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

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.

It was Herschel Walker's final season with the team as he was released in the 1992 off-season. Entering his third season with the Vikings, Walker had another frustrating season, once again failing to reach the 1,000 yard mark in each of his two full seasons with the team. The Walker trade to Minnesota was a bust as the Dallas Cowboys used several draft picks to build a powerhouse that would go on to win three Super Bowls.

Offseason

1991 Draft

=Pro Bowler

1991 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order			Player name	Position	College	Notes
Round	Choice	Overall
1	11	11	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys^[a]
2	11	11	Traded to the Dallas Cowboys^[a]
3	10	65	Carlos Jenkins	Linebacker	Michigan State
	13	68	Jake Reed	Wide Receiver	Grambling State	from Cowboys^[a]
4	9	92	Randy Baldwin	Running Back	Mississippi
5	8	119	Chris Thome	Center	Minnesota
6	7	146	Traded to the Los Angeles Raiders^[b]
	24	163	Todd Scott	Defensive Back	Louisiana-Lafayette	from Raiders^[b]
7	12	179	Scotty Reagan	Defensive Tackle	Humboldt State
	13	180	Tripp Welborne	Defensive Back	Michigan	from Cowboys via Raiders^[b]
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]} The Raiders 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

^[1]

Final roster

1991 Minnesota Vikings final roster
	Quarterbacks 16 Rich Gannon 12 Sean Salisbury 11 Wade Wilson Running backs 21 Terry Allen FB 46 Alfred Anderson FB 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 Tight ends 82 Mike L. Jones 83 Steve Jordan 85 Brent Novoselsky		Offensive linemen 72 Scott Adams G 74 Brian Habib G 76 Tim Irwin T 69 Todd Kalis G 63 Kirk Lowdermilk C 64 Randall McDaniel G 60 Adam Schreiber G 73 Craig Wolfley G 65 Gary Zimmerman T Defensive linemen 71 Ken Clarke DT 56 Chris Doleman DE 99 Al Noga DE 93 John Randle DE 94 Thomas Strauthers DE 97 Henry Thomas DT		Linebackers 50 Ray Berry MLB 53 Ivan Caesar 91 Greg Manusky MLB 57 Mike Merriweather OLB 58 Jimmy Williams OLB Defensive backs 47 Joey Browner SS 24 Pat Eilers CB 23 Michael Mayes CB 26 Audray McMillian CB 48 Reggie Rutland CB 38 Todd Scott CB 41 Solomon Wilcots CB 22 Felix Wright FS Special teams 68 Mike Morris LS 18 Harry Newsome P  7 Fuad Reveiz K		Reserve lists 59 Mark Dusbabek LB (IR) 51 Carlos Jenkins OLB (IR) 39 Carl Lee CB (IR) 75 Keith Millard DT (IR) 86 Jake Reed WR (IR) 67 Mike Teeter DT (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics 47 Active, 6 Inactive, 0 Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

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

Standings

NFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
^(2) Detroit Lions	12	4	0	.750	339	295	W6
^(4) Chicago Bears	11	5	0	.688	299	269	L1
Minnesota Vikings	8	8	0	.500	301	306	L1
Green Bay Packers	4	12	0	.250	273	313	W1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	3	13	0	.188	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 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

1. 2010 Minnesota Vikings Media Guide. p. 265. Retrieved February 18, 2011.

• Vikings on Football Reference