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1981 Minnesota Vikings season

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1981 Minnesota Vikings season
General managerMike Lynn
Head coachBud Grant
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record7–9
Division place4th NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersLB Matt Blair
WR Ahmad Rashad
TE Joe Senser
Uniform

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.[1]

Offseason

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1981 draft

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Main article: 1981 NFL draft
Pro Bowler
1981 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
1 18 Traded to the Baltimore Colts[A]
2 39 Mardye McDole Wide receiver Mississippi State from Colts[A]
45 Robin Sendlein Linebacker Texas
52 Jarvis Redwine Running back Nebraska from Rams via Redskins and Colts[A]
3 71 Traded to the New Orleans Saints[B]
74 Tim Irwin Offensive tackle Tennessee from Patriots[C]
4 101 John Swain Cornerback Miami (FL)
5 123 Wendell Ray Defensive end Missouri from Colts[A]
128 Traded to the New Orleans Saints[B]
6 154 Traded to the Miami Dolphins[D]
7 184 Don Shaver Running back Kutztown
8 210 Wade Wilson Quarterback East Texas State
9 237 Traded to the Seattle Seahawks[E]
10 266 James Murphy Wide receiver Utah State
11 293 Bill Stephanos Offensive tackle Boston College
12 320 Brian Williams Tight end Southern

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d The Vikings traded their first-round selection (18th overall) to the Colts in exchange for two second-round (39th and 52nd overall) and a fifth-round selections (123rd overall).
  2. ^ a b The Vikings traded their third- and fifth-round selections (71st and 128th overall) to the Saints in exchange for OT Steve Riley.
  3. ^ The Vikings traded RB Chuck Foreman to the Patriots in exchange for the a third-round selection (74th overall).
  4. ^ The Vikings traded their sixth-round selection (154th overall) and a 1982 fifth-round selection (120th overall) to the Dolphins in exchange for C Jim Langer.
  5. ^ The Vikings traded their ninth-round selection (236th overall) to the Seahawks in exchange for OT Nick Bebout.

Roster

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1981 Minnesota Vikings roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve

Rookies in italics

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance[2]
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

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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

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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

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Week 1: at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Week 1: Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 0 6713
Buccaneers 7 0 01421

at Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida

  • Date: September 5
  • Game time: 8:05 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, showers, 80 °F (27 °C)
  • Game attendance: 66,287
  • Referee: Fred Silva (7)
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 2: vs Oakland Raiders

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Week 2: Oakland Raiders at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Raiders 3 13 71336
Vikings 0 7 3010

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

  • Date: September 14
  • Game time: 8:05 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Overcast, 65 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 42,186
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 3: vs Detroit Lions

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Week 3: Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 14 7324
Vikings 7 10 6326

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

  • Date: September 20
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Sunny, 63 °F (17 °C)
  • Game attendance: 45,350
  • Referee: Gene Barth
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 6: at San Diego Chargers

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Week 6: Minnesota Vikings at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 14 10933
Chargers 7 7 10731

at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: October 11
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 71 °F (22 °C)
  • Game attendance: 50,708
  • Referee: Chuck Heberling
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 7: vs Philadelphia Eagles

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Week 7: Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 6 3 01423
Vikings 0 21 7735

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

  • Date: October 18
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 42 °F (6 °C)
  • Game attendance: 45,459
  • Referee: Fred Silva (7)
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 9: at Denver Broncos

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Week 9: Minnesota Vikings at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 3 01417
Broncos 0 3 31319

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: November 2
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: Mostly fair, 48 °F (9 °C)
  • Game attendance: 74,834
  • Referee: Fred Wyant (11)
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 10: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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Week 10: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Buccaneers 0 0 3710
Vikings 3 13 7225

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Week 11: vs New Orleans Saints

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Week 11: New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Saints 0 3 0710
Vikings 0 10 10020

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

  • Date: November 15
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Cloudy, high overcast, 55 °F (13 °C)
  • Game attendance: 45,215
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen
  • Recap, Game Book
Game information

Week 16: vs Kansas City Chiefs

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Week 16: Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota Vikings – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 3 0 7010
Vikings 3 0 306

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

Game information

Standings

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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

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Team leaders

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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

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Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 28)
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

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  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.
  2. ^ "1981 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) - Pro Football Archives".
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