1971 Baltimore Colts season
Encyclopedia
The 1971
Baltimore Colts
season
was the 19th season for the team in the National Football League
. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League
's 1971 season with a record of 10 wins and 4 losses, and finished second in the AFC
East
.
as a No. 4 seed and traveled to Cleveland
to play the Cleveland Browns
in the divisional round. The Colts led 14–0 at the half and would cruise to a 20–3 win. They then traveled south to play the Miami Dolphins
and tried and make it to their second consecutive Super Bowl
. Colts QB Johnny Unitas
was intercepted 3 times as they were shut out by the Dolphins 21–0.
1971 NFL season
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...
Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
season
Indianapolis Colts seasons
The Indianapolis Colts, formerly the Baltimore Colts, are an American football team playing in the National Football League . The list documents the season-by-season records of the Colts franchise from to present, including postseason records and league awards for individual players or head coaches...
was the 19th season for the team in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's 1971 season with a record of 10 wins and 4 losses, and finished second in the AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
East
AFC East
The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. There are four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots , and New York Jets...
.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 19, 1971 | New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 22–0 | 1–0 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road... |
|
| 2 | September 26, 1971 | Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 13–14 | 1–1 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road... |
|
| 3 | October 3, 1971 | at New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
W 23–3 | 2–1 | Schaeffer Stadium Foxboro Stadium Foxboro Stadium was an outdoor stadium, located in Foxborough, Massachusetts... |
|
| 4 | October 10, 1971 | at Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 43–0 | 3–1 | War Memorial Stadium War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo) War Memorial Stadium is the name of a stadium that formerly stood in Buffalo, New York. The stadium was on a rectangular block near the downtown area. Its main entrance was at Jefferson Avenue to the east and Best Street to the south... |
|
| 5 | October 17, 1971 | at New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 31–7 | 4–1 | Yankee Stadium | |
| 6 | October 25, 1971 | at Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960... |
L 3–10 | 4–2 | Metropolitan Stadium Metropolitan Stadium Metropolitan Stadium was a sports stadium that once stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, just outside Minneapolis. The area where the stadium once stood is now the site of the Mall of America... |
|
| 7 | October 31, 1971 | Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
W 34–21 | 5–2 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road... |
|
| 8 | November 8, 1971 | Los Angeles Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,... |
W 24–17 | 6–2 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road... |
|
| 9 | November 14, 1971 | at New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 14–13 | 7–2 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 10 | November 21, 1971 | at Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 14–17 | 7–3 | Miami Orange Bowl Miami Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team... |
|
| 11 | November 28, 1971 | at Oakland Raiders Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 37–14 | 8–3 | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | |
| 12 | December 5, 1971 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 24–0 | 9–3 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road... |
|
| 13 | December 11, 1971 | Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 14–3 | 10–3 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road... |
|
| 14 | December 19, 1971 | New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
L 17–21 | 10–4 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road... |
|
Standings
| AFC East AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. There are four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots , and New York Jets... |
||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins 1971 Miami Dolphins season -NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Playoffs:- Standings : -Roster:-Scoring summary:*Dallas Mike Clark, FG 14 yds *Dallas L.Alworth, 9 yd pass from Staubach *Miami Yeprmeniam, FG 23 yds... |
10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 315 | 174 |
| Baltimore Colts | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 313 | 140 |
| New England Patriots 1971 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1971 season with a record of six wins and eight losses, and finished third in the AFC East division. It was the first season the Patriots played in Schaeffer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts after playing in three different... |
6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 238 | 325 |
| New York Jets 1971 New York Jets season The 1971 New York Jets season was the 12th season for the team and the second in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 4–10 record from 1970 under head coach Weeb Ewbank. Disaster struck before the regular season ever started and it was a remarkable feat... |
6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 212 | 299 |
| Buffalo Bills 1971 Buffalo Bills season The 1971 Buffalo Bills season was the 12th season for the club and its 2nd in the National Football League.For the second time in four seasons, the Bills finished with a 1-13 record. The season began in turmoil when coach John Rauch resigned, forcing pro personnel director Harvey Johnson to assume... |
1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 184 | 394 |
Playoffs
The team made it to the playoffsNFL playoffs, 1971-72
The NFL playoffs following the 1971 NFL season led up to Super Bowl VI. Like the previous NFL seasons, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly divisional rotation, excluding the wild card teams who would always play on the road...
as a No. 4 seed and traveled to Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
to play the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the divisional round. The Colts led 14–0 at the half and would cruise to a 20–3 win. They then traveled south to play the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and tried and make it to their second consecutive Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
. Colts QB Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...
was intercepted 3 times as they were shut out by the Dolphins 21–0.
| Playoff Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 26, 1971 | at Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... (4) |
W 20–3 | 1–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football... |
|
| Conference Championship | January 2, 1972 | at Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... (1) |
L 0–21 | 1–1 | Miami Orange Bowl Miami Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team... |
|
See also
- History of the Indianapolis ColtsHistory of the Indianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
- Indianapolis Colts seasonsIndianapolis Colts seasonsThe Indianapolis Colts, formerly the Baltimore Colts, are an American football team playing in the National Football League . The list documents the season-by-season records of the Colts franchise from to present, including postseason records and league awards for individual players or head coaches...
- Colts-Patriots rivalry