1981 Minnesota Vikings season

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.

1981 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coachBud Grant
General managerMike Lynn
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place4th NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

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.[1]

Offseason

1981 Draft
Pro Bowler
1981 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
118 Traded to the Baltimore Colts[a]
239 Mardye McDoleWide receiverMississippi Statefrom Colts[a]
45 Robin SendleinLinebackerTexas
52 Jarvis RedwineRunning backNebraskafrom Rams via Redskins and Colts[a]
371 Traded to the New Orleans Saints[b]
74 Tim IrwinOffensive tackleTennesseefrom Patriots[c]
4101 John SwainCornerbackMiami
5123 Wendell RayDefensive endMissourifrom Colts[a]
128 Traded to the New Orleans Saints[b]
6154 Traded to the Miami Dolphins[d]
7184 Don ShaverRunning backKutztown (PA)
8210 Wade WilsonQuarterbackOklahoma
9237 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks[e]
10266 James MurphyWide receiverUtah State
11293 Bill StephanosOffensive tackleBoston College
12320 Brian WilliamsTight endSouthern
^[a] The Vikings traded their first-round selection (18th overall) to the Baltimore Colts in exchange for the Colts' second- and fifth-round selections (39th and 123rd overall) and the second-round selection they received from the Redskins (52nd overall).
^[b] The Vikings traded their third- and fifth-round selections (71st and 128th overall) to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for T Steve Riley.
^[c] The Vikings traded RB Chuck Foreman to the New England Patriots in exchange for the Patriots' third-round selection (74th overall).
^[d] The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (154th overall) and 1982 fifth-round selection (120th overall) to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for C Jim Langer.
^[e] The Vikings traded their ninth-round selection (236th overall) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for T Nick Bebout.

Roster
1981 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics
 active, inactive, practice squad

Preseason
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance[2]
1August 8Miami DolphinsL 6–200–1Metropolitan Stadium45,165
2August 14at Washington RedskinsL 13–270–2Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium44,662
3August 22Atlanta FalconsW 20–191–2Metropolitan Stadium42,908
4August 27at Los Angeles RamsL 31–341–3Anaheim Stadium60,141

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.

Standings
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Tampa Bay Buccaneers(3) 9 7 0 .563 6–2 9–3 315 268 W1
Detroit Lions 8 8 0 .500 4–4 6–6 397 322 L1
Green Bay Packers 8 8 0 .500 4–4 7–7 324 361 L1
Minnesota Vikings 7 9 0 .438 4–4 6–6 325 369 L5
Chicago Bears 6 10 0 .375 2–6 2–10 253 324 W3

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsTommy Kramer3,912
Passing touchdownsTommy Kramer26
Rushing yardsTed Brown1,063
Rushing touchdownsTed Brown6
Receiving yardsJoe Senser1,004
Receiving touchdownsJoe Senser8
PointsRick Danmeier97
Kickoff return yardsEddie Payton898
Punt return yardsEddie Payton303
TacklesScott Studwell230
InterceptionsTom 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
(out of 28)
Passing offense4,333270.82nd
Rushing offense1,51294.528th
Total offense5,845365.36th
Passing defense3,328208.018th
Rushing defense2,045127.815th
Total defense5,373335.817th
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References
  1. 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.
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