Login
Login

1971 Cincinnati Bengals season

{{short description|NFL team season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}}

{{Infobox NFL team season

| team = Cincinnati Bengals

| year = 1971

| logo =

| record = 4–10

| division_place = 4th AFC Central

| coach = Paul Brown

| stadium = Riverfront Stadium

| playoffs = Did not qualify

| shortnavlink = Bengals seasons

}}

The 1971 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 2nd season in the National Football League, and the 4th overall. 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, statistically this was the first year the Bengals led their opponents in almost every category.

Offseason

=NFL Draft=

{{main article|1971 NFL Draft}}

{{NFL team draft start

| year = 1971

| teamname = Cincinnati Bengals

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 1

| pick = 15

| player = Vernon Holland

| position = Offensive tackle

| college = Tennessee State

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 2

| pick = 41

| player = Steve Lawson

| position = Guard

| college = Kansas

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 3

| pick = 67

| player = Ken Anderson

| position = Quarterback

| college = Augustana

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

| probowl = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 4

| pick = 93

| player = Fred Willis

| position = Running back

| college = Boston College

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 5

| pick = 110

| player = Art May

| position = Defensive end

| college = Tuskegee

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 7

| pick = 171

| player = Neal Craig

| position = Defensive back

| college = Fisk

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 8

| pick = 197

| player = Fred Herring

| position = Defensive back

| college = Tennessee State

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 9

| pick = 223

| player = Gary Gustafson

| position = Linebacker

| college = Montana State

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 10

| pick = 249

| player = Jack Stambaugh

| position = Guard

| college = Oregon

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 11

| pick = 275

| player = Ed Marshall

| position = Wide receiver

| college = Cameron

| notes =

| maderoster = yes

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 12

| pick = 301

| player = James Hayden

| position = Defensive end

| college = Memphis

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 13

| pick = 327

| player = David Knapman

| position = Tight end

| college = Central Washington

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 14

| pick = 353

| player = Irvin Mallory

| position = Defensive back

| college = Virginia Union

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 15

| pick = 379

| player = Bob Thomas

| position = Running back

| college = Arizona State

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 16

| pick = 405

| player = Mark Debevc

| position = Linebacker

| college = Ohio State

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft entry

| round = 17

| pick = 432

| player = Sam Pearson

| position = Defensive back

| college = Western Kentucky

| notes =

}}

{{NFL team draft end

| hof = no

}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/1971_draft.htm |title=1971 Cincinnati Bengals draftees |work=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=October 12, 2014 }}

Personnel

=Staff=

{{NFL final staff

| year = 1971

| team = Cincinnati Bengals

| front_office =

  • President – John Sawyer
  • Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown

| head_coach =

| offensive =

  • Quarterbacks/Receivers – Bill Walsh
  • Offensive Backfield – Jack Donaldson
  • Offensive Line – Bill Johnson

| defensive =

}}

=Roster=

{{NFL season roster

| year = 1971

| team = Cincinnati Bengals

| quarterbacks =

{{NFLplayer|14|Ken Anderson|d=quarterback|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|11|Virgil Carter}}

| running_backs =

{{NFLplayer|44|Doug Dressler}}

{{NFLplayer|19|Essex Johnson}}

{{NFLplayer|40|Ron Lamb}}

{{NFLplayer|30|Jess Phillips|d=footballer}}

{{NFLplayer|18|Paul Robinson|d=American football}}

{{NFLplayer|33|Fred Willis|rookie=y}}

| wide_receivers =

{{NFLplayer|10|Eric Crabtree}}

{{NFLplayer|35|Mike Haffner}}

{{NFLplayer|83|Ed Marshall|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|25|Chip Myers}}

{{NFLplayer|17|Speedy Thomas}}

| tight_ends =

{{NFLplayer|88|Bruce Coslet}}

{{NFLplayer|87|Mike Kelly|d=gridiron football, born 1948}}

{{NFLplayer|84|Bob Trumpy}}

| offensive_linemen =

{{NFLplayer|63|Guy Dennis|G/C}}

{{NFLplayer|72|Howard Fest|G}}

{{NFLplayer|76|Vernon Holland|rookie=y|T}}

{{NFLplayer|54|Bob Johnson|d=American football|C}}

{{NFLplayer|68|Steve Lawson|d=American football|rookie=y|G}}

{{NFLplayer|73|Pat Matson|G}}

{{NFLplayer|71|Rufus Mayes|T}}

{{NFLplayer|75|Ernie Wright|T}}

| defensive_linemen =

{{NFLplayer|82|Royce Berry|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|70|Ron Carpenter|d=defensive lineman|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|79|Steve Chomyszak|DT}}

{{NFLplayer|80|Ken Johnson|d=defensive end, born 1947|DE/DT}}

{{NFLplayer|78|Willie Jones|link=no|DT}}

{{NFLplayer|74|Mike Reid|d=singer|DT}}

{{NFLplayer|81|Nick Roman|DE}}

| linebackers =

{{NFLplayer|52|Doug Adams|d=American football|MLB}}

{{NFLplayer|51|Ken Avery|OLB}}

{{NFLplayer|58|Al Beauchamp|OLB}}

{{NFLplayer|66|Bill Bergey|MLB}}

{{NFLplayer|59|Larry Ely|MLB}}

{{NFLplayer|53|Bill Peterson|d=linebacker|OLB}}

| defensive_back =

{{NFLplayer|23|Al Coleman|S}}

{{NFLplayer|34|Neal Craig|rookie=y|S}}

{{NFLplayer|29|Sandy Durko|S}}

{{NFLplayer|27|Ken Dyer|S}}

{{NFLplayer|26|Jimmy Harris|d=cornerback|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|20|Lemar Parrish|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|13|Ken Riley|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|31|Fletcher Smith|d=American football|S}}

| special_teams =

{{NFLplayer|15|Dave Lewis|d=punter|P}}

{{NFLplayer|16|Horst Muhlmann|K}}

| reserve_lists =

{{NFLplayer|12|Greg Cook|QB|IR}}

| practice_squad =

}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/1971_roster.htm |title=1971 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players |work=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=October 20, 2014 }}

Regular season

=Schedule=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cincinnati Bengals|year=1971|border=2}}"| Week

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cincinnati Bengals|year=1971|border=2}}"| Date

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cincinnati Bengals|year=1971|border=2}}"| Opponent

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cincinnati Bengals|year=1971|border=2}}"| Result

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cincinnati Bengals|year=1971|border=2}}"| Record

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cincinnati Bengals|year=1971|border=2}}"| Venue

!style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cincinnati Bengals|year=1971|border=2}}"| Recap

style="background:#cfc"

! 1

| September 19

| Philadelphia Eagles

| W 37–14

| 1–0

| Riverfront Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197109190cin.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 2

|September 26

| at Pittsburgh Steelers

| L 10–21

| 1–1

| Three Rivers Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197109260pit.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 3

|October 3

| at Green Bay Packers

| L 17–20

| 1–2

| Lambeau Field

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197110030gnb.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 4

|October 10

| Miami Dolphins

| L 13–23

|1–3

| Riverfront Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197110100cin.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 5

|October 17

| Cleveland Browns

| L 24–27

| 1–4

| Riverfront Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197110170cin.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 6

|October 24

| at Oakland Raiders

| L 27–31

| 1–5

| Oakland Coliseum

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197110240rai.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 7

| October 31

| at Houston Oilers

| L 6–10

|1–6

| Astrodome

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197110310oti.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 8

|November 7

| Atlanta Falcons

| L 6–9

| 1–7

| Riverfront Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197111070cin.htm Recap]

style="background:#cfc"

! 9

|November 14

| at Denver Broncos

| W 24–10

| 2–7

| Mile High Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197111140den.htm Recap]

style="background:#cfc"

! 10

| November 21

| Houston Oilers

| W 28–13

| 3–7

| Riverfront Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197111210cin.htm Recap]

style="background:#cfc"

! 11

|November 28

| San Diego Chargers

| W 31–0

| 4–7

| Riverfront Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197111280cin.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 12

|December 5

| at Cleveland Browns

| L 27–31

| 4–8

| Cleveland Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197112050cle.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 13

| December 12

| Pittsburgh Steelers

| L 13–21

| 4–9

| Riverfront Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197112120cin.htm Recap]

style="background:#fcc"

! 14

| December 19

| at New York Jets

| L 21–35

| 4–10

| Shea Stadium

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197112190nyj.htm Recap]

style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Cincinnati Bengals|year=1971|border=2}}"

|colspan="8"| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

=Season summary=

==Week 1 vs Eagles==

{{See also|1971 Philadelphia Eagles season}}

{{Americanfootballbox

|bg=

|bg2=

|titlestyle={{Gridiron primary style|Cincinnati Bengals|year=1971|border=2}}; text-align:center

|state=collapsed

|title=Week One: Philadelphia Eagles (0–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0–0)

|date=September 19

|time=1:00 p.m. EDT

|road=Eagles

|R1=0 |R2=7 |R3=0 |R4=7

|home=Bengals

|H1=0 |H2=10 |H3=17 |H4=10

|stadium=Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio

|attendance=

|weather={{Convert|68|F|C}} • Wind {{Convert|6|mph|km/h knot}}

|referee=

|TV=

|TVAnnouncers=

|reference=[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197109190cin.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]

|stats=

{{Col-start}}

{{Col-2}}

;Eagles

{{Col-2}}

;Bengals

{{Col-end}}

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryStart|VisitorName=PHI|HomeName=CIN|state=collapsed}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry

| Quarter=2

| Time=

| Team=Bengals

| DrivePlays=

| DriveLength=

| DriveTime=

| Type=RecTD

| Receiver=Eric Crabtree

| QB=Virgil Carter

| yards=2

| kickresult= good

| Kicker=Horst Muhlmann

| 2pt type=run/pass

| 2pt result=good/failed/incomplete

| Visitor=0

| Home=7

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry

| Quarter=2

| Time=

| Team=Eagles

| DrivePlays=

| DriveLength=

| DriveTime=

| Type=RecTD

| Receiver=Ben Hawkins

| QB=Pete Liske

| yards=10

| kickresult=good

| Kicker=Happy Feller

| 2pt type=run/pass

| 2pt result=good/failed/incomplete

| Visitor=7

| Home=7

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry

| Quarter=2

| Time=

| Team=Bengals

| DrivePlays=

| DriveLength=

| DriveTime=

| Type=FG

| yards=36

| Kicker=Horst Muhlmann

| Visitor=7

| Home=10

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry

| Quarter=3

| Time=

| Team=Bengals

| DrivePlays=

| DriveLength=

| DriveTime=

| Type=RecTD

| Receiver=Speedy Thomas

| QB=Virgil Carter

| yards=90

| kickresult= good

| Kicker=Horst Muhlmann

| 2pt type=run/pass

| 2pt result=good/failed/incomplete

| Visitor=7

| Home=17

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry

| Quarter=3

| Time=

| Team=Bengals

| DrivePlays=

| DriveLength=

| DriveTime=

| Type=FG

| yards=35

| Kicker=Horst Muhlmann

| Visitor=7

| Home=20

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry

| Quarter=4

| Time=

| Team=Bengals

| DrivePlays=

| DriveLength=

| DriveTime=

| Type=RecTD

| Receiver=Jess Phillips

| QB=Virgil Carter

| yards=7

| kickresult= good

| Kicker=Horst Muhlmann

| 2pt type=run/pass

| 2pt result=good/failed/incomplete

| Visitor=7

| Home=27

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry

| Quarter=4

| Time=

| Team=Eagles

| DrivePlays=

| DriveLength=

| DriveTime=

| Type=RecTD

| Receiver=Ben Hawkins

| QB=Pete Liske

| yards=15

| kickresult= good

| Kicker=Happy Feller

| 2pt type=run/pass

| 2pt result=good/failed/incomplete

| Visitor=14

| Home=27

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry

| Quarter=4

| Time=

| Team=Bengals

| DrivePlays=

| DriveLength=

| DriveTime=

| Type=RushTD

| Runner=Essex Johnson

| yards=68

| kickresult=good

| Kicker=Horst Muhlmann

| 2pt type=run/pass

| 2pt result=good/failed/incomplete

| Visitor=14

| Home=34

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry

| Quarter=4

| Time=

| Team=Bengals

| DrivePlays=

| DriveLength=

| DriveTime=

| Type=FG

| yards=26

| Kicker=Horst Muhlmann

| Visitor=14

| Home=37

}}

{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEnd|Visitor=14|Home=37}}

=Standings=

{{1971 AFC Central standings}}

=Team stats=

class="wikitable"

! colspan="100" style="background-color: #ED4E16;" "style="font-size: 95%"|1971 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats

TEAM STATS

! Bengals

! Opponents

style="font-size: 95%"| TOTAL FIRST DOWNS

| 236

| 213

align="right"| Rushing

| 109

| 93

align="right"| Passing

| 115

| 102

align="right"| Penalty

| 12

| 18

style="font-size: 95%"| TOTAL NET YARDS

| 4266

| 3906

align="right"| Avg Per Game

| 304.7

| 279.0

align="right"| Total Plays

| 867

| 811

align="right"| Avg. Per Play

| 4.9

| 4.8

style="font-size: 95%"| NET YARDS RUSHING

| 2142

| 1778

align="right"| Avg. Per Game

| 153.0

| 127.0

align="right"| Total Rushes

| 462

| 446

style="font-size: 95%"| NET YARDS PASSING

| 2124

| 2128

align="right"| Avg. Per Game

| 151.7

| 152.0

align="right"| Sacked Yards Lost

| 40–303

| 30–254

align="right"| Gross Yards

| 2427

| 2382

align="right"| Att. Completions

| 365–214

| 335–157

align="right"| Completion Pct.

| 58.6

| 46.9

align="right"| Intercepted

| 11

| 27

style="font-size: 95%"| PUNTS-AVERAGE

| 73–44.7

| 73–40.9

style="font-size: 95%"| PENALTIES-YARDS

| 82-921

| 72–722

style="font-size: 95%"|FUMBLES-BALL LOST

| 29–12

| 21–12

style="font-size: 95%"| TOUCHDOWNS

| 32

| 32

align="right"| Rushing

| 14

| 11

align="right"| Passing

| 15

| 19

align="right"| Returns

| 3

| 2

class="wikitable"
Score by Periods

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! Tot

Bengals

| 58

| 64

| 91

| 71

| 284

Opponents

| 44

| 71

| 48

| 102

| 265

=Team leaders=

  • Passing: Virgil Carter (222 Att, 138 Comp, 1624 Yds, 62.2 Pct, 10 TD, 7 Int, 86.2 Rating)
  • Rushing: Fred Willis (135 Att, 590 Yds, 4.4 Avg, 36 Long, 7 TD)
  • Receiving: Bob Trumpy (40 Rec, 531 Yds, 13.3 Avg, 44 Long, 3 TD)
  • Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 91 points (20 FG; 31 PAT)

Awards and records

=Pro Bowl selections=

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

{{Cincinnati Bengals}}

{{Cincinnati Bengals seasons}}

{{1971 NFL season by team}}

Cincinnati Bengals

Category:Cincinnati Bengals seasons

Cincinnati