2021 Minnesota Vikings season

61st season in franchise history

The 2021 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 61st in the National Football League (NFL) and their eighth and final under head coach Mike Zimmer.

2021 Minnesota Vikings season
OwnerZygi Wilf
Head coachMike Zimmer
General managerRick Spielman
Home fieldU.S. Bank Stadium
Results
Record8–9
Division place2nd NFC North
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersRB Dalvin Cook
WR Justin Jefferson
S Harrison Smith
AP All-ProsWR Justin Jefferson (2nd team)
Uniform

Draft change

2021 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Round Selection Player name Position College Contract Notes
1 14 Traded to the New York Jets[A]
23 Christian Darrisaw OT Virginia Tech 4 years, $13.35 million[2] From Seahawks via Jets[A]
2 45 Traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars[B]
3 66 Kellen Mond QB Texas A&M 4 years, $5.22 million[4] From Jets[A]
78 Chazz Surratt LB North Carolina 4 years, $5 million[5]
86 Wyatt Davis OG Ohio State 4 years, $4.9 million[5] From Jets[A]
90 Patrick Jones II DE Pittsburgh 4 years, $4.87 million[5] From Ravens[C]
4 119 Kene Nwangwu RB Iowa State 4 years, $4.23 million[7]
125 Camryn Bynum CB California 4 years, $4.2 million[8] From Bears[D]
134 Janarius Robinson DE Florida State 4 years, $4.15 million[7] From Bills[E]
143 Traded to the New York Jets[A] Compensatory selection
5 157 Ihmir Smith-Marsette WR Iowa 4 years, $3.8 million[11]
168 Zach Davidson TE Central Missouri 4 years, $3.78 million[11] From Steelers via Ravens[F]
6 199 Jaylen Twyman DT Pittsburgh 4 years, $3.65 million[13]
223 Traded to the Arizona Cardinals[G] Compensatory selection
7 Selection forfeited[H]

Regular season change

Schedule change

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 12 at Cincinnati Bengals L 24−27 (OT) 0−1 Paul Brown Stadium 56,525 Recap
2 September 19 at Arizona Cardinals L 33−34 0–2 State Farm Stadium 60,115 Recap
3 September 26 Seattle Seahawks W 30–17 1–2 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,729 Recap
4 October 3 Cleveland Browns L 7–14 1–3 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,703 Recap
5 October 10 Detroit Lions W 19–17 2–3 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,538 Recap
6 October 17 at Carolina Panthers W 34–28 (OT) 3–3 Bank of America Stadium 72,104 Recap
7 Bye
8 October 31 Dallas Cowboys L 16–20 3–4 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,633 Recap
9 November 7 at Baltimore Ravens L 31–34 (OT) 3–5 M&T Bank Stadium 70,599 Recap
10 November 14 at Los Angeles Chargers W 27–20 4–5 SoFi Stadium 70,240 Recap
11 November 21 Green Bay Packers W 34–31 5–5 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,959 Recap
12 November 28 at San Francisco 49ers L 26–34 5–6 Levi's Stadium 71,493 Recap
13 December 5 at Detroit Lions L 27–29 5–7 Ford Field 45,691 Recap
14 December 9 Pittsburgh Steelers W 36–28 6–7 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,718 Recap
15 December 20 at Chicago Bears W 17–9 7–7 Soldier Field 60,082 Recap
16 December 26 Los Angeles Rams L 23–30 7–8 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,708 Recap
17 January 2 at Green Bay Packers L 10–37 7–9 Lambeau Field 77,832 Recap
18 January 9 Chicago Bears W 31–17 8–9 U.S. Bank Stadium 66,625 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings change

Division change

NFC North
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
(1) Green Bay Packers 13 4 0 .765 4–2 9–3 450 371 L1
Minnesota Vikings 8 9 0 .471 4–2 6–6 425 426 W1
Chicago Bears 6 11 0 .353 2–4 4–8 311 407 L1
Detroit Lions 3 13 1 .206 2–4 3–9 325 467 W1

Conference change

# Team Division W L T PCT DIV CONF SOS SOV STK
Division winners
1[a] Green Bay Packers North 13 4 0 .765 4–2 9–3 .479 .480 L1
2[a] Tampa Bay Buccaneers South 13 4 0 .765 4–2 8–4 .467 .443 W3
3[b] Dallas Cowboys East 12 5 0 .706 6–0 10–2 .488 .431 W1
4[b] Los Angeles Rams West 12 5 0 .706 3–3 8–4 .483 .409 L1
Wild cards
5 Arizona Cardinals West 11 6 0 .647 4–2 7–5 .490 .492 L1
6 San Francisco 49ers West 10 7 0 .588 2–4 7–5 .500 .438 W2
7[c] Philadelphia Eagles East 9 8 0 .529 3–3 7–5 .469 .350 L1
Did not qualify for the postseason
8[c] New Orleans Saints South 9 8 0 .529 4–2 7–5 .512 .516 W2
9 Minnesota Vikings North 8 9 0 .471 4–2 6–6 .507 .434 W1
10[d] Washington Football Team East 7 10 0 .412 2–4 6–6 .529 .420 W1
11[d][e] Seattle Seahawks West 7 10 0 .412 3–3 4–8 .519 .424 W2
12[d][e] Atlanta Falcons South 7 10 0 .412 2–4 4–8 .472 .315 L2
13 Chicago Bears North 6 11 0 .353 2–4 4–8 .524 .373 L1
14 Carolina Panthers South 5 12 0 .294 2–4 3–9 .509 .412 L7
15 New York Giants East 4 13 0 .235 1–5 3–9 .536 .485 L6
16 Detroit Lions North 3 13 1 .206 2–4 3–9 .528 .627 W1
Tiebreakers[f]
  1. 1.0 1.1 Green Bay finished ahead of Tampa Bay based on conference record.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Dallas finished ahead of LA Rams based on conference record.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Philadelphia finished ahead of New Orleans based on head-to-head victory.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 Washington finished ahead of Atlanta and Seattle based on head-to-head sweep.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Seattle finished ahead of Atlanta based on win percentage in common games.
  6. When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Notes change

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Vikings traded a first- and a fourth-round selection (14th and 143rd overall) to the New York Jets in exchange for the first-round selection the Jets received from the Seattle Seahawks (23rd overall) and two third-round selections (66th and 86th overall).[1]
  2. The Vikings traded a second-round selection and a conditional 2022 fifth-round selection to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for defensive end Yannick Ngakoue. The fifth-round selection would have been upgraded to a fourth rounder if Ngakoue had been selected for the 2021 Pro Bowl.[3]
  3. The Vikings traded defensive end Yannick Ngakoue to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for Baltimore's third-round selection and a conditional 2022 fifth-round selection.[6]
  4. The Vikings traded a 2020 fifth-round selection (155th overall) to the Chicago Bears in exchange for Chicago's fourth-round selection.[9]
  5. The Vikings traded a 2020 seventh-round selection (239th overall) and wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills in exchange for Buffalo's fourth-round selection, and 2020 first-, fifth-, and sixth-round selections (22nd, 155th and 201st overall).[10]
  6. The Vikings traded 2020 sixth- and seventh-round selections (201st and 219th overall) to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for the fifth-round selection the Ravens received from the Pittsburgh Steelers and their 2020 seventh-round selection (225th overall).[12]
  7. The Vikings traded a sixth-round selection (223rd overall) to the Arizona Cardinals in exchange for offensive lineman Mason Cole.[14]
  8. The Vikings forfeited their seventh-round selection as punishment for a salary cap violation involving a 2019 practice squad player.[15]

References change

  1. Ragatz, Will (April 29, 2021). "Minnesota Vikings Trade Down to No. 23 Pick in 2021 NFL Draft With New York Jets". Inside the Vikings. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  2. Gates, Christopher (May 14, 2021). "Christian Darrisaw signs rookie contract". Daily Norseman. Vox Media. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  3. "Jaguars agree to trade DE Yannick Ngakoue to Vikings". ESPN. August 30, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  4. Ragatz, Will (June 15, 2021). "Vikings Quarterback Kellen Mond Signs Rookie Contract". Inside The Vikings. Maven. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 Krammer, Andrew (July 26, 2021). "Vikings sign final three draft picks to rookie contracts before camp". StarTribune. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  6. "Sources: Vikes ship Ngakoue to Ravens for picks". ESPN.com. October 22, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  7. 7.0 7.1 Ragatz, Will (May 19, 2021). "Vikings Sign Fourth-Rounders Janarius Robinson and Kene Nwangwu to Rookie Contracts". Inside The Vikings. Maven. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  8. Gates, Christopher (May 15, 2021). "Camryn Bynum signs rookie contract". Daily Norseman. Vox Media. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  9. Mayer, Larry (April 25, 2020). "Bears draft Gipson with pick acquired in trade". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  10. Bergman, Jeremy (March 16, 2020). "Bills acquire WR Stefon Diggs from Vikings in trade". Retrieved March 16, 2020.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Williams, Charean (May 13, 2021). "Vikings sign draft picks Zach Davidson, Ihmir Smith-Marsette". ProFootballTalk. NBC Universal. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  12. Shaffer, Jonas (April 25, 2020). "Ravens trade with Vikings, move up to take SMU WR James Proche in sixth round". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  13. Williams, Charean (May 13, 2021). "Sixth-round choice Jaylen Twyman agrees to terms with Vikings". ProFootballTalk. NBC Universal. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  14. "Vikings Acquire OL Mason Cole in Trade with Cardinals". Vikings.com. March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  15. Craig, Mark (March 19, 2021). "Vikings lose seventh-round draft pick for salary-cap violation". StarTribune. Retrieved March 19, 2021.