| Team: | Minnesota Vikings |
| Year: | 1991 |
| Record: | 8–8 |
| Division Place: | 3rd NFC Central |
| General Manager: | Jeff Diamond |
| Coach: | Jerry Burns |
| Stadium: | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
| Playoffs: | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers: | TE Steve Jordan G Randall McDaniel DT Henry Thomas |
| Ap All-Pros: | G Randall McDaniel (2nd team) |
| Uniform: | File:Vikings1991-92.png |
| Shortnavlink: | Vikings seasons |
The 1991 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 31st in the National Football League. They finished with an 8–8 record, improving on their 6–10 record from the previous season, and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Head coach Jerry Burns retired at the end of the season.
Herschel Walker, going into his third year with Minnesota, went through another season of frustration and he was released following the season. In his two-and-a-half seasons with the Vikings, he failed to record a 1,000-yard season. The infamous trade that brought Walker to Minnesota never lived up to expectations and allowed the Dallas Cowboys to use two of the draft picks they received in the trade on Emmitt Smith and Darren Woodson, who became part of a dominant team that won three Super Bowls in the 1990s.
See main article: 1991 NFL draft.
| Pro Bowler |
| 1991 Minnesota Vikings Draft | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | ||
| Round | Selection | |||||
| 11 | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | |||||
| 2 | 38 | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | ||||
| 3 | 65 | |||||
| 68 | From Cowboys | |||||
| 4 | 92 | |||||
| 5 | 119 | |||||
| 6 | 146 | Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders | ||||
| 163 | bgcolor=lightsteelblue | From Raiders | ||||
| 7 | 179 | Scotty Reagan | ||||
| 180 | From Cowboys, via Raiders | |||||
| 8 | 206 | Reggie Johnson | ||||
| 9 | 232 | Gerald Hudson | ||||
| 10 | 259 | Brady Pierce | ||||
| 11 | 286 | |||||
| 12 | 313 | |||||
Draft trades
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance[2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at New Orleans Saints | L 21–24 | 0–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 58,953 | ||
| 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 34–24 | 1–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 44,959 | ||
| 3 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 24–27 | 1–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 56,358 | ||
| 4 | Cleveland Browns | W 31–7 | 2–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 45,925 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1 | at Chicago Bears | L 6–10 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | 64,112 | ||
| 2 | September 8 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 20–19 | 1–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 50,936 | ||
| 3 | September 15 | San Francisco 49ers | W 17–14 | 2–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 59,148 | ||
| 4 | September 22 | at New Orleans Saints | L 0–26 | 2–2 | Louisiana Superdome | 68,591 | ||
| 5 | September 29 | Denver Broncos | L 6–13 | 2–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 55,031 | ||
| 6 | October 6 | at Detroit Lions | L 20–24 | 2–4 | Pontiac Silverdome | 63,423 | ||
| 7 | October 13 | Phoenix Cardinals | W 34–7 | 3–4 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 51,209 | ||
| 8 | October 20 | at New England Patriots | L 23–26 | 3–5 | Foxboro Stadium | 45,367 | ||
| 9 | October 27 | at Phoenix Cardinals | W 28–0 | 4–5 | Sun Devil Stadium | 45,447 | ||
| 10 | November 3 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 28–13 | 5–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 35,737 | ||
| 11 | Chicago Bears | L 17–34 | 5–6 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 59,001 | |||
| 12 | November 17 | at Green Bay Packers | W 35–21 | 6–6 | Lambeau Field | 57,614 | ||
| 13 | November 24 | Detroit Lions | L 14–34 | 6–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 51,644 | ||
| 14 | Bye | |||||||
| 15 | December 8 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 26–24 | 7–7 | Tampa Stadium | 41,091 | ||
| 16 | December 15 | Los Angeles Rams | W 20–14 | 8–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 61,518 | ||
| 17 | Green Bay Packers | L 7–27 | 8–8 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 52,860 | |||
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||||
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=150px style="" | Player(s) | width=75px style="" | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing yards | 2,166 | ||||
| Passing touchdowns | 12 | ||||
| Rushing yards | 825 | ||||
| Rushing touchdowns | 10 | ||||
| Receiving yards | 962 | ||||
| Receiving touchdowns | 5 | ||||
| Points | 85 | ||||
| Kickoff return yards | 682 | ||||
| Punt return yards | 225 | ||||
| Tackles | 101 | ||||
| Sacks | 9.5 | ||||
| Interceptions | 5 | ||||
| Forced fumbles | 2 |
| width=150px style="" | Category | width=100px style="" | Total yards | width=110px style="" | Yards per game | width=80px style="" | NFL rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passing offense | 2,883 | 180.2 | 21st | ||||
| Rushing offense | 2,201 | 137.6 | 4th | ||||
| Total offense | 5,084 | 317.8 | 10th | ||||
| Passing defense | 3,179 | 198.7 | 13th | ||||
| Rushing defense | 1,837 | 114.8 | 20th | ||||
| Total defense | 5,016 | 313.5 | 14th |