1971 Miami Dolphins season

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 10–3–1. The Dolphins opened the season tying the Denver Broncos, before splitting their next 2 games to sit at 1–1–1. The Dolphins then won 8 in a row to sit at 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 2 overtimes (the game is considered the longest in NFL history by time). They advanced to their first ever AFC championship game, where they defeated the reigning champion Baltimore Colts, 21–0, and went on to play in their first Super Bowl. However, in Super Bowl VI, Miami was walloped 24–3 by the Dallas Cowboys. After losing Super Bowl VI, the Dolphins would not lose another game until Week 2 of the 1973 season.

1971 Miami Dolphins season
Head coachDon Shula
Home fieldMiami Orange Bowl
Results
Record10–3–1
Division place1st AFC East
Playoff finishWon AFC Divisional Playoff
(at Chiefs) 27–24 (2OT)
Won AFC Championship Game
(Colts) 21–0
Lost Super Bowl VI
(vs. Cowboys) 3–24

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1971 NFL Draft
1971 Miami Dolphins draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
2 47 Otto Stowe  Wide receiver Iowa State
3 74 Dale Farley  Linebacker West Virginia
4 99 Joe Theismann *  Quarterback Notre Dame
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff
1971 Miami Dolphins staff
Front office

Head coaches

  • Head Coach – Don Shula

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Roster
1971 Miami Dolphins final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists



Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 19, 1971 at Denver Broncos T 10–10 0–0–1
51,228
2 September 26, 1971 at Buffalo Bills W 29–14 1–0–1
45,139
3 October 3, 1971 New York Jets L 10–14 1–1–1
70,670
4 October 10, 1971 at Cincinnati Bengals W 23–13 2–1–1
60,099
5 October 17, 1971 New England Patriots W 41–3 3–1–1
58,822
6 October 24, 1971 at New York Jets W 30–14 4–1–1
62,130
7 October 31, 1971 at Los Angeles Rams W 20–14 5–1–1
72,903
8 November 7, 1971 Buffalo Bills W 34–0 6–1–1
61,016
9 November 14, 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–21 7–1–1
66,435
10 November 21, 1971 Baltimore Colts W 17–14 8–1–1
75,312
11 November 29, 1971 Chicago Bears W 34–3 9–1–1
75,312
12 December 5, 1971 at New England Patriots L 13–34 9–2–1
61,457
13 December 11, 1971 at Baltimore Colts L 3–14 9–3–1
60,238
14 December 19, 1971 Green Bay Packers W 27–6 10–3–1
76,812

Week 2
1 234Total
• Dolphins 3 9710 29
Bills 7 070 14

[2]

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Miami Dolphins 10 3 1 .769 5–3 7–3–1 315 174 W1
Baltimore Colts 10 4 0 .714 6–2 8–3 313 140 L1
New England Patriots 6 8 0 .429 4–4 6–5 238 325 W1
New York Jets 6 8 0 .429 4–4 6–5 212 299 W2
Buffalo Bills 1 13 0 .071 1–7 1–10 184 394 L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

[3]

Postseason

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
Divisional December 25, 1971 at Kansas City Chiefs W 27–24 (2OT)
45,822
Conference Championship January 2, 1972 Baltimore Colts W 21–0
76,622
Super Bowl VI January 16, 1972 Dallas Cowboys L 3–24
80,591

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
  1. "1971 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  3. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 297
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