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1971 Cleveland Browns season

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1971 Cleveland Browns season
General managerHarold Sauerbrei
Head coachNick Skorich
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWHK
Results
Record9–5
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Colts) 3–20
The Browns hosting the Colts in the 1971 AFC Divisional Playoffs Game.

The 1971 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 22nd season with the National Football League.

After missing the playoffs the previous year, the Browns got off to a good start at 4–1 only to stumble losing 4 straight to fall to 4–5. However, the Browns would rebound to win the final 5 games of the season for the AFC Central Division title. Just as the 1967 Browns returned to the playoffs following a one-year absence, so, too, did the '71 club, which was in its first season under new head coach Nick Skorich after Blanton Collier's final team in 1970 had finished just 7–7, ending a string of three consecutive postseason berths.

As was the case in 1967, the '71 Browns went 9–5 and won a division crown. They captured the AFC Central for the first time, finishing three games in front of the soon-to-emerge Pittsburgh Steelers (6–8). In the playoffs the Browns would fall in the first round 20–3 to the Baltimore Colts. Running back Leroy Kelly was on the downside of his Pro Football Hall of Fame career, but he did manage to rush for 865 yards and 10 touchdowns – still good for a 14-game season. Wide receiver Fair Hooker led the team in receptions with 45.[1]

Offseason

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Draft

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Main article: 1971 NFL Draft
1971 Cleveland Browns draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 14 Clarence Scott *  DB Kansas State
2 40 Bo Cornell  LB Washington
3 66 Paul Staroba  WR Michigan Played with Browns in 1972
3 68 Charlie Hall  LB Houston
4 92 Bubba Pena  G UMass Played with Browns in 1972
5 118 Stan Brown  WR Purdue
6 142 Doug Dieken *  T Illinois
6 144 Jay Dixon  DE Boston University
7 170 Bob Jacobs  K Wyoming
8 196 Larry Zelina  RB Ohio State
9 222 Wilmur Levels  DB North Texas State
10 248 Steve Casteel  LB Oklahoma
11 274 Mike Sikich  G Northwestern
12 300 Tony Blanchard  TE North Carolina
13 326 Thad Jamula  T Lehigh
14 352 Rick Kingrea  LB Tulane
15 378 Bill Green  DB Western Kentucky
16 404 Dave Smith  WR Mississippi State
17 430 Leo Dillon  C Dayton
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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Staff

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1971 Cleveland Browns staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches


Strength and conditioning


Roster

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1971 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Exhibition schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 August 8 at San Francisco 49ers L 24–38 0–1 Candlestick Park 40,000
2 August 13 Los Angeles Rams L 5–17 0–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 52,503
3 August 20 at Dallas Cowboys L 15–16 0–3 Cotton Bowl 69,099
4 August 28 vs. Chicago Bears L 19–20 0–4 Notre Dame Stadium 43,568
5 September 4 New York Giants W 30–7 1-4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 82,710
6 September 10 at St. Louis Cardinals L 13–27 1-5 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,171

There was a doubleheader on September 4, 1971 Jets vs Steelers and Giants vs Browns.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 19 Houston Oilers W 31–0 1–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 73,387 Recap
2 September 26 at Baltimore Colts W 14–13 2–0 Memorial Stadium 56,837 Recap
3 October 4 Oakland Raiders L 20–34 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 84,285 Recap
4 October 10 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–17 3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 83,391 Recap
5 October 17 at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–24 4–1 Riverfront Stadium 60,284 Recap
6 October 24 Denver Broncos L 0–27 4–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 75,674 Recap
7 October 31 Atlanta Falcons L 14–31 4–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,825 Recap
8 November 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 9–26 4–4 Three Rivers Stadium 50,202 Recap
9 November 14 at Kansas City Chiefs L 7–13 4–5 Municipal Stadium 50,388 Recap
10 November 21 New England Patriots W 27–7 5–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 65,238 Recap
11 November 28 at Houston Oilers W 37–24 6–5 Houston Astrodome 37,921 Recap
12 December 5 Cincinnati Bengals W 31–27 7–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 82,705 Recap
13 December 12 at New Orleans Saints W 21–17 8–5 Tulane Stadium 72,794 Recap
14 December 19 at Washington Redskins W 20–13 9–5 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1: vs. Houston

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The Browns open the regular season by blasting the Oilers, 31-0, in Nick Skorich's first game as coach. Leroy Kelly scores the Browns' first two touchdowns on 1-yard runs, and Bill Nelsen and Mike Phipps both throw a touchdown pass. The Browns intercept five passes (two by rookie Clarence Scott) and yield just 11 first downs.

Week 2: At Baltimore

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The Browns survived a late mistake and upset the defending Super Bowl-champion Colts, 14-13 at Baltimore. After Walt Sumner intercepts a Johnny Unitas pass with five seconds left (Cleveland's fifth interception), he attempts to lateral to Scott, who never touches the ball as Baltimore's Ray Perkins recovers at the Cleveland 27. But the Colts, out of timeouts, watch theclock expire before they can get off a field-goal attempt.

Week 5: At Cincinnati

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The Browns edge the Bengals, 27-24, at Cincinnati on Bo Scott's third touchdown - a 4-yard run with 39 seconds remaining. The win improves Cleveland's record to 4-1 and drops Paul Brown's defending AFC Central-champion Bengals to 1-4. The Browns get a break when defensive end Jack Gregory recovers a fumble at the Cincinnati 10, setting up a Nelsen-to-Scott TD pass.

Week 7: vs. Atlanta

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Week 7: Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Falcons 14 7 7331
Browns 0 0 7714

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Date: October 31
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C), relative humidity 72%, round (wind) 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 76,825
  • TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui (play–by–play), Irv Cross (color commentator) and Frank Clarke (sideline reporter)
  • [1]
Game information

Week 10 vs. New England

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The Browns snap a four-game losing streak with a 27-7 win over the Patriots at Cleveland Stadium. Kelly rushes for 113 yards and scores two touchdowns, one on a 7-yard pass from Nelsen for the game's first score. The Browns intercept four passes by New England rookie Jim Plunkett, who has trouble adjusting on a windy day.

Week 12 vs. Cincinnati

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The Browns clinch their first AFC Central Division title with a 31-27 win over Cincinnati at Cleveland. Leroy Kelly, who surpassed the 100-yard mark for the 26th time, scores the first and last touchdowns to complement a 224-yard passing performance by Nelsen.

Postseason

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See also: 1971–72 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
Divisional December 26 Baltimore Colts L 3–20 0–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,082 Recap

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.

References

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  1. ^ "Season statistics and summary at Cleveland Browns.com". Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2012.
  2. ^ "1971 Cleveland Browns Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
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