The 2001 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 41st in the National Football League (NFL). Despite having a 12th ranked offense, the Vikings finished 5–11 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1995. Before the end of the season, the team fired head coach Dennis Green, who had become a polarizing force among the Vikings fan base despite his successful coaching tenure with the team. Mike Tice coached the final game of 2001, a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
2001 Minnesota Vikings season | |
---|---|
Owner | Red McCombs |
General manager | Dennis Green |
Head coach | Dennis Green (Weeks 1–16) Mike Tice (Week 17) |
Home field | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome |
Results | |
Record | 5–11 |
Division place | 4th NFC Central |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Pro Bowlers | 2
|
Uniform | |
This was the first season since 1989 that defensive tackle John Randle was not on the opening day roster.
The season began in tragic circumstances when offensive tackle Korey Stringer died of heatstroke in training camp.
The season started off with a 24–13 home loss to the Carolina Panthers (which would be the Panthers' lone win). They did not win on the road at all during this season. Some season highlights included a 35–13 win over the rival Green Bay Packers in Week 6, and a Week 10 victory over the New York Giants in which Randy Moss pulled in 10 receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns leading to a 28–16 victory.
This was Cris Carter's final season in Minnesota, having played 12 seasons there, making eight consecutive Pro Bowl appearances (1993–2000), all with the Vikings. He is the team's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He retired at the end of the disappointing season, but would briefly return to play for the Miami Dolphins midway through next season.
Additions | Subtractions |
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WR Jake Reed (Saints) | LB Dwayne Rudd (Browns) |
TE Byron Chamberlain (Broncos) | DT John Randle (Seahawks) |
Pro Bowler |
2001 Minnesota Vikings Draft | |||||
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Draft order | Player name | Position | College | Notes | |
Round | Selection | ||||
1 | 27 | Michael Bennett | Running back | Wisconsin | |
2 | 57 | Willie Howard | Defensive end | Stanford | |
3 | 69 | Eric Kelly | Cornerback | Kentucky | From Patriots[a] |
86 | Traded to the New England Patriots[a] | ||||
4 | 119 | Traded to the New England Patriots[a] | |||
130 | Shawn Worthen | Defensive tackle | Texas Christian | Compensatory pick[b] | |
131 | Cedric James | Wide receiver | Texas Christian | Compensatory pick[b] | |
5 | 157 | Patrick Chukwurah | Linebacker | Wyoming | |
6 | 189 | Carey Scott | Cornerback | Kentucky State | |
7 | 225 | Brian Crawford | Defensive tackle | Western Oregon |
Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|
Brian Russell | Safety | San Diego State |
Mike Solwold | Long snapper/Tight end | Wisconsin |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
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Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | NFL.com recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | August 11 | at New Orleans Saints | W 28–21 | 1–0 | Alamodome (San Antonio, TX) | 46,752 | Recap |
2 | August 16 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–10 | 2–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 63,790 | Recap |
3 | August 24 | Indianapolis Colts | W 28–21 | 3–0 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 63,804 | Recap |
4 | August 31 | at Miami Dolphins | W 20–7 | 4–0 | Pro Player Stadium | 60,136 | Recap |
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vikings | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
Saints | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Steelers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
Vikings | 0 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Colts | 10 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 21 |
Vikings | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 0 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
Dolphins | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Game information | ||
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Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 9 | Carolina Panthers | L 13–24 | 0–1 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,108 | Recap |
2[A] | September 23 | at Chicago Bears | L 10–17 | 0–2 | Soldier Field | 66,944 | Recap |
3 | September 30 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 20–16 | 1–2 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,105 | Recap |
4 | October 7 | at New Orleans Saints | L 15–28 | 1–3 | Louisiana Superdome | 70,020 | Recap |
5 | October 14 | Detroit Lions | W 31–26 | 2–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,048 | Recap |
6 | October 21 | Green Bay Packers | W 35–13 | 3–3 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,165 | Recap |
7 | October 28 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 14–41 | 3–4 | Raymond James Stadium | 65,558 | Recap |
8 | Bye week | ||||||
9 | November 11 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 17–48 | 3–5 | Veterans Stadium | 65,638 | Recap |
10 | November 19 | New York Giants | W 28–16 | 4–5 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,283 | Recap |
11 | November 25 | Chicago Bears | L 6–13 | 4–6 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,214 | Recap |
12 | December 2 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 16–21 | 4–7 | Heinz Field | 62,661 | Recap |
13 | December 9 | Tennessee Titans | W 42–24 | 5–7 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,271 | Recap |
14 | December 16 | at Detroit Lions | L 24–27 | 5–8 | Pontiac Silverdome | 72,190 | Recap |
15 | December 23 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 3–33 | 5–9 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 64,150 | Recap |
16 | December 30 | at Green Bay Packers | L 13–24 | 5–10 | Lambeau Field | 59,870 | Recap |
17[A] | January 7 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 3–19 | 5–11 | PSINet Stadium | 69,465 | Recap |
Notes
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Panthers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Vikings | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
Bears | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 17 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Buccaneers | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
Vikings | 7 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 20 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
Saints | 6 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 28 |
at Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Lions | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 26 |
Vikings | 7 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Packers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 |
Vikings | 0 | 20 | 0 | 15 | 35 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 14 |
Buccaneers | 7 | 21 | 13 | 0 | 41 |
at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Eagles | 7 | 24 | 7 | 10 | 48 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Giants | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
Vikings | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Bears | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
Vikings | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 3 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 16 |
Steelers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Titans | 10 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 24 |
Vikings | 0 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vikings | 7 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 24 |
Lions | 14 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
at Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, Michigan
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Jaguars | 10 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 33 |
Vikings | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
Packers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 24 |
at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Ravens | 0 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 19 |
at PSINet Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Game information | ||
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NFC Central | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
(2) Chicago Bears | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 338 | 203 | W4 |
(4) Green Bay Packers | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 390 | 266 | W3 |
(6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 324 | 280 | L1 |
Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 290 | 390 | L4 |
Detroit Lions | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 270 | 424 | W1 |
Category | Player(s) | Value |
---|---|---|
Passing yards | Daunte Culpepper | 2,612 |
Passing touchdowns | Daunte Culpepper | 14 |
Rushing yards | Michael Bennett | 682 |
Rushing touchdowns | Daunte Culpepper | 5 |
Receiving yards | Randy Moss | 1,233 |
Receiving touchdowns | Randy Moss | 10 |
Points | Gary Anderson | 74 |
Kickoff return yards | Nate Jacquet | 1,012 |
Punt return yards | Nate Jacquet | 219 |
Tackles | Kailee Wong | 98 |
Sacks | Chris Hovan | 6 |
Interceptions | Robert Griffith Eric Kelly |
2 |
Forced fumbles | Patrick Chukwurah | 3 |
Category | Total yards | Yards per game | NFL rank (out of 31) |
---|---|---|---|
Passing offense | 3,576 | 223.5 | 7th |
Rushing offense | 1,609 | 100.6 | 25th |
Total offense | 5,185 | 324.1 | 12th |
Passing defense | 3,367 | 210.4 | 18th |
Rushing defense | 2,299 | 143.7 | 30th |
Total defense | 5,666 | 354.1 | 27th |