1971 Los Angeles Rams season

1971 Los Angeles Rams season
Head coach	Tommy Prothro
Home field	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	8–5–1
Division place	2nd NFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1971 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 34th year with the National Football League and the 26th season in Los Angeles.

NFL Draft

= Pro Bowler

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1	10	Isiah Robertson	Linebacker	Southern University
1	20	Jack Youngblood	Defensive End	University of Florida
3	63	Dave Elmendorf	Strong Safety	Texas A&M
4	101	Steve Worster	Running back	Texas

Regular season

As they had in 1970, the Rams and 49ers would again stage a season long battle for the NFC West title that would come down to the season's final game. The Rams season got off to a rocky and controversial start in New Orleans against the Saints and their rookie quarterback Archie Manning. The Saints trailed 20-17 in the final seconds and faced 4th and goal from the Rams' 1-yard line. Instead of settling for a tie (there was no overtime for regular season games in the NFL in 1971), the Saints gambled and went for the win. Manning ran a quarterback sneak in which the officials signaled touchdown, although television replays showed that Manning was stopped short of the goal line. So instead of a 20-17 win, the Rams lost 24-20. In week 2 the Rams needed a last second field goal to tie the Atlanta Falcons, 20-20. The Rams appeared to right their ship by winning their next 4 games, including a 20-13 win in San Francisco. But back to back losses to the Miami Dolphins and Baltimore Colts left the 4-3-1 Rams 1 1/2 games behind the 6-2 49ers. Then the Rams won 2 straight, including a 17-6 win in San Francisco; that gave the Rams a 1/2 game lead in the division and they held the tiebreaker over the 49ers by virtue of their season sweep of S.F. The Rams then lost a Thanksgiving game in Dallas 28-21, but re-took the division lead with two games to play by beating the Saints 45-28. However, just as they had the year before, the Rams lost a Monday night game at home, this time to the Redskins coached by their former head man George Allen, 38-24. And just like the previous season's Monday night home loss to the Lions, this one ended up costing the Rams both the division title and the wild card berth (won by the Redskins). The Rams won their final game in Pittsburgh 23-14, but learned on their flight home that the 49ers rallied beat the Lions with a 4th quarter touchdown, 31-27.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 19, 1971	at New Orleans Saints	L 24–20	70,915
2	September 26, 1971	Atlanta Falcons	T 20–20	57,895
3	October 3, 1971	Chicago Bears	W 17–3	66,957
4	October 10, 1971	at San Francisco 49ers	W 20–13	44,000
5	October 17, 1971	at Atlanta Falcons	W 24–16	58,850
6	October 24, 1971	Green Bay Packers	W 30–13	75,351
7	October 31, 1971	Miami Dolphins	L 20–14	72,903
8	November 8, 1971	at Baltimore Colts	L 24–17	57,722
9	November 14, 1971	at Detroit Lions	W 21–13	54,418
10	November 21, 1971	San Francisco 49ers	W 17–6	80,050
11	November 25, 1971	at Dallas Cowboys	L 28–21	66,595
12	December 5, 1971	New Orleans Saints	W 45–28	73,610
13	December 13, 1971	Washington Redskins	L 38–24	80,402
14	December 19, 1971	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 23–14	45,233

Standings

NFC West
	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

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

References