The 1971 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 11th in the National Football League (NFL). They finished with an 11–3 record to win the NFC Central title and return to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season; however, they lost 20–12 at home to the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys in the divisional round.
In 2007, ESPN.com ranked the 1971 Vikings as the fourth-greatest defense in NFL history,The List: Best NFL defense of all-time, 2007 saying, "Considering 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
1971 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 24 Leo Hayden Running back Ohio State 2 50 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles 3 76 Eddie Hackett Wide receiver Alcorn A&M 4 102 Vince Clements Running back Connecticut 5 128 Traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers 6 154 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles 7 180 Gene Mack Linebacker UTEP 8 208 John Farley Defensive end Johnson C. Smith Originally Colts pick 9 232 Tim Sullivan Running back Iowa 10 258 Chris Morris Guard Indiana 11 284 Mike Walker Linebacker Tulane 12 310 Reggie Holmes Defensive back Stout State 13 336 Benny Fry Center Houston 14 362 Jim Gallagher Linebacker Yale 15 388 Jeff Wright Safety Minnesota 16 413 Greg Edmonds Wide receiver Penn State Originally 49ers pick 17 439 Ken Duncan Punter Tulsa Originally 49ers pick
Notes
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 8 New England Patriots W 17–10 1–0 Memorial Stadium 31,813 2 August 14 at San Diego Chargers W 34–7 2–0 San Diego Stadium 49,267 3 August 21 Chicago Bears W 34–14 3–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 4 August 28 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 26–21 4–0 Three Rivers Stadium 46,276 5 September 4 at Denver Broncos L 7–14 4–1 Mile High Stadium 43,000 6 September 11 Miami Dolphins W 24–0 5–1 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: vs. Baltimore Colts
Standings
Postseason Round Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance Divisional December 25 Dallas Cowboys L 12–20 Metropolitan Stadium 47,307
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 Passing offense 1,655 118.2 25th Rushing offense 1,695 121.1 17th Total offense 3,350 239.3 23rd Passing defense 1,806 129.0 3rd Rushing defense 1,600 114.3 6th Total defense 3,406 243.3 2nd
References