1971 NFL season

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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.

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.

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings

Qualified for playoffs

AFC East
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Miami Dolphins 10 3 1 .769 315 174
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
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
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
Dallas Cowboys 11 3 0 .786 406 222
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
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
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 strength of schedule (.537 to Jets' .510).

Playoffs

Note: Prior to the 1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.

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)



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