NFL team season
George Allen and members of the 1971 team with President Richard Nixon , two days before Thanksgiving . The 1971 Washington Redskins season was the team's 40th in the National Football League , and its 35th in Washington, D.C. The Redskins were led by first-year head coach George Allen , who had been the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams for the previous five seasons.
Coming into the 1971 season, the team had not made the postseason in 26 years . The Redskins had had only four winning seasons since their last playoff berth in 1945, the most recent a 7–5–2 campaign in 1969 under Vince Lombardi , who died of colon cancer in September 1970.[1] [2] [3]
Allen was Washington's fourth head coach in as many seasons. Lombardi succeeded Otto Graham , and assistant Bill Austin took over when Lombardi fell mortally ill in the summer of 1970, and posted a 6–8 record.
Despite a broken left ankle suffered by leading receiver Charley Taylor in a week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that forced him to miss the remainder of the season, the Redskins went 9–4–1, good for second place in the NFC East . They earned a wild card berth , but lost in the opening divisional round at San Francisco , 24–20.[4] [5] [6]
Off-season
NFL Draft
Undrafted Free Agents
Roster
Pre season
Schedule Pre Season Game Officials
Pre season Game summaries
Week P1 (Saturday, August 7, 1971): at San Diego Chargers
Week P2 (Saturday, August 14, 1971): at Denver Broncos Time of Game: 2 hours, 40 minutes
Week P3 (Saturday, August 21, 1971): vs. St. Louis Cardinals Preseason week 3: St. Louis Cardinals 13 at Washington Redskins 20 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : August 21, 1971Game time : 8:00 p.m. EDTGame attendance : 40,228TV : WMAL-TV
Week P4 (Saturday, August 28, 1971): vs. Baltimore Colts Preseason week 4: Baltimore Colts 20 at Washington Redskins 14 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : August 28, 1971Game time : 8:00 p.m. EDTGame attendance : 46,045TV : WMAL-TV
Week P5 (Saturday, September 4, 1971): at Miami Dolphins Time of Game: 2 hours, 27 minutes
Week P6 (Saturday, September 11, 1971): vs. Cincinnati Bengals Preseason week 6: Cincinnati Bengals 17 at Washington Redskins 17 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : September 11, 1971Game time : 8:00 p.m. EDTGame attendance : 39,105TV : WMAL-TV
Regular season
Schedule Regular Season Game Officials
Standings Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Regular Season Game summaries
Week 1 (Sunday, September 19, 1971): at St. Louis Cardinals Week 1: Washington Redskins 24 at St. Louis Cardinals 17 – Game summary
at Busch Memorial Stadium • St. Louis, Missouri
Date : September 19, 1971Game time : 2:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : 58 °F (14 °C); relative humidity 100%; wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn) (Light rain)Game attendance : 46,805Referee : Fred Silva TV announcers (CBS) : Jack Drees (play-by-play), George Connor (color commentator) and Bruce Roberts (studio reporter)[7]
Individual stats
Starting Lineups
Week 2 (Sunday, September 26, 1971): at New York Giants Week 2: Washington Redskins 30 at New York Giants 3 – Game summary
at Yankee Stadium • Bronx, New York
Date : September 26, 1971Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : 62 °F (17 °C); relative humidity 59%; wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn) (Light rain)Game attendance : 62,795Referee : Ben Dreith TV announcers (CBS) : Ray Scott (play-by-play), Pat Summerall (color commentator) and Bill Mazer (studio reporter)[8]
Individual stats
Starting Lineups
Week 3 (Sunday, October 3, 1971): at Dallas Cowboys Week 3: Washington Redskins 20 at Dallas Cowboys 16 – Game summary
at Cotton Bowl • Dallas, Texas
Date : October 3, 1971Game time : 2:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : 70 °F (21 °C); relative humidity 94%; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) (Fog, Light rain)Game attendance : 61,554Referee : Jack Reader TV announcers (CBS) : Frank Glieber (play-by-play), Eddie LeBaron (color commentator) and Frank Clarke (studio reporter)[9]
Individual stats
Starting Lineups
Week 4 (Sunday, October 10, 1971): vs. Houston Oilers Week 4: Houston Oilers 13 at Washington Redskins 22 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : October 10, 1971Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : 57 °F (14 °C); relative humidity 96%; wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn) (Light rain)Game attendance : 53,041Referee : Bernie Ulman TV announcers (KPRC-TV (Houston)) : Bill Enis (play-by-play) and Paul Maguire (color commentator)[10]
Individual stats
Starting Lineups
Week 5 (Sunday, October 17, 1971): vs. St. Louis Cardinals Week 5: St. Louis Cardinals 0 at Washington Redskins 20 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : October 17, 1971Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : 62 °F (17 °C); relative humidity 90%; wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn) (Smoke haze)Game attendance : 53,041Referee : Norm Schachter TV announcers (CBS) : Jack Buck (play-by-play), Alex Hawkins (color commentator) and Andy Musser (studio reporter)[11]
Individual stats
Starting Lineups
Week 6 (Sunday, October 24, 1971): at Kansas City Chiefs Week 6: Washington Redskins 20 at Kansas City Chiefs 27 – Game summary
at Municipal Stadium • Kansas City, Missouri
Date : October 24, 1971Game time : 4:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : 62 °F (17 °C); relative humidity 84%; wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn) (Drizzle)Game attendance : 51,989Referee : Jack Vest TV announcers (CBS) : Ray Scott (play-by-play), Pat Summerall (color commentator) and Ron Barr (studio reporter)[12]
Week 7 (Sunday, October 31, 1971): vs. New Orleans Saints Week 7: New Orleans Saints 14 at Washington Redskins 24 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : October 31, 1971Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : 68 °F (20 °C); relative humidity 91%; wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn) (Overcast)Game attendance : 53,041Referee : Jim Tunney TV announcers (CBS) : Jack Whitaker (play-by-play), Tom Brookshier (color commentator) and Dick Stockton (studio reporter)[13]
Week 8 (Sunday, November 7, 1971): vs. Philadelphia Eagles Week 8: Philadelphia Eagles 7 at Washington Redskins 7 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : November 7, 1971Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : 47 °F (8 °C); relative humidity 56%; wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn) (Cloudy)Game attendance : 53,041Referee : Fred Silva TV announcers (CBS) : Jack Whitaker (play-by-play), Tom Brookshier (color commentator) and Andy Musser (studio reporter)[14]
Week 9 (Sunday, November 14, 1971): at Chicago Bears Week 9: Washington Redskins 15 at Chicago Bears 16 – Game summary
at Soldier Field • Chicago, Illinois
Date : November 14, 1971Game time : 2:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : 56 °F (13 °C); relative humidity 75%; wind 17 miles per hour (27 km/h; 15 kn) (Clear)Game attendance : 55,049Referee : Tommy Bell TV announcers (CBS) : Jack Whitaker (play-by-play), Tom Brookshier (color commentator) and Bruce Roberts (studio reporter)[15]
Week 10 (Sunday, November 21, 1971): vs. Dallas Cowboys Week 10: Dallas Cowboys 13 at Washington Redskins 0 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : November 21, 1971Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : 41 °F (5 °C); relative humidity 65%; wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn) (Cloudy)Game attendance : 53,041Referee : Dick Jorgensen TV announcers (CBS) : Frank Glieber (play-by-play), Eddie LeBaron (color commentator) and Frank Clarke (studio reporter)[16]
Individual stats
Starting Lineups
Week 11 (Sunday, November 28, 1971): at Philadelphia Eagles
Week 12 (Sunday, December 5, 1971): vs. New York Giants Week 12: New York Giants 7 at Washington Redskins 23 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : December 5, 1971Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : 29 °F (−2 °C); relative humidity 86%; wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn); wind chill 21 °F (−6 °C)Game attendance : 53,041Referee : Bob FredericTV announcers (CBS) : Ray Scott (play-by-play), Pat Summerall (color commentator) and Bill Mazer (studio reporter)[18]
Individual stats
Starting Lineups
Week 13 (Monday, December 13, 1971): at Los Angeles Rams
Week 14 (Sunday, December 19, 1971): vs. Cleveland Browns Week 14: Cleveland Browns 20 at Washington Redskins 13 – Game summary
at RFK Stadium • Washington, D.C.
Date : December 19, 1971Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : 27 °F (−3 °C); relative humidity 66%; wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn); wind chill 18 °F (−8 °C) (Overcast)Game attendance : 53,041Referee : Norm Schachter TV announcers (NBC) : Charlie Jones (play-by-play) and Johnny Morris (color commentator)[20]
Stats Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kicking
Punting
Kick Return
Punt Return
Sacks
Interceptions
Fumbles
Tackles
Scoring Summary
Team
Quarter-by-quarter
Postseason Playoff Game Officials
Richard Nixon play There was a rumor that President Richard Nixon called a key play that caused the Redskins to lose to the 49ers in the divisional round of the playoffs. Nixon, a friend of George Allen, once attended a practice game where he tried the same play to much better results.[21]
Playoff Game summaries
NFC Divisional Playoffs (Sunday, December 26, 1971): at San Francisco 49ers NFC Divisional Playoffs: Washington Redskins 20 at San Francisco 49ers 24 – Game summary
at Candlestick Park • San Francisco, California
Date : December 26, 1971Game time : 4:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : 44 °F (7 °C); relative humidity 82%; wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn) (Overcast)Game attendance : 45,327Referee : Pat Haggerty TV announcers (CBS) : Ray Scott (play-by-play), Pat Summerall (color commentator) and Bruce Roberts (studio reporter)[22]
Awards, records, and honors
References ^ "Lombardi dies of cancer". Milwaukee Journal . press dispatches. September 3, 1970. p. 1, part 1. ^ "Lombardi loses fight". Pittsburgh Press . UPI. September 3, 1970. p. 39. ^ "State to mourn Lombardi in rites". Milwaukee Sentinel . September 4, 1970. p. 1, part 1. ^ "49ers, Colts march into finals". Milwaukee Sentinel . UPI. September 27, 1971. p. 1, part 2. ^ "Go-for-broke pass pays off for 49ers". Free Lance-Star . (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. December 27, 1971. p. 16. ^ Maule, Tex (January 3, 1972). "The Cowboys fly – the Redskins die". Sports Illustrated . p. 15.^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ Pro Football Reference ^ "Did Richard Nixon call a key Redskins play?". September 13, 2012. ^ Pro Football Reference
