The 1971 season was the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

' 11th in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). They finished with an 11–3 record to win the

NFC Central The National Football Conference – Northern Division or NFC North is one of the four divisions of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed the "Black and Blue Division" for the rough and tough ri ...

title and return to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season; however, they lost 20–12 at home to the eventual

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

champion

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

in the divisional round. In 2007,

ESPN.com ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc. History Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...

ranked the 1971 Vikings as the fourth-greatest defense in NFL history,The List: Best NFL defense of all-time, 2007
/ref> saying, " nsidering that their motto was 'Meet at the quarterback,' it's no surprise that the

Purple People Eaters Purple People Eaters were the defensive line of the Minnesota Vikings from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. The term is a reference to Purple People Eater, a popular song from 1958, the efficiency of the defense, and the color of their uniforms. T ...

held opposing QBs to a 40.4

rating A rating is an evaluation or assessment of something, in terms of quality, quantity, or some combination of both. Rating or ratings may also refer to: Business and economics * Credit rating, estimating the credit worthiness of an individual, c ...

, one of the lowest ever." ESPN also noted that the 1971 Vikings "shut out three opponents, and only one team scored more than 20 points against them. As a result,

Alan Page Alan Cedric Page (born August 7, 1945) is an American retired judge and former professional football He gained national recognition as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) during 15 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings an ...

became the first defensive player to ever be named

NFL MVP The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award (NFL MVP) is an award given by various entities to the American football player who is considered the most valuable in the National Football League (NFL) during the regular season. Organizati ...

. Carl Eller, Jim Marshall and safety

Paul Krause Paul James Krause (born February 19, 1942) is a former American football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). Gifted with a great frame, speed and range, Krause established himself as a defensive force against opposing wide ...

joined Page on the All-Pro team."

Offseason

1971 Draft

: The Vikings traded their second- and sixth-round selections (50th and 154th overall), their

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

third-round selection (76th overall) and OL

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

in exchange for QB

Norm Snead Norman Bailey Snead (born July 31, 1939) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, and San Francisco 49ers. He played coll ...

. : The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (128th overall) to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

in exchange for QB

Kent Nix Alvin Kent Nix (born March 12, 1944) is a former American football player who played professionally as a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas Christian University (TCU). Nix is the son of Emery N ...

. : The Vikings originally chose 206th overall, but passed, allowing

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and

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to move up before the Vikings eventually took the 208th overall pick. : The Vikings originally chose 414th overall, but moved up to the 413th overall selection when

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

passed. : The Vikings originally chose 440th overall, but moved up to the 439th overall selection when

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

passed on the 435th overall selection and allowed

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Minnesota,

, and

to move up.

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 6

Playoffs

Standings

Awards, records, and honors

All-Pros

First team *OT

Ron Yary Anthony Ronald Yary (born July 16, 1946) is an American former professional football player who played as an offensive tackle primarily for the Minnesota Vikings and also for the Los Angeles Rams in the National Football League (NFL). He was ...

(AP, NEA, PFWA, PFW) *DE Carl Eller (AP, NEA, PFWA, PFW) *DT

(AP, NEA, PFWA, PFW) *S

(NEA)

Pro Bowlers

*WR Bob Grim *OT

*DE Carl Eller *DT

League leaders

* Bob Lee – Most punts (89), most punting yards (3515) *

Charlie West Charlie West (born August 31, 1946, in Big Spring, Texas) is a former safety who played for three National Football League teams. He played in Super Bowl IV as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. He also still holds the University of Texas El ...

– Longest interception return (89 yards) *

– Most safeties (2)

Statistics

Team leaders

League rankings

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:1971 Minnesota Vikings Season

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

NFC Central championship seasons