1981 Minnesota Vikings (NFL) |
| 4th place • National Football Conference • Central Division • 7-9-0 .438 |
| Head Coach: Bud Grant |
| Jerry Burns | Offensive Coordinator |
| Jimmy Carr | Defensive Backs |
| Tom Cecchini | Defensive Line |
| Bob Hollway | Defense |
| Bus Mertes | Offensive Backs |
| John Michels | Offensive Line |
| Floyd Reese | Linebackers |
| Les Steckel | Receivers |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/8/1981 | H | Miami Dolphins | 6-20 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 45165 | |
| Fri | 8/14/1981 | A | Washington Redskins | 13-27 | L | Washington, DC | RFK Stadium | 44662 | |
| Sat | 8/22/1981 | H | Atlanta Falcons | 20-19 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 42908 | |
| Thu | 8/27/1981 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 31-34 | L | Anaheim, CA | Anaheim Stadium | 60141 | |
| Sat | 9/5/1981 | A | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 13-21 | L | Tampa, FL | Tampa Stadium | 66287 | |
| Mon | 9/14/1981 | H | Oakland Raiders | 10-36 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 47186 | |
| Sun | 9/20/1981 | H | Detroit Lions | 26-24 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 45350 | |
| Sun | 9/27/1981 | A | Green Bay Packers | 30-13 | W | Milwaukee, WI | County Stadium | 55012 | |
| Sun | 10/4/1981 | H | Chicago Bears | 24-21 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 43827 | |
| Sun | 10/11/1981 | A | San Diego Chargers | 33-31 | W | San Diego, CA | Jack Murphy Stadium | 50708 | |
| Sun | 10/18/1981 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 35-23 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 45459 | |
| Sun | 10/25/1981 | A | St. Louis Cardinals | 17-30 | L | St. Louis, MO | Busch Memorial Stadium | 48039 | |
| Mon | 11/2/1981 | A | Denver Broncos | 17-19 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74834 | |
| Sun | 11/8/1981 | H | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 25-10 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 47038 | |
| Sun | 11/15/1981 | H | New Orleans Saints | 20-10 | W | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 45215 | |
| Mon | 11/23/1981 | A | Atlanta Falcons | 30-31 | L | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 60749 | |
| Sun | 11/29/1981 | H | Green Bay Packers | 23-35 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 46025 | |
| Sun | 12/6/1981 | A | Chicago Bears | 9-10 | L | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 50766 | |
| Sat | 12/12/1981 | A | Detroit Lions | 7-45 | L | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 79428 | |
| Sun | 12/20/1981 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 6-10 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 41110 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Matt Blair | 59 | LOLB | 6-5 | 242 | 31 | Northeastern Oklahoma A&M JC; Iowa State | 16 | 16 |
| Brent Boyd | 62 | LOG | 6-3 | 275 | 24 | UCLA | 3 | 3 |
| Ted Brown | 23 | RB | 5-10 | 210 | 24 | North Carolina State | 16 | 16 |
| Bob Bruer | 82 | TE | 6-5 | 240 | 28 | Minnesota State | 15 | 0 |
| Greg Coleman | 8 | P | 6-0 | 182 | 27 | Florida A&M | 15 | 0 |
| Rick Danmeier | 7 | K | 6-0 | 188 | 29 | Lakewood State JC; Sioux Falls | 16 | 0 |
| Steve Dils | 12 | QB | 6-1 | 191 | 26 | Stanford | 2 | 2 |
| Neil Elshire | 65 | DE | 6-5 | 256 | 23 | Oregon | 4 | 0 |
| Tony Galbreath | 32 | RB | 6-0 | 228 | 27 | Centerville JC; Missouri | 14 | 1 |
| Wes Hamilton | 61 | ROG | 6-3 | 271 | 28 | Tulsa | 16 | 16 |
| Tom Hannon | 45 | SS | 5-11 | 195 | 26 | Michigan State | 16 | 16 |
| Sam Harrell | 36 | RB | 6-2 | 213 | 24 | East Carolina | 4 | 0 |
| Randy Holloway | 75 | RDE-LDE | 6-5 | 255 | 26 | Pittsburgh | 16 | 8 |
| Jim Hough | 51 | LOG | 6-2 | 268 | 25 | Utah State | 16 | 13 |
| Dave Huffman | 56 | C | 6-6 | 284 | 24 | Notre Dame | 13 | 0 |
| Tim Irwin | 76 | OT | 6-7 | 294 | 23 | Tennessee | 7 | 0 |
| Dennis Johnson | 52 | LILB | 6-3 | 235 | 23 | Southern California | 16 | 1 |
| Henry Johnson | 53 | LB | 6-1 | 235 | 23 | Georgia Tech | 16 | 0 |
| Kurt Knoff | 25 | FS | 6-2 | 188 | 27 | Kansas | 16 | 16 |
| Tommy Kramer | 9 | QB | 6-2 | 205 | 26 | Rice | 14 | 14 |
| Jim Langer | 58 | C | 6-2 | 253 | 33 | South Dakota State | 9 | 1 |
| Terry LeCount | 80 | WR | 5-10 | 176 | 25 | Florida | 16 | 2 |
| Leo Lewis | 87 | WR | 5-8 | 169 | 25 | Missouri | 4 | 1 |
| Doug Martin | 79 | RDE | 6-3 | 264 | 24 | Washington | 16 | 9 |
| Mardye McDole | 88 | WR | 5-11 | 205 | 22 | Mississippi State | 9 | 0 |
| Fred McNeill | 54 | ROLB | 6-2 | 229 | 29 | UCLA | 16 | 16 |
| Mark Mullaney | 73 | LDE | 6-6 | 246 | 28 | Colorado State | 15 | 15 |
| Keith Nord | 49 | S | 6-0 | 195 | 24 | St. Cloud State | 16 | 0 |
| Eddie Payton | 31 | RB | 5-8 | 175 | 30 | Jackson State | 16 | 0 |
| Ahmad Rashad | 28 | WR | 6-2 | 202 | 32 | Oregon | 16 | 15 |
| Jarvis Redwine | 22 | RB | 5-10 | 198 | 24 | Oregon State; Nebraska | 3 | 0 |
| Steve Riley | 78 | LOT | 6-6 | 258 | 29 | Southern California | 16 | 16 |
| Ken Sanders | 89 | DE | 6-5 | 242 | 31 | Howard Payne | 9 | 0 |
| Robin Sendlein | 57 | LB | 6-3 | 225 | 23 | Texas | 16 | 0 |
| Joe Senser | 81 | TE | 6-4 | 235 | 25 | West Chester | 16 | 16 |
| Jeff Siemon | 50 | LILB | 6-2 | 235 | 31 | Stanford | 16 | 15 |
| Scott Studwell | 55 | RILB | 6-2 | 228 | 27 | Illinois | 16 | 16 |
| John Swain | 29 | LCB | 6-1 | 197 | 22 | Miami (Florida) | 12 | 1 |
| Dennis Swilley | 67 | C | 6-3 | 257 | 26 | Texas A&M | 16 | 15 |
| Willie Teal | 37 | RCB | 5-10 | 195 | 24 | Louisiana State | 16 | 16 |
| John Turner | 27 | LCB | 6-0 | 196 | 25 | Miami (Florida) | 13 | 10 |
| James White | 72 | NT | 6-3 | 270 | 28 | Oklahoma State | 16 | 16 |
| Sammy White | 85 | WR | 5-11 | 195 | 27 | Grambling State | 16 | 16 |
| Walt Williams | 44 | LCB | 6-1 | 185 | 27 | Ashland; New Mexico State | 16 | 5 |
| Wade Wilson | 11 | QB | 6-3 | 208 | 22 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 3 | 0 |
| Ray Yakavonis | 91 | DE | 6-4 | 250 | 24 | East Stroudsburg | 15 | 0 |
| Ron Yary | 73 | ROT | 6-6 | 256 | 35 | Cerritos JC; Southern California | 16 | 16 |
| Rickey Young | 34 | RB | 6-2 | 198 | 28 | Jackson State | 16 | 13 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 2 | 39 | Mardye McDole | WR | Mississippi State |
| 2 | 45 | Robin Sendlein | LB | Texas |
| 2 | 52 | Jarvis Redwine | RB | Nebraska |
| 3 | 74 | Tim Irwin | T | Tennessee |
| 4 | 101 | John Swain | DB | Miami (Florida) |
| 5 | 123 | Wendell Ray | DE | Missouri |
| 7 | 184 | Don Shaver | RB | Kutztown |
| 8 | 210 | Wade Wilson | QB-P | Texas A&M-Commerce |
| 10 | 266 | James Murphy | WR | Utah State |
| 11 | 293 | Bill Stephanos | T | Boston College |
| 12 | 320 | Brian Williams | TE | Southern University |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 44 | 129 | 75 | 77 | 325 |
| Opponents Totals | 70 | 84 | 89 | 126 | 369 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 28:54 | 343 | 91 | 217 | 35 | 83/226 36.7% | 10/16 62.5% | 109 | 865 |
| Opponents Totals | 31:06 | 299 | 117 | 163 | 19 | 86/226 38.1% | 10/15 66.7% | 115 | 991 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Danmeier | 0 | 34 | 37 | 91.9 | 21 | 25 | 84.0 | 0 | 97 |
| Ted Brown | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | ||
| Joe Senser | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | ||
| Ahmad Rashad | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | ||
| Bob Bruer | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Sammy White | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Tony Galbreath | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Terry LeCount | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Rickey Young | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Randy Holloway | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Eddie Payton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Tom Hannon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Walt Williams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Team Totals | 37 | 34 | 37 | 91.9 | 21 | 25 | 84.0 | 3 | 325 |
| Opponents Totals | 46 | 42 | 46 | 91.3 | 17 | 27 | 63.0 | 0 | 369 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rick Danmeier | 21 | 25 | 84.0 | 0 | 45 | 1/1 | 5/6 | 11/12 | 4/6 | 0/0 |
| Team Totals | 21 | 25 | 84.0 | 0 | 45 | 1/1 | 5/6 | 11/12 | 4/6 | 0/0 |
| Opponents Totals | 17 | 27 | 63.0 | 1/1 | 9/11 | 4/8 | 3/6 | 0/1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Brown | 274 | 1063 | 3.9 | 34 | 6 |
| Tony Galbreath | 42 | 198 | 4.7 | 21 | 2 |
| Rickey Young | 47 | 129 | 2.7 | 13 | 0 |
| Terry LeCount | 3 | 51 | 17.0 | 38 | 0 |
| Jarvis Redwine | 5 | 20 | 4.0 | 8 | 0 |
| Leo Lewis | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Steve Dils | 4 | 14 | 3.5 | 7 | 0 |
| Tommy Kramer | 10 | 13 | 1.3 | 8 | 0 |
| Sam Harrell | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Joe Senser | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jeff Siemon | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sammy White | 2 | -1 | -0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 391 | 1512 | 3.9 | 38 | 8 |
| Opponents Totals | 540 | 2045 | 3.8 | 37 | 15 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Kramer | 593 | 322 | 54.3 | 247 | 3912 | 6.6 | 12.1 | 63 | 26 | 4.4 | 24 | 4.0 | 19 | 149 | 3763 | 72.6 |
| Steve Dils | 102 | 54 | 52.9 | 46 | 607 | 6.0 | 11.2 | 44 | 1 | 1.0 | 2 | 2.0 | 8 | 66 | 541 | 66.1 |
| Wade Wilson | 13 | 6 | 46.2 | 5 | 48 | 3.7 | 8.0 | 22 | 0 | 0.0 | 2 | 15.4 | 2 | 19 | 29 | 16.3 |
| Ted Brown | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | ||
| Team Totals | 709 | 382 | 53.9 | 298 | 4567 | 6.4 | 12.0 | 63 | 27 | 3.8 | 29 | 4.1 | 29 | 234 | 4333 | 69.5 |
| Opponents Totals | 481 | 265 | 55.1 | 200 | 3599 | 7.5 | 13.6 | 72t | 26 | 5.4 | 16 | 3.3 | 33 | 271 | 3328 | 83.3 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Brown | 83 | 694 | 8.4 | 63 | 2 |
| Joe Senser | 79 | 1004 | 12.7 | 53 | 8 |
| Sammy White | 66 | 1001 | 15.2 | 53 | 3 |
| Ahmad Rashad | 58 | 884 | 15.2 | 53 | 7 |
| Rickey Young | 43 | 296 | 6.9 | 22 | 2 |
| Terry LeCount | 24 | 425 | 17.7 | 43t | 2 |
| Tony Galbreath | 18 | 144 | 8.0 | 23 | 0 |
| Bob Bruer | 7 | 38 | 5.4 | 10 | 3 |
| Leo Lewis | 2 | 58 | 29.0 | 52 | 0 |
| Sam Harrell | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 17 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 382 | 4567 | 12.0 | 63 | 27 |
| Opponents Totals | 265 | 3599 | 13.6 | 72t | 26 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Hannon | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 28 | 0 |
| Willie Teal | 4 | 23 | 5.8 | 15 | 0 |
| Kurt Knoff | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 20 | 0 |
| Fred McNeill | 2 | 26 | 13.0 | 14 | 0 |
| John Swain | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Matt Blair | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 16 | 120 | 7.5 | 28 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 29 | 384 | 13.2 | 82t | 3 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Coleman | 88 | 3646 | 41.4 | 73 | 0 | 11 | 17 | 399 | 3027 | 34.4 |
| Team Totals | 88 | 3646 | 41.4 | 73 | 0 | 11 | 17 | 399 | 3027 | 34.4 |
| Opponents Totals | 84 | 3415 | 40.7 | 61 | 1 | 2 | 25 | 303 | 3072 | 36.6 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Payton | 38 | 8 | 303 | 8.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Sammy White | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tom Hannon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Keith Nord | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 39 | 10 | 303 | 7.8 | 18 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 46 | 9 | 399 | 8.7 | 49 | 1 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Payton | 39 | 0 | 898 | 23.0 | 99t | 1 |
| Keith Nord | 14 | 0 | 229 | 16.4 | 27 | 0 |
| Mardye McDole | 11 | 0 | 170 | 15.5 | 22 | 0 |
| Tony Galbreath | 1 | 0 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Rickey Young | 1 | 0 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 |
| Matt Blair | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 67 | 0 | 1328 | 19.8 | 99t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 62 | 1260 | 20.3 | 42 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Blair | 6.0 | |
| Randy Holloway | 5.8 | |
| Doug Martin | 5.5 | |
| Mark Mullaney | 3.5 | |
| Fred McNeill | 3.5 | |
| James White | 2.8 | |
| Dennis Johnson | 1.5 | |
| Ken Sanders | 1.3 | |
| Willie Teal | 1.0 | |
| Scott Studwell | 1.0 | |
| Neil Elshire | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 33.0 | 271.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 29.0 | 234.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Blair | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ted Brown | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bob Bruer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Greg Coleman | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Steve Dils | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tony Galbreath | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tom Hannon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 0 |
| Randy Holloway | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 45 | 1 |
| Kurt Knoff | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Kramer | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Terry LeCount | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Martin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mardye McDole | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Fred McNeill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 0 |
| Mark Mullaney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Keith Nord | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Eddie Payton | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ahmad Rashad | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jarvis Redwine | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Robin Sendlein | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Senser | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jeff Siemon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 0 | |
| Scott Studwell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| John Swain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| James White | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Sammy White | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wade Wilson | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ray Yakavonis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rickey Young | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 39 | 24 | 15 | 19 | 34 | 84 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 27 | 19 | 7 | 21 | 28 | 1 |
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