1971 Dallas Cowboys season

1971 Dallas Cowboys season
Head coach Tom Landry
General manager Tex Schramm
Owner Clint Murchison, Jr.
Home field Cotton Bowl
Texas Stadium
Results
Record 11–3
Division place 1st NFC East
Playoff finish Won Divisional Playoffs (Vikings) 20–12
Won Conference Championship (49ers) 14–3
Won Super Bowl VI (Dolphins) 24–3

The 1971 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 12th in the National Football League and the first at the new Texas Stadium in suburban Irving, Texas. The club led the NFL with 406 points scored. Their defense allowed 222 points.

For the sixth consecutive season, the Cowboys had a first-place finish. They won their second-consecutive NFC championship, then defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI to capture their first Super Bowl championship. They were the first team from the NFC to win a Super Bowl since the 1970 merger of the National Football League and the American Football League, and subsequently, the first team from the NFC East division to win the title.

Offseason

Draft

The 1971 NFL Draft was one of the worst in the history of the franchise, although the Cowboys recovered draft choices by trading Tody Smith and Ike Thomas to other teams.

1971 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 25 Tody Smith  DE USC
2 51 Ike Thomas  DB Bishop
3 69 Sam Scarber  RB New Mexico
3 77 Bill Gregory  DT Wisconsin
4 80 Joe Carter  TE Grambling State
4 103 Adam Mitchell  OT Ole Miss
5 129 Ron Kadziel  LB Stanford
6 155 Steve Maier  WR Northern Arizona
7 181 Bill Griffin  OT Catawba
8 206 Ron Jessie  WR Kansas
9 233 Honor Jackson  DB Pacific
10 259 Rodney Wallace  OT New Mexico
11 285 Ernest Bonwell  DT Lane
12 311 Steve Goepel  QB Colgate
13 337 James Ford  RB Texas Southern
14 363 Tyrone Couey  DB Utah State
15 389 Bob Young  TE Delaware
16 415 John Brennan  OT Boston College
17 440 John Bomer  C Memphis
      Made roster       Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Season recap

The Cowboys opened the new Texas Stadium with a 44–21 win over the New England Patriots on Oct. 24. Duane Thomas scored the first touchdown, a 56-yard run two minutes and 16 seconds after the start of the game. Attendance was 65,708 persons.

The team entered the season still having the reputation of "not being able to win the big games" and "next year's champion". The Super Bowl V loss added more fuel to that widely held view. As in the previous season, Dallas had a quarterback controversy as Staubach and Craig Morton alternated as starting quarterback (in a loss to the Bears in game 7, Morton and Staubach alternated plays).[2] The Cowboys were 4–3 at the season midpoint. But after head coach Tom Landry settled on Staubach, the Cowboys won their last seven regular season games to finish with an 11–3 record.

Cowboys' running back Duane Thomas rushing the ball for a touchdown in Super Bowl VI.

Staubach finished the regular season as the NFL's top rated passer (101.8) by throwing for 1,882 yards, 15 touchdowns, and only 4 interceptions. He was also a terrific rusher, gaining 343 yards and 2 touchdowns on 41 carries. Said Cold Hard Football Facts of Staubach's 1971 season, "Staubach finally out-jockeyed Craig Morton for the starting gig with the Cowboys in 1971 and instantly produced one of the greatest passing seasons in history. The numbers are not big and gaudy, but they were ruthlessly efficient –- the 104.8 passer rating truly amazing in a season in which the average rating was 62.2. His 8.9 [yards-per-attempt] in the regular season is phenomenal in any era of the NFL, as was his 18 [touchdowns] against a meager 4 [interceptions] (including postseason). The Cowboys did not lose a single one of Staubach's 13 starts in 1971 and –- most impressively –- he lifted the proverbial "team that couldn't win the big game" to its long-awaited first NFL championship.[...]"[3]

Dallas also had an outstanding trio of running backs, Walt Garrison, Duane Thomas, and Calvin Hill, who rushed for a combined total of 1,690 yards and 14 touchdowns during the season. Garrison led the team in receptions during the season. (Thomas, upset that the Cowboys would not renegotiate his contract after his excellent rookie year, had stopped talking to the press and to almost everyone on the team). Wide Receivers Bob Hayes and Lance Alworth also provided a deep threat, catching a combined total of 69 passes for 1,327 yards and 10 touchdowns. The offensive line, anchored by all-pro tackle Rayfield Wright, Pro Bowlers John Niland and Ralph Neely, and #64 Tony Liscio who was coaxed out of retirement by Tom Landry after Ralph Neely got injured off the field, was also a primary reason for their success on offense. (Neely had broken his leg in November in a dirt-bike accident, and was replaced first by Gregg and then by Tony Liscio, who came out of retirement.)

The Dallas defense (nicknamed the "Doomsday Defense") had given up only one touchdown in the last 25 quarters prior to the Super Bowl. Their defensive line was anchored by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Bob Lilly, who excelled at pressuring quarterbacks and breaking up running plays. Dallas also had an outstanding trio of linebackers: Pro Bowler Chuck Howley, who recorded 5 interceptions and returned them for 122 yards; Dave Edwards 2 interceptions; and Lee Roy Jordan, who recorded 2 interceptions. The Cowboys secondary was led by 2 future hall of fame cornerbacks Herb Adderley (6 interceptions for 182 return yards) and Mel Renfro (4 interceptions for 11 yards). Safeties Cliff Harris and Pro Bowler Cornell Green also combined for 4 interceptions.After the 1971 Bob Lilly would play in the last of his last pro bowl despite being selected after the 1972 and 1973 seasons.Lilly would also score his final career touchdown in a 42–7 smashing of The Philadelphia Eagles.Lilly would retire with the NFL record of scoring the most tds by a defensive lineman with 4.

Schedule

Week Date Result Record Opponent Points For Points Against First Downs Attendance
1 September 19 Win 1–0 at Buffalo Bills 49 37 19
46,206
2 September 26 Win 2–0 at Philadelphia Eagles 42 7 23
65,358
3 October 3 Loss 2–1 Washington Redskins 16 20 20
61,554
4 October 11 Win 3–1 New York Giants 20 13 21
68,378
5 October 17 Loss 3–2 at New Orleans Saints 14 24 20
83,088
6 October 24 Win 4–2 New England Patriots 44 21 20
65,708
7 October 31 Loss 4–3 at Chicago Bears 19 23 26
55,049
8 November 7 Win 5–3 at St. Louis Cardinals 16 13 20
50,486
9 November 14 Win 6–3 Philadelphia Eagles 20 7 21
60,178
10 November 21 Win 7–3 at Washington Redskins 13 0 16
53,041
11 November 25 Win 8–3 Los Angeles Rams 28 21 15
66,595
12 December 4 Win 9–3 New York Jets 52 10 26
66,689
13 December 12 Win 10–3 at New York Giants 42 14 23
62,815
14 December 18 Win 11–3 St. Louis Cardinals 31 12 18
66,672

Standings

NFC East
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

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

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 34Total
Cowboys 7 21 71449
Bills 14 10 6737

at War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York

Week 2

1 234Total
Cowboys 0 21714 42
Eagles 0 007 7

[4]

Week 4

1 234Total
Giants 3 307 13
Cowboys 3 1070 20

[5]

Week 6

1 234Total
Patriots 7 0014 21
Cowboys 10 24010 44

[6]

Dallas' first game at Texas Stadium.

Week 8

1 234Total
Cowboys 3 0310 16
Cardinals 0 1003 13

[7]

Week 9

1 234Total
Eagles 0 007 7
Cowboys 3 773 20

[8]

Playoffs

NFC Divisional Playoff

Dallas Cowboys 20, Minnesota Vikings 12
1 2 34Total
Cowboys 3 3 14020
Vikings 0 3 0912

at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota

NFC Championship Game

Dallas Cowboys 14, San Francisco 49ers 3
1 2 34Total
49ers 0 0 303
Cowboys 0 7 0714

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Super Bowl VI

Dallas Cowboys 24, Miami Dolphins 3
1 2 34Total
Cowboys 3 7 7724
Dolphins 0 3 003

at Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana

Roster

Dallas Cowboys 1971 roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Reserve Lists

Rookies in italics
45 Active, 0 Inactive

Awards and records

References

  1. The Football Database. Retrieved 2015-Jul-31.
  2. Roger Staubach, "Super Bowl VI," Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives, Danny Peary, editor. Macmillan, 1997. ISBN 0-02-860841-0
  3. Cold Hard Football Facts: The Dandy Dozen: 12 best passing seasons in history
  4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-30.
  5. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  7. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 30-Jun-2014.
  8. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jul-01.
  9. http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/bell/past_bell.htm

External links

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