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1971 Miami Dolphins season

6th season in franchise history; first Super Bowl appearance and loss

6th season in franchise history; first Super Bowl appearance and loss

FieldValue
teamMiami Dolphins
year1971
record10–3–1
division_place1st AFC East
coachDon Shula
stadiumMiami Orange Bowl
playoffs**Won Divisional Playoffs**
(at [Chiefs](1971-kansas-city-chiefs-season)) [27–24 (2OT)](1971-afc-divisional-playoff-game-miami-kansas-city)
**Won AFC Championship**
(vs. [Colts](1971-baltimore-colts-season)) 21–0
Lost Super Bowl VI
(vs. [Cowboys](1971-dallas-cowboys-season)) 3–24
pro bowlers7
QB Bob Griese
FS Jake Scott
DE Bill Stanfill
G Larry Little
WR Paul Warfield
RB Mercury Morris
FB Larry Csonka
shortnavlinkDolphins seasons

(at Chiefs) 27–24 (2OT) Won AFC Championship (vs. Colts) 21–0 Lost Super Bowl VI (vs. Cowboys) 3–24 QB Bob Griese FS Jake Scott DE Bill Stanfill G Larry Little WR Paul Warfield RB Mercury Morris FB Larry Csonka The 1971 Miami Dolphins season was the team's sixth, and second in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved on their 10–4 record from 1970 and finished at 10–3–1 to win the first of four consecutive AFC East titles. They opened the season with a tie at Denver, split the next two, then won eight consecutive to improve to 9–1–1.

The Dolphins won their first division title, finishing first in the AFC East, and then defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round in a second overtime (the game is considered the longest in NFL history by time). They advanced to their first AFC championship game and shut out the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Colts 21–0. However, in Super Bowl VI, Miami was walloped 24–3 by the Dallas Cowboys. After losing that Super Bowl, the Dolphins did not lose another game until week 2 of the 1973 season, going overall in the next two seasons (1972, 1973), both ending with Super Bowl victories.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1971 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

  • President – Joe Robbie

  • Vice president – Don Shula

  • Director of player personnel – Joe Thomas

  • Head coach – Don Shula

  • Offense/receivers – Howard Schnellenberger

  • Offensive backs – Carl Taseff

  • Offensive line – Monte Clark

  • Defense/linebackers – Bill Arnsparger

  • Defensive line – Mike Scarry

  • Defensive backs – Tom Keane

Roster

Schedule

Miami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"WeekMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"DateMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"OpponentMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"ResultMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"RecordMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"Game SiteMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"AttendanceMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"Recap1234567891011121314
September 19at [Denver Broncos](1971-denver-broncos-season)**T** 10–100–0–1Mile High Stadium51,228
September 26**at [Buffalo Bills](1971-buffalo-bills-season)****W** 29–141–0–1War Memorial Stadium45,139
October 3**[New York Jets](1971-new-york-jets-season)****L** 10–141–1–1Miami Orange Bowl70,670
October 10at [Cincinnati Bengals](1971-cincinnati-bengals-season)**W** 23–132–1–1Riverfront Stadium60,099
October 17**[New England Patriots](1971-new-england-patriots-season)****W** 41–33–1–1Miami Orange Bowl58,822
October 24**at [New York Jets](1971-new-york-jets-season)****W** 30–144–1–1Shea Stadium62,130
October 31at [Los Angeles Rams](1971-los-angeles-rams-season)**W** 20–145–1–1Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum72,903
November 7**[Buffalo Bills](1971-buffalo-bills-season)****W** 34–06–1–1Miami Orange Bowl61,016
November 14[Pittsburgh Steelers](1971-pittsburgh-steelers-season)**W** 24–217–1–1Miami Orange Bowl66,435
November 21**[Baltimore Colts](1971-baltimore-colts-season)****W** 17–148–1–1Miami Orange Bowl75,312
November 29[Chicago Bears](1971-chicago-bears-season)**W** 34–39–1–1Miami Orange Bowl75,312
December 5**at [New England Patriots](1971-new-england-patriots-season)****L** 13–349–2–1Schaefer Stadium61,457
December 11**at [Baltimore Colts](1971-baltimore-colts-season)****L** 3–149–3–1Memorial Stadium60,238
December 19[Green Bay Packers](1971-green-bay-packers-season)**W** 27–610–3–1Miami Orange Bowl76,812
**Note:** Intra-division opponents are in **bold** text.

: Monday (November 29), Saturday (December 11)

Game summaries

Week 2

Standings

Postseason

Schedule

Miami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"RoundMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"DateMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"OpponentMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"ResultMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"RecordMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"VenueMiami Dolphinsyear=1971border=2}}"AttendanceDivisionalAFC ChampionshipSuper Bowl VI
December 25at [Kansas City Chiefs](1971-kansas-city-chiefs-season)**W** [27–24 (2OT)](1971-afc-divisional-playoff-game-miami-kansas-city)1–0Municipal Stadium45,822
January 2, 1972[Baltimore Colts](1971-baltimore-colts-season)**W** 21–02–0Orange Bowl76,622
January 16, 1972[Dallas Cowboys](1971-dallas-cowboys-season)**L** 3–242–1Tulane Stadium80,591

AFC Divisional Playoff

Miami Dolphins 27 K.C. Chiefs 24 (20T)

AFC Championship Game

Miami Dolphins 21 Baltimore Colts 0

Super Bowl VI

Dallas Cowboys 24 Miami Dolphins 3

Scoring summary

  • Dallas Mike Clark, FG 14 yds (3–0)
  • Dallas L.Alworth, 9 yd pass from Staubach (Mike Clark kick, 10–0)
  • Miami Yepremian, FG 23 yds (10–3)
  • Dallas Duane Thomas, 5 yd run (Mike Clark kick, 17–3)
  • Dallas Mike Ditka, 4 yd pass from Staubach (Mike Clark kick, 3–24)

References

References

  1. "1971 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197109260buf.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]
  3. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, {{ISBN. 0-7611-2480-2, p. 297
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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