1971 NFL season

1971 NFL season
Regular season
Duration	September 19 – December 19, 1971
Playoffs
Start date	December 25, 1971
AFC Champions	Miami Dolphins
NFC Champions	Dallas Cowboys
Super Bowl VI
Date	January 16, 1972
Site	Tulane Stadium,; New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions	Dallas Cowboys
Pro Bowl
Date	January 23, 1972
Site	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
	← 1970; NFL seasons; 1972 →;

Colts

Patriots

Bills

Dolphins

Jets

Bengals

Browns

Oilers

Steelers

Broncos

Chiefs

Raiders

Chargers

class=notpageimage|

AFC teams: West, Central, East

Cowboys

Giants

Eagles

Cardinals

Redskins

Bears

Lions

Packers

Vikings

Falcons

Rams

Saints

49ers

class=notpageimage|

NFC teams: West, Central, East

The Cowboys playing against the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI.

The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The Boston Patriots changed their name to New England Patriots to widen their appeal to the entire New England region after moving to their new stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, located between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island.^[1]

The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24–3 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. The Pro Bowl took place on January 23, 1972, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; the AFC beat the NFC 26–13.

Draft

The 1971 NFL draft was held from January 28 to 29, 1971 at New York City's Belmont Plaza Hotel. With the first pick, the New England Patriots selected quarterback Jim Plunkett from Stanford University.

New officials

Three referees--Walt Fitzgerald, Bob Finley and George Rennix--retired following the 1970 season. Bob Frederic, Dick Jorgensen and Fred Wyant were promoted to fill those vacancies. Rich Eichhorst, a back judge in 1970, resigned to concentrate on officiating college basketball; he was replaced by Don Orr, who officiated in the league through 1995.

Major rule changes

Teams will not be charged a time out for an injured player unless the injury occurs inside the last two minutes of a half or overtime (since 1974).
Missed field goal attempts which cross the goal line can be run back. Previously, only those which fell short of the goal line could be returned; those which broke the plane of the goal line resulted in an automatic touchback.

Division races

Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth “wild card” team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, record against common opponents, and records in conference play. More tiebreakers were provided in 1971 because, in 1970, reversing just one game’s outcome would have led to a coin toss between Dallas and Detroit for the NFC wild card berth.

Teams listed with an asterisk in these tables are leaders on tiebreak

National Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		Wild Card
1	3 teams	1–0–0	2 teams	1–0–0	2 teams	1–0–0	3 teams	1–0–0
2	2 teams	2–0–0	Chicago	2–0–0	Atlanta	1–0–1	2 teams	2–0–0
3	Washington	3–0–0	4 teams	2–1–0	San Francisco	2–1–0	5 teams	2–1–0
4	Washington	4–0–0	Chicago*	3–1–0	Los Angeles	2–1–1	3 teams	3–1–0
5	Washington	5–0–0	Minnesota*	4–1–0	Los Angeles	3–1–1	Detroit	4–1–0
6	Washington	5–1–0	Minnesota	5–1–0	Los Angeles	4–1–1	4 teams	4–2–0
7	Washington	6–1–0	Minnesota	6–1–0	San Francisco	5–2–0	Chicago	5–2–0
8	Washington	6–1–1	Minnesota	6–2–0	San Francisco	6–2–0	Detroit	5–2–1
9	Washington	6–2–1	Minnesota	7–2–0	San Francisco	6–3–0	Chicago*	6–3–0
10	Dallas	7–3–0	Minnesota	8–2–0	Los Angeles	6–3–1	Washington*	6–3–1
11	Dallas	8–3–0	Minnesota	9–2–0	San Francisco	7–4–0	Washington*	7–3–1
12	Dallas	9–3–0	Minnesota	9–3–0	Los Angeles	7–4–1	Washington	8–3–1
13	Dallas	10–3–0	Minnesota	10–3–0	San Francisco	8–5–0	Washington	9–3–1
14	Dallas	11–3–0	Minnesota	11–3–0	San Francisco	9–5–0	Washington	9–4–1

American Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		Wild Card
1	2 teams	1–0–0	2 teams	1–0–0	San Diego	1–0–0	2 teams	1–0–0
2	Miami	1–0–1	Cleveland	2–0–0	Oakland*	1–1–0	6 teams	1–1–0
3	Baltimore	2–1–0	Pittsburgh*	2–1–0	Oakland*	2–1–0	2 teams	2–1–0
4	Baltimore	3–1–0	Cleveland	3–1–0	Oakland*	3–1–0	Kansas City	3–1–0
5	Baltimore	4–1–0	Cleveland	4–1–0	Oakland*	4–1–0	Kansas City	4–1–0
6	Miami	4–1–1	Cleveland	4–2–0	Oakland*	5–1–0	Kansas City	5–1–0
7	Miami	5–1–1	Cleveland	4–3–0	Oakland*	5–1–1	Kansas City	5–1–1
8	Miami	6–1–1	Cleveland*	4–4–0	Oakland	5–1–2	Baltimore	6–2–0
9	Miami	7–1–1	Cleveland*	4–5–0	Oakland	6–1–2	Baltimore	7–2–0
10	Miami	8–1–1	Cleveland*	5–5–0	Oakland	7–1–2	Kansas City	7–2–1
11	Miami	9–1–1	Cleveland	6–5–0	Oakland	7–2–2	Baltimore	8–3–0
12	Miami	9–2–1	Cleveland	7–5–0	Kansas City	8–3–1	Baltimore	9–3–0
13	Baltimore	10–3–0	Cleveland	8–5–0	Kansas City	9–3–1	Miami	9–3–1
14	Miami	10–3–1	Cleveland	9–5–0	Kansas City	10–3–1	Baltimore	10–4–0

Final standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins	10	3	1	.769	5–3	7–3–1	315	174	W1
Baltimore Colts	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	313	140	L1
New England Patriots	6	8	0	.429	4–4	6–5	238	325	W1
New York Jets	6	8	0	.429	4–4	6–5	212	299	W2
Buffalo Bills	1	13	0	.071	1–7	1–10	184	394	L3

AFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	9	5	0	.643	5–1	7–4	285	273	W5
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	8	0	.429	4–2	5–6	246	292	L1
Houston Oilers	4	9	1	.308	2–4	4–7	251	330	W3
Cincinnati Bengals	4	10	0	.286	1–5	3–8	284	265	L3

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Kansas City Chiefs	10	3	1	.769	4–1–1	8–2–1	302	208	W3
Oakland Raiders	8	4	2	.667	4–1–1	7–3–1	344	278	W1
San Diego Chargers	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–7	311	341	L1
Denver Broncos	4	9	1	.308	1–5	3–6–1	203	275	L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	11	3	0	.786	7–1	8–3	406	222	W7
Washington Redskins	9	4	1	.692	6–1–1	8–2–1	276	190	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	6	7	1	.462	4–3–1	5–5–1	221	302	W3
St. Louis Cardinals	4	9	1	.308	1–7	2–8–1	231	279	L2
New York Giants	4	10	0	.286	1–7	3–8	228	362	L5

NFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	11	3	0	.786	5–1	9–2	245	139	W2
Detroit Lions	7	6	1	.538	2–3–1	3–6–1	341	286	L2
Chicago Bears	6	8	0	.429	2–4	5–6	185	276	L5
Green Bay Packers	4	8	2	.333	2–3–1	2–7–2	274	298	L1

NFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
San Francisco 49ers	9	5	0	.643	2–4	7–4	300	216	W2
Los Angeles Rams	8	5	1	.615	4–1–1	7–3–1	313	260	W1
Atlanta Falcons	7	6	1	.538	3–2–1	4–6–1	274	277	W1
New Orleans Saints	4	8	2	.333	2–4	4–7	266	347	L3

Tiebreakers

New England finished ahead of N.Y. Jets in the AFC East based on better point differential in head-to-head games, 13 points.

Playoffs

Note: Prior to the 1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation of division winners. Had the playoffs been seeded, the divisional round matchups would have been #3 Cleveland at #2 Miami and #4 wild card Baltimore at #1 Kansas City in the AFC; #4 wild card Washington at #1 Minnesota and #3 San Francisco at #2 Dallas in the NFC.

Dec 26 – Candlestick Park

WC

Washington

20

Jan 2 – Texas Stadium

West

San Francisco

24

NFC

West

San Francisco

3

Dec 25 – Metropolitan Stadium

East

Dallas

14

NFC Championship

East

Dallas

20

Jan 16 – Tulane Stadium

Cent.

Minnesota

12

Divisional playoffs

NFC

Dallas

24

Dec 26 – Cleveland Stadium

AFC

Miami

3

Super Bowl VI

WC

Baltimore

20

Jan 2 – Miami Orange Bowl

Cent.

Cleveland

3

AFC

WC

Baltimore

0

Dec 25 – Municipal Stadium

East

Miami

21

AFC Championship

East

Miami

27**

West

Kansas City

24

** Indicates double overtime victory

Awards

Most Valuable Player	Alan Page, defensive tackle, Minnesota
Coach of the Year	George Allen, Washington
Defensive Player of the Year	Alan Page, defensive tackle, Minnesota
Offensive Rookie of the Year	John Brockington, running back, Green Bay
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Isiah Robertson, linebacker, Los Angeles

Coaching changes

Offseason

Buffalo Bills: John Rauch resigned and was replaced by Harvey Johnson, who previously served as the team's interim head coach in 1968.
Cleveland Browns: Blanton Collier resigned and was replaced by Nick Skorich.
Green Bay Packers: Phil Bengtson was fired and replaced by Dan Devine.
Houston Oilers: Wally Lemm resigned and was replaced by Ed Hughes.
Los Angeles Rams: Tommy Prothro became the Rams' new head coach after George Allen left the team.
New England Patriots: John Mazur began his first full season as Patriots head coach. He replaced Clive Rush after seven games into the 1970 season for medical reasons.
New Orleans Saints: J. D. Roberts began his first full season as Saints head coach. He replaced Tom Fears, who was fired after a 1-5-1 start in 1970.
St. Louis Cardinals: Bob Hollway replaced Charley Winner.
San Diego Chargers: Sid Gillman returned to the field after sitting out half of the 1969 season and all of the 1970 season due to poor health.
Washington Redskins: George Allen was named as Washington's head coach. Vince Lombardi was diagnosed with terminal cancer in late June before the 1970 season, dying on September 3. Offensive line coach Bill Austin served as Washington's head coach for 1970.

In-season

Denver Broncos: Lou Saban left the team after a 2–6–1 start. Offensive line coach Jerry Smith served as interim for the remaining five games.
Philadelphia Eagles: Jerry Williams was fired after three games. Ed Khayat was named as replacement.
San Diego Chargers: Sid Gillman again left the field after serving as head coach for 10 games. Harland Svare replaced Gilman.

Stadium changes

The newly renamed New England Patriots moved from Harvard Stadium in Boston to their new home field, Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
The Chicago Bears moved their home games from Wrigley Field to Soldier Field.
The Philadelphia Eagles moved their games from Franklin Field to Veterans Stadium.
The San Francisco 49ers moved from Kezar Stadium into Candlestick Park.
The Dallas Cowboys moved after their first two regular season home games from the Cotton Bowl to Texas Stadium.
11 teams played their home games on artificial turf in 1971. This was up from 7 teams in the NFL in 1970. The teams were: Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Miami, New England, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and San Francisco.

Uniform changes

The Atlanta Falcons switched their primary jerseys from black to red
The Chicago Bears adopted a second white jersey with block numbers, which was worn four of the five games in which the Bears wore white jerseys. Also, a second navy blue jersey without sleeve stripes was added for warm weather games.
The New York Jets wore a modified white jersey in the first half of the season which did not have green stripes over the shoulders
The Oakland Raiders switched from silver to black numbers on their white jerseys
The San Francisco 49ers added alternate jerseys with no striping or TV numbers for hot games

Television

This was the second year under the league's four-year broadcast contracts with ABC, CBS, and NBC to televise Monday Night Football, the NFC package, and the AFC package, respectively. Frank Gifford's contract with CBS expired. He was then hired by ABC to serve as play-by-play announcer for MNF, while Keith Jackson returned to call college football for the network. Jack Whitaker and Pat Summerall replaced Gifford as hosts on The NFL Today, which was still a pre-recorded pregame show. At NBC, Al DeRogatis and Kyle Rote swapped color commentator positions, with DeRogatis joining Curt Gowdy as the network's lead broadcast team and Rote joining Jim Simpson at #2.^[2]

References

^ Carbone, Nick (February 2, 2012). "New England Is Their Third Name". Time.
^ Brulia, Tim. "A CHRONOLOGY OF PRO FOOTBALL ON TELEVISION: Part 2" (PDF). Pro Football Researchers.

NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
NFL History 1971–1980 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)