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, but 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 Player name Position College Notes Round Selection 1 11 Traded to the Dallas Cowboys 2 38 Traded to the Dallas Cowboys 3 65 Carlos Jenkins Linebacker Michigan State 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 163 Todd Scott Safety Southwestern Louisiana From Raiders 7 179 Scotty Reagan Defensive tackle Humboldt State 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
Staff
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 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
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 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.
Game summaries Week 1: at Chicago Bears
Week 6: at Detroit Lions
Standings
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 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
References
External links 1991 Minnesota Vikings Statistics & Players on Pro-Football-Reference