1971 NFL season
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
Top
1971 NFL season
|
|
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular season | |||
| Duration | September 19, 1971 – 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 | ||
National Football League seasons
|
|||
The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins. Before the season, the Boston Patriots changed their name to New England Patriots after they moved to their new home field, Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
|
Contents
|
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.
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, common opponents records, and 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.)
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 | 6–1–0 | 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
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
x – clinched wild card berth, y – clinched division title
Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings
| AFC East | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Miami Dolphins | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 315 | 174 |
| x-Baltimore Colts | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 313 | 140 |
| New England Patriots | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 238 | 325 |
| New York Jets | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 212 | 299 |
| Buffalo Bills | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 184 | 394 |
| AFC Central | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| y-Cleveland Browns | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 285 | 273 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 246 | 292 |
| Houston Oilers | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 251 | 330 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 284 | 265 |
| AFC West | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| y-Kansas City Chiefs | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 302 | 208 |
| Oakland Raiders | 8 | 4 | 2 | .667 | 344 | 278 |
| San Diego Chargers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 311 | 341 |
| Denver Broncos | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 203 | 275 |
| NFC East | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Dallas Cowboys | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 406 | 222 |
| x-Washington Redskins | 9 | 4 | 1 | .692 | 276 | 190 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 7 | 1 | .462 | 221 | 302 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 231 | 279 |
| New York Giants | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 228 | 362 |
| NFC Central | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| y-Minnesota Vikings | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 245 | 139 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 341 | 286 |
| Chicago Bears | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 185 | 276 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 8 | 2 | .333 | 274 | 298 |
| NFC West | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
| y-San Francisco 49ers | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 300 | 216 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 313 | 260 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 274 | 277 |
| New Orleans Saints | 4 | 8 | 2 | .333 | 266 | 347 |
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
Main article: 1971–72 NFL playoffs
- Note: Prior to the 1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.
| Divisional Playoffs | Conf. Championship Games | Super Bowl VI | ||||||||
| December 26 – Candlestick Park | ||||||||||
| Washington Redskins | 20 | |||||||||
| January 2 – Texas Stadium | ||||||||||
| San Francisco 49ers | 24 | |||||||||
| San Francisco 49ers | 3 | |||||||||
| December 25 – Metropolitan Stadium | ||||||||||
| Dallas Cowboys | 14 | |||||||||
| Dallas Cowboys | 20 | |||||||||
| January 16 – Tulane Stadium | ||||||||||
| Minnesota Vikings | 12 | |||||||||
| Dallas Cowboys | 24 | |||||||||
| December 26 – Cleveland Stadium | ||||||||||
| Miami Dolphins | 3 | |||||||||
| Baltimore Colts | 20 | |||||||||
| January 2 – Miami Orange Bowl | ||||||||||
| Cleveland Browns | 3 | |||||||||
| Baltimore Colts | 0 | |||||||||
| December 25 – Municipal Stadium | ||||||||||
| Miami Dolphins | 21 | |||||||||
| Miami Dolphins (2OT) | 27 | |||||||||
| Kansas City Chiefs | 24 | |||||||||
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, L.A. Rams |
References
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1971–1980 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- 1971 season in details
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
|
||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
Wikipedia on Answers.com
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article 1971 NFL season.
Read more