowa
10	24	258	Chris Morris	Guard	Indiana
11	24	284	Mike Walker	Linebacker	Tulane
12	24	310	Reggie Holmes	Defensive Back	Wisconsin–Stout
13	24	336	Benny Fry	Center	Houston
14	24	362	Jim Gallagher	Linebacker	Yale
15	24	388	Jeff Wright	Defensive Back	Minnesota
16	23	413	Greg Edmonds	Wide Receiver	Penn State	originally 49ers pick
17	23	439	Ken Duncan	Punter	Tulsa	originally 49ers pick

^{^[a]} Minnesota traded their 2nd round selection (50th overall), 6th round selection (154th overall), 1972 3rd round selection (76th overall), and OL Steve Smith to Philadelphia for QB Norm Snead.

^{^[b]} Minnesota traded their 5th round selection (128th overall) to Pittsburg for QB Kent Nix.

^{^[c]} Minnesota originally chose 206th overall but passed allowing Dallas and Baltimore to move up and Minnesota to choose 208th overall.

^{^[d]} Minnesota originally chose 414th overall but moved up to the 413th overall selection when San Francisco passed.

^{^[e]} Minnesota originally chose 440th overall but moved up to the 439th overall selection when Oakland passed on the 435th overall selection and allowed Los Angeles, Detroit, Miami, San Francisco, Minnesota, Dallas, and Baltimore to move up.

Roster

1971 Minnesota Vikings roster
	Quarterbacks 15 Gary Cuozzo 16 Norm Snead Running backs 30 Bill Brown FB 26 Clinton Jones 21 Jim Lindsey 41 Dave Osborn 32 Oscar Reed Wide receivers 86 Al Denson 27 Bob Grim 84 Gene Washington Tight ends 87 John Beasley 83 Stu Voigt		Offensive linemen 67 Grady Alderman T 71 Doug Davis T 68 Pete Perreault 64 Milt Sunde G 53 Mick Tingelhoff C 72 John Ward G 62 Ed White G 73 Ron Yary T 51 Godfrey Zaunbrecher C Defensive linemen 81 Carl Eller DE 77 Gary Larsen DT 70 Jim Marshall DE 88 Alan Page DT 69 Doug Sutherland DT		Linebackers 58 Wally Hilgenberg 56 Carl Gersbach 52 Noel Jenke 36 Chuck Winfrey 60 Roy Winston Defensive backs 20 Bobby Bryant CB 49 Dale Hackbart FS 29 Karl Kassulke SS 22 Paul Krause FS 45 Ed Sharockman CB 40 Charlie West CB 23 Jeff Wright SS 43 Nate Wright CB Special teams 14 Fred Cox K 19 Bob Lee P/QB		Reserve lists 80 John Henderson WR (IR) 63 Jim Vellone G (IR) 59 Lonnie Warwick LB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics 54 Active, 4 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance [1]
1	August 8	New England Patriots	L 10–17	0–1	Memorial Stadium (Minneapolis)	31,813
2	August 14	at San Diego Chargers	W 34–7	1–1	San Diego Stadium	49,267
3	August 21	Chicago Bears	W 34–14	2–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
4	August 28	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 26–21	3–1	Three Rivers Stadium	46,276
5	September 4	at Denver Broncos	L 7–14	3–2	Mile High Stadium	43,000
6	September 11	Miami Dolphins	W 24–0	4–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,990

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 20	at Detroit Lions	W 16–13	1–0	Tiger Stadium	54,418
2	September 26	Chicago Bears	L 17-20	1–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
3	October 3	Buffalo Bills	W 19–0	2–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,900
4	October 10	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 13–0	3–1	Veterans Stadium	65,358
5	October 17	at Green Bay Packers	W 24–13	4–1	Lambeau Field	56,263
6	October 25	Baltimore Colts	W 10–3	5–1	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
7	October 31	at New York Giants	W 17–10	6–1	Yankee Stadium	62,829
8	November 7	San Francisco 49ers	L 9-13	6–2	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
9	November 14	Green Bay Packers	W 3–0	7–2	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
10	November 21	at New Orleans Saints	W 23–10	8–2	Tulane Stadium	83,130
11	November 28	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–7	9–2	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
12	December 5	at San Diego Chargers	L 14-30	9–3	San Diego Stadium	54,505
13	December 11	Detroit Lions	W 29–10	10–3	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
14	December 19	at Chicago Bears	W 27–10	11–3	Soldier Field	55,049

Game summaries

Week 6

by Quarter 1 2 3 4 Total Colts 0 0 0 3 3 • Vikings 7 0 3 0 10 Date: October 25 Location: Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota Game start: 8:00 p.m. Game weather: 53°F, wind 11 mph Scoring summary 1 MIN Dave Osborn 2 yard run (Fred Cox kick) Vikings 7–0 3 MIN Fred Cox 32 yard field goal Vikings 10–0 4 BAL Jim O'Brien 40 yard field goal Vikings 10–3

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 25	Dallas Cowboys	L 12-20	Metropolitan Stadium	47,307

Standings

Template:1971 NFC Central standings

Awards, records, and honors

All-Pros

First Team

• OT Ron Yary (AP, NEA, PFWA, PFW)
• DE Carl Eller (AP, NEA, PFWA, PFW)
• DT Alan Page (AP, NEA, PFWA, PFW)
• S Paul Krause (NEA)

Pro Bowlers

• WR Bob Grim
• OT Ron Yary
• DE Carl Eller
• DT Alan Page
• S Paul Krause

League leaders

• Bob Lee – Most punts (89), most punting yards (3515)
• Charlie West – Longest interception return (89 yards)
• Alan Page – Most safeties (2)

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Gary Cuozzo	842
Passing Touchdowns	Gary Cuozzo	6
Rushing Yards	Clint Jones	675
Rushing Touchdowns	Dave Osborn	5
Receiving Yards	Bob Grim	691
Receiving Touchdowns	Bob Grim	7
Points	Fred Cox	91
Kickoff Return Yards	Charlie West	556
Punt Return Yards	Charlie West	94
Interceptions	Charlie West	7

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 26)
Passing Offense	1,655 Yards	118.2 YPG	25th
Rushing Offense	1,695 Yards	121.1 YPG	17th
Total Offense	3,350 Yards	239.3 YPG	23rd
Passing Defense	1,806 Yards	129.0 YPG	3rd
Rushing Defense	1,600 Yards	114.3 YPG	6th
Total Defense	3,406 Yards	243.3 YPG	2nd

References

• "1971 Minnesota Vikings Statistics & Players". pro-football-reference.com. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100210140610/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/min/1971.htm. Retrieved January 13, 2010.