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1971 Cincinnati Bengals season

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1971 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldRiverfront Stadium
Results
Record4–10
Division place4th AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

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

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NFL Draft

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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

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Personnel

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Staff

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1971 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office

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

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches




Roster

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1971 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

  • 78 Willie Jones DT
 Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

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Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 19 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–14 1–0 Riverfront Stadium Recap
2 September 26 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–21 1–1 Three Rivers Stadium Recap
3 October 3 at Green Bay Packers L 17–20 1–2 Lambeau Field Recap
4 October 10 Miami Dolphins L 13–23 1–3 Riverfront Stadium Recap
5 October 17 Cleveland Browns L 24–27 1–4 Riverfront Stadium Recap
6 October 24 at Oakland Raiders L 27–31 1–5 Oakland Coliseum Recap
7 October 31 at Houston Oilers L 6–10 1–6 Astrodome Recap
8 November 7 Atlanta Falcons L 6–9 1–7 Riverfront Stadium Recap
9 November 14 at Denver Broncos W 24–10 2–7 Mile High Stadium Recap
10 November 21 Houston Oilers W 28–13 3–7 Riverfront Stadium Recap
11 November 28 San Diego Chargers W 31–0 4–7 Riverfront Stadium Recap
12 December 5 at Cleveland Browns L 27–31 4–8 Cleveland Stadium Recap
13 December 12 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–21 4–9 Riverfront Stadium Recap
14 December 19 at New York Jets L 21–35 4–10 Shea Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

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Week 1 vs Eagles

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See also: 1971 Philadelphia Eagles season
Week One: Philadelphia Eagles (0–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 7 0714
Bengals 0 10 171037

at Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Date: September 19
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C) • Wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Standings

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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

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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

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  • 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

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Pro Bowl selections

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References

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  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.
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