The 2011 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 51st in the National Football League (NFL), and the first full season under head coach Leslie Frazier, who served as the team's interim head coach for the final six games of the 2010 season. The team failed to improve on their 6âÂÂ10 record from 2010, going 2âÂÂ6 before their bye week, before being eliminated from playoff contention in week 12 with a 2âÂÂ9 record. The team also suffered its first six-game losing streak since the 1984 season.
The team started the season with a new starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb, who had enjoyed great success with the Eagles but had a subpar year with the Redskins in 2010. McNabb played respectably, having a passer rating of 82.9 and only turning the ball over twice, but his 1âÂÂ5 record as starter led to him being benched in favor of rookie Christian Ponder in Week 6, and McNabb was later waived on December 1, 2011. Despite a poor year for the team as a whole, Jared Allen set a franchise record for most sacks in a season with 22. The team led the league in sacks with 50, but also tied a team record for fewest interceptions caught in a season with only eight.
After finishing with a 6âÂÂ10 record in the 2010 season, the Vikings were allocated the 12th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
Notes:
The Vikings' preseason schedule was announced on April 12, 2011.
After being swept by the Packers, the Vikings dropped to 2âÂÂ7. As of 2025, this is the Vikings' most lopsided loss to the Packers.
With the loss, the Vikings were swept by the AFC West & fell to 2-10, resulting in them being eliminated from playoff contention for the second straight time. This game was also notable for being the first NFL on Fox regular season game to have an NFC vs AFC match-up despite the AFC team (Denver) being the road team and the last until 2014. The game was originally meant to be on CBS. However, because of the Colts-Patriots match-up was flexed out of Sunday Night Football for Lions-Saints, FOX got the rights to air this game since CBS wasn't able to air due to not having enough members to air 7 1PM games involving AFC road teams.
With the loss, the Vikings were swept by the Lions for the first time since 1997 and fell to 2-11.
With the win, the Vikings improved to 3-12 & finished 2-6 on the road.
With the loss, the Vikings finished their season at 3-13 (0-6 against the NFC North), their worst record since 1984, and they finished 1-7 at home.