1991 Minnesota Vikings season

1991 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coach	Jerry Burns
Home field	Metrodome
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Timeline
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1991 was the 31st year of season play for the Minnesota Vikings and the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The Vikings finished with a record of eight wins and eight losses. Head coach Jerry Burns retired after the season.

Offseason

1991 Draft

Main article: 1991 NFL Draft

Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	11	11	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys
2	11	11	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys
3	10	65	Carlos Jenkins	Linebacker	Michigan State
	13	68	Jake Reed	Wide Receiver	Grambling State	from Cowboys
4	9	92	Randy Baldwin	Running Back	Mississippi
5	8	119	Chris Thome	Center	Minnesota
6	7	146	Traded to the Oakland Raiders
	24	163	Todd Scott	Defensive Back	Louisiana-Lafayette	from Raiders
7	12	179	Scotty Reagan	Defensive Tackle	Humboldt State
	13	180	Tripp Welborne	Defensive Back	Michigan	from Cowboys via Raiders
8	11	206	Reggie Johnson	Defensive End	Arizona
9	9	232	Gerald Hudson	Running Back	Oklahoma State
10	9	259	Brady Pierce	Offensive Tackle	Wisconsin
11	8	286	Ivan Caesar	Linebacker	Boston College
12	7	313	Darren Hughes	Wide Receiver	Carson–Newman

^{^[a]} These picks were involved in the Herschel Walker trade on October 12, 1989.

^{^[b]} Oakland traded their 6th round selection (163rd overall) and a 7th round selection (180th overall) to Minnesota to move up 17 spots to the 146th overall selection and draft DT Nolan Harrison.

Personnel

Staff

1991 Minnesota Vikings staff
	Front Office President/Chief Executive Officer – Roger Headrick Head Coaches Head Coach – Jerry Burns Offensive Coaches Offensive Coordinator – Tom Moore Assistant Offensive Coordinator/Passing Game – Dick Rehbein Quarterbacks – Marc Trestman Running Backs – John Brunner Tight Ends – Tom Batta Offensive Line – John Michels			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator – Monte Kiffin Defensive Line – Paul Wiggin Linebackers – Maxie Baughan Defensive Backs – Jerry Brown Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Tom Batta

Roster

1991 Minnesota Vikings roster
	Quarterbacks 16 Rich Gannon 11 Wade Wilson Running Backs 21 Terry Allen FB 46 Alfred Anderson 37 Randy Baldwin 31 Rick Fenney FB 20 Darrin Nelson KR 34 Herschel Walker Wide Receivers 81 Anthony Carter 80 Cris Carter 84 Hassan Jones 87 Leo Lewis PR 89 Terry Obee 86 Jake Reed Tight Ends 82 Mike L. Jones 83 Steve Jordan 85 Brent Novoselsky		Offensive Linemen 74 Brian Habib G/T 76 Tim Irwin T 69 Todd Kalis G 63 Kirk Lowdermilk C 64 Randall McDaniel G 60 Adam Schreiber G/C 73 Craig Wolfley G/T 65 Gary Zimmerman T Defensive Linemen 71 Ken Clarke DT 56 Chris Doleman DE 99 Al Noga DE/DT 93 John Randle DE/DT 94 Thomas Strauthers DE/DT 67 Mike Tetter DE/DT 97 Henry Thomas DT/DE		Linebackers 50 Ray Berry MLB 59 Mark Dusbabek 53 Ivan Caesar 51 Carlos Jenkins OLB 91 Greg Manusky MLB 57 Mike Merriweather OLB 95 Mac Stephens MLB 58 Jimmy Williams OLB Defensive Backs 47 Joey Browner SS 24 Pat Eilers CB 39 Carl Lee CB 23 Michael Mayes CB 26 Audray McMillian CB 48 Najee Mustafaa CB 38 Todd Scott SS 41 Solomon Wilcots FS 22 Felix Wright FS Special Teams  7 Fuad Reveiz K 68 Mike Morris LS 18 Harry Newsome P		Reserve Lists Practice Squad Rookies in italics Active, Inactive, Practice Squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 1, 1991	at Chicago Bears	L 10-6	64,112
2	September 8, 1991	at Atlanta Falcons	W 20-19	50,936
3	September 15, 1991	San Francisco 49ers	W 17-14	59,148
4	September 22, 1991	at New Orleans Saints	L 26-0	68,591
5	September 29, 1991	Denver Broncos	L 13-6	55,031
6	October 6, 1991	at Detroit Lions	L 24-20	63,423
7	October 13, 1991	Phoenix Cardinals	W 34-7	51,209
8	October 20, 1991	at New England Patriots	L 26-23 (OT)	45,367
9	October 27, 1991	at Phoenix Cardinals	W 28-0	45,447
10	November 3, 1991	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 28-13	35,737
11	November 11, 1991	Chicago Bears	L 34-17	59,001
12	November 17, 1991	at Green Bay Packers	W 35-21	57,614
13	November 24, 1991	Detroit Lions	L 34-14	51,644
14	Bye
15	December 8, 1991	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 26-24	41,091
16	December 15, 1991	Los Angeles Rams	W 20-14	61,518
17	December 21, 1991	Green Bay Packers	L 27-7	52,860

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Detroit Lions	12	4	0	.750	339	295
Chicago Bears	11	5	0	.688	299	269
Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	.500	301	306
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	273	313
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	3	13	0	.188	199	365

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value
Passing Yards	Rich Gannon	2,166
Passing Touchdowns	Rich Gannon	12
Rushing Yards	Herschel Walker	825
Rushing Touchdowns	Herschel Walker	10
Receiving Yards	Cris Carter	962
Receiving Touchdowns	Anthony Carter Cris Carter	5
Points	Fuad Reveiz	85
Kickoff Return Yards	Darrin Nelson	682
Punt Return Yards	Leo Lewis	225
Tackles	Chris Doleman	101
Sacks	John Randle	9.5
Interceptions	Joey Browner	5
Forced Fumbles	John Randle	2

League rankings

Category	Total Yards	Yards Per Game	NFL Rank
Passing Offense	2,883 Yards	180.2 YPG	21st
Rushing Offense	2,201 Yards	137.6 YPG	4th
Total Offense	5,084 Yards	317.8 YPG	10th
Passing Defense	3,179 Yards	198.7 YPG	13th
Rushing Defense	1,837 Yards	114.8 YPG	20th
Total Defense	5,016 Yards	313.5 YPG	14th

References

• Vikings on Football Reference