2021 Minnesota Vikings
The 2021 Minnesota Vikings went 8–9, finishing 2nd in the NFC North, and missed the playoffs. They scored 425 points and allowed 426.
- Record
- 8–9
- Home
- 5–3
- Road & neutral
- 3–6
- Points
- 425–426
- NFC North
- Place 2 of 4
- Postseason
- Did not qualify
Where the season ranked
They scored 425 points, the 14th-most among the 32 teams, and allowed 426, the ninth-most. Their point differential was -1.
How the season unfolded
The Vikings started 1–3 and were 3–5 after eight games. They went 2–2 over the final four weeks to finish 8–9.
Best and worst games
Their biggest win was 31–17 over the Chicago Bears in Week 18 (January 9, 2022).
Their heaviest loss was 37–10 to the Green Bay Packers in Week 17 (January 2, 2022).
They scored a season-high 36 points against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 14 (December 9, 2021), winning 36–28.
In games decided by eight points or fewer, they went 6–8.
They played three games that went to overtime and went 1–2 in them.
Division and playoff opponents
They went 4–2 against the NFC North, sweeping the Bears and splitting with the Lions and the Packers.
Against teams that reached the playoffs, they went 2–6 in the regular season.
Postseason
They missed the playoffs. The lowest record among NFC playoff teams was 9–8, one game better than their record.
Before and after
That was a one-win improvement on 2020, when they went 7–9.
In 2022, they went 13–4 and returned to the playoffs.
2021 schedule and results
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sep 12, 2021 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 24–27 (OT) |
| Week 2 | Sep 19, 2021 | at Arizona Cardinals | L 33–34 |
| Week 3 | Sep 26, 2021 | vs Seattle Seahawks | W 30–17 |
| Week 4 | Oct 3, 2021 | vs Cleveland Browns | L 7–14 |
| Week 5 | Oct 10, 2021 | vs Detroit Lions | W 19–17 |
| Week 6 | Oct 17, 2021 | at Carolina Panthers | W 34–28 (OT) |
| Week 8 | Oct 31, 2021 | vs Dallas Cowboys | L 16–20 |
| Week 9 | Nov 7, 2021 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 31–34 (OT) |
| Week 10 | Nov 14, 2021 | at Los Angeles Chargers | W 27–20 |
| Week 11 | Nov 21, 2021 | vs Green Bay Packers | W 34–31 |
| Week 12 | Nov 28, 2021 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 26–34 |
| Week 13 | Dec 5, 2021 | at Detroit Lions | L 27–29 |
| Week 14 | Dec 9, 2021 | vs Pittsburgh Steelers | W 36–28 |
| Week 15 | Dec 20, 2021 | at Chicago Bears | W 17–9 |
| Week 16 | Dec 26, 2021 | vs Los Angeles Rams | L 23–30 |
| Week 17 | Jan 2, 2022 | at Green Bay Packers | L 10–37 |
| Week 18 | Jan 9, 2022 | vs Chicago Bears | W 31–17 |
Counted by WHYNFL from the final score of every 2021 game. Division place uses win percentage, then point differential; the NFL's full tiebreaker procedure is not applied.