1971 Cincinnati Bengals season

1971 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach Paul Brown
Home field Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record 4–10
Division place 4th AFC Central
Playoff finish did not qualify

The 1971 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's fourth year in professional football and the second with the National Football League (NFL). Cornerback Lemar Parrish set a team record with seven interceptions, including one for a 65-yard score, Cincinnati's first-ever interception return for a touchdown. The Bengals, coming off their first division winning season of 1970, drafted quarterback Ken Anderson in the third round of the 1971 NFL Draft. Anderson would go on to play 16 seasons for the club and set numerous team passing records. While 1971 proved to be a disappointment, losing six games by four points or less, statically this was the first year the Bengals led their opponents in almost every category.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1971 NFL Draft
1971 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 15 Vernon Holland  Offensive tackle Tennessee State
2 41 Steve Lawson  Guard Kansas
3 67 Ken Anderson *  Quarterback Augustana
4 93 Fred Willis  Running back Boston College
5 110 Art May  Defensive end Tuskegee
7 171 Neal Craig  Defensive back Fisk
8 197 Fred Herring  Defensive back Tennessee State
9 223 Gary Gustafson  Linebacker Montana State
10 249 Jack Stambaugh  Guard Oregon
11 275 Ed Marshall  Wide receiver Cameron
12 301 James Hayden  Defensive end Memphis
13 327 David Knapman  Tight end Central Washington
14 353 Irvin Mallory  Defensive back Virginia Union
15 379 Bob Thomas  Running back Arizona State
16 405 Mark Debevc  Linebacker Ohio State
17 432 Sam Pearson  Defensive back Western Kentucky
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1971 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Front office
  • President – John Sawyer
  • Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Roster

1971 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams


Rookies in italics

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

Season results
Date Opponent Result Score Attendance Location
September 19 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–14
55,880
Riverfront Stadium
September 26 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–21
48,448
Three Rivers Stadium
October 3 at Green Bay Packers L 17–20
56,263
Lambeau Field
October 10 Miami Dolphins L 13–23
60,099
Riverfront Stadium
October 17 Cleveland Browns L 24–27
60,284
Riverfront Stadium
October 24 at Oakland Raiders L 27–31
54,699
Oakland Coliseum
October 31 at Houston Oilers L 6–10
37,947
Astrodome
November 7 Atlanta Falcons L 6–9
59,604
Riverfront Stadium
November 14 at Denver Broncos W 24–10
51,200
Mile High Stadium
November 21 Houston Oilers W 28–13
59,390
Riverfront Stadium
November 28 San Diego Chargers W 31–0
59,580
Riverfront Stadium
December 5 at Cleveland Browns L 27–31
82,705
Cleveland Stadium
December 12 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–21
60,022
Riverfront Stadium
December 19 at New York Jets L 21–35
63,151
Shea Stadium

Standings

AFC Central
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

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

Team stats

1971 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATS Bengals Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 236 213
Rushing 109 93
Passing 115 102
Penalty 12 18
TOTAL NET YARDS 4266 3906
Avg Per Game 304.7 279.0
Total Plays 867 811
Avg. Per Play 4.9 4.8
NET YARDS RUSHING 2142 1778
Avg. Per Game 153.0 127.0
Total Rushes 462 446
NET YARDS PASSING 2124 2128
Avg. Per Game 151.7 152.0
Sacked Yards Lost 40–303 30–254
Gross Yards 2427 2382
Att. Completions 365–214 335–157
Completion Pct. 58.6 46.9
Intercepted 11 27
PUNTS-AVERAGE 73–44.7 73–40.9
PENALTIES-YARDS 82-921 72–722
FUMBLES-BALL LOST 29–12 21–12
TOUCHDOWNS 32 32
Rushing 14 11
Passing 15 19
Returns 3 2
Score by Periods 1 2 3 4 Tot
Bengals 58 64 91 71 284
Opponents 44 71 48 102 265

Team leaders

Awards and records

Pro Bowl selections

References

  1. "1971 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  2. "1971 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2014.

External links

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