The 1981 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 21st in the National Football League, their 15th under head coach Bud Grant, and their final season at Metropolitan Stadium. They finished with a 7–9 record, and missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons.
The Vikings attempted 709 passes in 1981 (44.3 per game), a league record that stood for 30 years until it was broken by the 2012 Detroit Lions.Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the Regular Season, requiring Pass Attempts >= 0, sorted by descending Pass Attempts.
This would be the final season that the Vikings played their home games outdoors until 2014.
Offseason 1981 draft
Pro Bowler
1981 Minnesota Vikings Draft Draft order Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 18Traded to the Baltimore Colts 2 39 Mardye McDole Wide receiver Mississippi State from Colts 45 Robin Sendlein Linebacker Texas 52 Jarvis Redwine Running back Nebraska from Rams via Redskins and Colts 3 71 Traded to the New Orleans Saints 74 Tim Irwin Offensive tackle Tennessee from Patriots 4 101 John Swain Cornerback Miami (FL) 5 123 Wendell Ray Defensive end Missouri from Colts 128 Traded to the New Orleans Saints 6 154 Traded to the Miami Dolphins 7 184 Don Shaver Running back Kutztown 8 210 Wade Wilson Quarterback East Texas State 9 237 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks 10 266 James Murphy Wide receiver Utah State 11 293 Bill Stephanos Offensive tackle Boston College 12 320 Brian Williams Tight end Southern
Notes
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 8 Miami Dolphins L 6–20 0–1 Metropolitan Stadium 45,165 2 August 14 at Washington Redskins L 13–27 0–2 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium 44,662 3 August 22 Atlanta Falcons W 20–19 1–2 Metropolitan Stadium 42,908 4 August 27 at Los Angeles Rams L 31–34 1–3 Anaheim Stadium 60,141
Regular season After opening the season with back-to-back losses, the Vikings ran off five straight wins and sat near the top of the NFC at midseason. After splitting their next four games, the Vikings were 7–4 and poised for a playoff run—however, they lost their last five games to close out the year.
The Vikings were led by quarterback Tommy Kramer, who enjoyed the most productive season of his career, throwing for 3,912 yards and 26 touchdowns. However, Kramer also threw 24 interceptions in 1981. The Vikings set an NFL record for pass attempts with 709.
A trio of offensive standouts paced the Vikings in 1981 at the skill positions. Running back Ted Brown was the team's main ball carrier, rushing for 1,063 yards, and also came in third in the NFL with 83 pass receptions; he scored eight touchdowns. Veteran wide receiver Sammy White also eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his career (1,001) and tight end Joe Senser, who would later become a color analyst on radio for the Vikings, logged 1,004 yards receiving with eight touchdowns; Senser went to the Pro Bowl for the 1981 season.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 5 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 13–21 0–1 Tampa Stadium 66,287 2 September 14 Oakland Raiders L 10–36 0–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,186 3 September 20 Detroit Lions W 26–24 1–2 Metropolitan Stadium 45,350 4 September 27 at Green Bay Packers W 30–13 2–2 Milwaukee County Stadium 55,012 5 October 4 Chicago Bears W 24–21 3–2 Metropolitan Stadium 43,827 6 October 11 at San Diego Chargers W 33–31 4–2 San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium 50,708 7 October 18 Philadelphia Eagles W 35–23 5–2 Metropolitan Stadium 45,459 8 October 25 at St. Louis Cardinals L 17–30 5–3 Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium 48,039 9 November 2 at Denver Broncos L 17–19 5–4 Mile High Stadium 74,834 10 November 8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 25–10 6–4 Metropolitan Stadium 47,038 11 November 15 New Orleans Saints W 20–10 7–4 Metropolitan Stadium 45,215 12 November 23 at Atlanta Falcons L 30–31 7–5 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 54,086 13 November 29 Green Bay Packers L 23–35 7–6 Metropolitan Stadium 46,025 14 December 6 at Chicago Bears L 9–10 7–7 Soldier Field 50,766 15 December 12 at Detroit Lions L 7–45 7–8 Pontiac Silverdome 79,428 16 December 20 Kansas City Chiefs L 6–10 7–9 Metropolitan Stadium 41,110 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 2: vs Oakland Raiders
Week 3: vs Detroit Lions
Week 6: at San Diego Chargers
Week 7: vs Philadelphia Eagles
Week 9: at Denver Broncos
Week 10: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week 11: vs New Orleans Saints
Week 16: vs Kansas City Chiefs
Standings
Statistics Team leaders Category Player(s) Value Passing yards Tommy Kramer 3,912 Passing touchdowns Tommy Kramer 26 Rushing yards Ted Brown 1,063 Rushing touchdowns Ted Brown 6 Receiving yards Joe Senser 1,004 Receiving touchdowns Joe Senser 8 Points Rick Danmeier 97 Kickoff return yards Eddie Payton 898 Punt return yards Eddie Payton 303 Tackles Scott Studwell 230 Interceptions Tommy Hannon Willie Teal 4 Vikings single season record although tackles were not official until 2001.
League rankings Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank Passing offense 4,333 270.8 2nd Rushing offense 1,512 94.5 28th Total offense 5,845 365.3 6th Passing defense 3,328 208.0 18th Rushing defense 2,045 127.8 15th Total defense 5,373 335.8 17th
References