# 1991 Minnesota Vikings season

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.

## Offseason
### 1991 draft

* Pro Bowler
1991 Minnesota Vikings Draft :
| Draft order | Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| Round | Selection | Player name | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 11 | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | |
| 2 | 38 | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | Traded to the Dallas Cowboys | |
| 3 | 65 | Carlos Jenkins | Linebacker | Michigan State | |
| 3 | 68 | Jake Reed | Wide receiver | Grambling State | From Cowboys |
| 4 | 92 | Randy Baldwin | Running back | Ole Miss | |
| 5 | 119 | Chris Thome | Center | Minnesota | |
| 6 | 146 | Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders | Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders | Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders | |
| 6 | 163 | Todd Scott | Safety | Southwestern Louisiana | From Raiders |
| 7 | 179 | Scotty Reagan | Defensive tackle | Humboldt State | |
| 7 | 180 | Tripp Welborne | Safety | Michigan | From Cowboys, via Raiders |
| 8 | 206 | Reggie Johnson | Defensive end | Arizona | |
| 9 | 232 | Gerald Hudson | Running back | Oklahoma State | |
| 10 | 259 | Brady Pierce | Offensive tackle | Wisconsin | |
| 11 | 286 | Ivan Caesar | Linebacker | Boston College | |
| 12 | 313 | Darren Hughes | Wide receiver | Carson–Newman | |
Draft trades
* 1 2 3 These picks were involved in the Herschel Walker trade on October 12, 1989.
* 1 2 3 The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (146th overall) to the Raiders in exchange for the a sixth- and seventh-round selection (163rd and 180th overall).

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 3 | at New Orleans Saints | L 21–24 | 0–1 | Louisiana Superdome | 58,953 |
| 2 | August 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 34–24 | 1–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 44,959 |
| 3 | August 17 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 24–27 (OT) | 1–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 56,358 |
| 4 | August 23 | Cleveland Browns | W 31–7 | 2–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 45,925 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| 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 (OT) | 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 | November 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 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 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 | December 21 | Green Bay Packers | L 7–27 | 8–8 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 52,860 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: at Chicago Bears

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| Bears | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
* Date: September 1
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: Mostly sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 64,112
* Referee: Tom Dooley (6)
* Box score, Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
MIN – Fuad Reveiz 26-yard field goal, 5:50. Vikings 3–0. Drive: 13 plays, 72 yards, 5:50.
Second quarter
CHI – Tom Waddle 37-yard pass from Jim Harbaugh (Kevin Butler kick), 14:05. Bears 7–3. Drive: 10 plays, 98 yards, 5:38.
Third quarter
MIN – Fuad Reveiz 24-yard field goal, 9:31. Bears 7–6. Drive: 11 plays, 60 yards, 5:20.
Fourth quarter
CHI – Kevin Butler 22-yard field goal, 9:06. Bears 10–6. Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 5:58.
Top passers
MIN – Wade Wilson – 21/36, 248 yards, 3 INT
CHI – Jim Harbaugh – 17/24, 186 yards, TD
Top rushers
MIN – Herschel Walker – 20 rushes, 86 yards
CHI – Neal Anderson – 23 rushes, 58 yards
Top receivers
MIN – Steve Jordan – 8 receptions, 89 yards
CHI – Tom Waddle – 2 receptions, 48 yards, TD :

#### Week 6: at Detroit Lions

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 20 |
| Lions | 0 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 24 |
at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
* Date: October 6
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT/12:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
* Game attendance: 63,423
* Referee: Dick Hantak (105)
* Box score, Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
MIN – Darrin Nelson 11-yard run (Fuad Reveiz kick), 9:41. Vikings 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 24 yards.
Second quarter
MIN – Steve Jordan 2-yard pass from Rich Gannon (Fuad Reveiz kick), 11:08. Vikings 14–0. Drive: 3 plays, 16 yards.
DET – Eddie Murray 47-yard field goal, 0:00. Vikings 14–3. Drive: 5 plays, 13 yards.
Third quarter
MIN – Fuad Reveiz 42-yard field goal, 2:50. Vikings 17–3. Drive: 11 plays, 46 yards.
Fourth quarter
MIN – Fuad Reveiz 25-yard field goal, 8:38. Vikings 20–3. Drive: 12 plays, 60 yards.
DET – Robert Clark 68-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Eddie Murray kick), 6:50. Vikings 20–10. Drive: 4 plays, 80 yards.
DET – Willie Green 16-yard pass from Rodney Peete (Eddie Murray kick), 4:22. Vikings 20–17. Drive: 8 plays, 57 yards.
DET – Barry Sanders 15-yard run (Eddie Murray kick), 0:36. Lions 24–20. Drive: 10 plays, 72 yards.
Top passers
MIN – Rich Gannon – 10/23, 105 yards, TD
DET – Rodney Peete – 24/38, 281 yards, 2 TD, INT
Top rushers
MIN – Terry Allen – 15 rushes, 41 yards
DET – Barry Sanders – 25 rushes, 116 yards, TD
Top receivers
MIN – Steve Jordan – 4 receptions, 44 yards, TD
DET – Robert Clark – 2 receptions, 83 yards, TD :

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ Detroit Lions | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 339 | 295 | W6 |
| $^{(4)}$ Chicago Bears | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 7–1 | 9–3 | 299 | 269 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 8–6 | 301 | 306 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 3–5 | 3–9 | 273 | 313 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–7 | 2–10 | 199 | 365 | W1 |

## 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 (out of 28) |
| 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 |