1971 Chicago Bears season

1971 Chicago Bears season
1971 Chicago Bears season
Owner	George Halas
Head coach	Jim Dooley
Home field	Soldier Field
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	3rd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1970; Bears seasons; 1972 →;

The 1971 Chicago Bears season was their 52nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 6–8 record, another below .500 showing, eventually costing head coach Jim Dooley his job. This was their 1st season at Soldier Field.

Offseason[]

NFL draft[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1971 Chicago Bears draft
1	11	Joe Moore	Running back	Missouri
2	28	Jim Harrison	Running back	Missouri
2	36	Charlie Ford	Cornerback	Houston
3	64	Tony McGee	Defensive end	Bishop
3	71	Bob Newton	Tackle	Nebraska
4	89	Jerry Moore	Defensive back	Arkansas
6	135	Earl Thomas	Wide receiver	Houston
7	167	Buddy Lee	Quarterback	LSU
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster[]

**1971 Chicago Bears final roster**

	Quarterbacks 11 Jack Concannon 10 Bobby Douglass 16 Kent Nix Running backs 33 Jim Grabowski FB 35 Jim Harrison FB 22 Cyril Pinder 24 Don Shy 34 Bill Tucker Wide receivers 43 George Farmer 45 Dick Gordon 84 Jim Seymour 21 Cecil Turner Tight ends 82 Earl Thomas 89 Bob Wallace		Offensive linemen 72 Jim Cadile G 70 Jeff Curchin T 52 Rich Coady C 50 Gene Hamlin C 61 Glen Holloway G 65 Randy Jackson T 78 Bob Newton G 73 Steve Wright T Defensive linemen 75 Dave Hale DT 79 John Hoffman DE 85 Willie Holman DE 71 Tony McGee DE 87 Ed O'Bradovich DE 67 George Seals DT 76 Bill Staley DT		Linebackers 31 Ross Brupbacher 55 Doug Buffone 51 Dick Butkus 30 Jimmy Gunn 53 Larry Rowden Defensive backs 32 Charlie Ford CB 17 29 Bob Jeter CB 18 Jerry Moore 44 Garry Lyle FS 48 Ron Smith SS 20 Joe Taylor CB Special teams 88 Bobby Joe Green P 83 Mac Percival K		Reserve lists 40 Gale Sayers RB (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 19, 1971	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–15	55,049
2	September 26, 1971	at Minnesota Vikings	W 20–17	47,900
3	October 3, 1971	at Los Angeles Rams	L 17–3	66,957
4	October 10, 1971	New Orleans Saints	W 35–14	55,049
5	October 17, 1971	at San Francisco 49ers	L 13–0	44,000
6	October 24, 1971	at Detroit Lions	W 28–23	54,418
7	October 31, 1971	Dallas Cowboys	W 23–19	55,049
8	November 7, 1971	Green Bay Packers	L 17–14	55,049
9	November 14, 1971	Washington Redskins	W 16–15	55,049
10	November 21, 1971	Detroit Lions	L 28–3	55,049
11	November 29, 1971	at Miami Dolphins	L 34–3	75,312
12	December 5, 1971	at Denver Broncos	L 6–3	51,200
13	December 12, 1971	at Green Bay Packers	L 31–10	56,263
14	December 19, 1971	Minnesota Vikings	L 27–10	55,049

Game summaries[]

Week 1[]

Week One: Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0) at Chicago Bears (0–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	6	6	3	15
Bears	0	3	0	14	17

at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois

Date: September 19, 1971
Game time: 2:00 p.m.
Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C)
Game attendance: 55,049
Referee: Bernie Ulman
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

Second quarter

PIT – Preston Pearson fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed). Steelers 6–0. Drive:
CHI – Mac Percival 33-yard field goal. Steelers 6–3. Drive:

Third quarter

PIT – Roy Gerela 32-yard field goal. Steelers 9–3. Drive:
PIT – Roy Gerela 29-yard field goal. Steelers 12–3. Drive:

Fourth quarter

PIT – Roy Gerela 42-yard field goal. Steelers 15–3. Drive:
CHI – Ross Brupbacher 30-yard fumble return (Mac Percival kick). Steelers 15–10.
CHI – George Farmer 8-yard pass from Kent Nix (Mac Percival kick). Bears 17–15. Drive:

Top passers

PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 10/24, 129 yards, 4 INT
CHI – Jack Concannon – 15/26, 116 yards, INT

Top rushers

PIT – John Fuqua – 17 rushes, 114 yards
CHI – Don Shy – 9 rushes, 19 yards

Top receivers

PIT – Ron Shanklin – 6 receptions, 113 yards
CHI – George Farmer – 4 receptions, 59 yards, TD

Week 2[]

Dick Gordon 10 Rec, 115 Yds

^[1]

Week 6[]

Week Six: Chicago Bears (3–2) at Detroit Lions (4–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	14	0	7	28
Lions	6	14	3	0	23

at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan

Date: October 24, 1971
Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
Game attendance: 54,418
Referee: Jack Reader
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter

DET – Errol Mann 28-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive:
CHI – Don Shy 21-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 7–3. Drive:
DET – Errol Mann 49-yard field goal. Bears 7–6. Drive:

Second quarter

CHI – George Farmer 54-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 14–6. Drive:
DET – Ron Jessie 102-yard kickoff return (Errol Mann kick). Bears 14–13.
DET – Larry Walton 16-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Lions 20–14. Drive:
CHI – Bob Wallace 15-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 21–20. Drive:

Third quarter

DET – Errol Mann 29-yard field goal. Lions 23–21. Drive:

Fourth quarter

CHI – Bobby Douglass 1-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 28–23. Drive:

Top passers

CHI – Bobby Douglass – 15/21, 160 yards, 2 TD
DET – Greg Landry – 11/26, 173 yards, TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

CHI – Don Shy – 18 rushes, 99 yards, TD
DET – Steve Owens – 16 rushes, 81 yards

Top receivers

CHI – George Farmer – 6 receptions, 95 yards, TD
DET – Altie Taylor – 4 receptions, 41 yards

Chuck Hughes became the first NFL player to die on the field during a game.

Standings[]

NFC Central
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Minnesota Vikings	11	3	0	.786	5–1	9–2	245	139	W2
Detroit Lions	7	6	1	.538	2–3–1	3–6–1	341	286	L2
Chicago Bears	6	8	0	.429	2–4	5–6	185	276	L5
Green Bay Packers	4	8	2	.333	2–3–1	2–7–2	274	298	L1

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

References[]

^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-14.

This article relating to a Chicago Bears season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[1] Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-14.

[1]

v t Chicago Bears
Founded in 1920 Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921) Based in Chicago, Illinois Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois
Franchise	History Coaches Seasons Current season
Records	Franchise records All-time record versus NFL Team awards and honors Players Head coaches Pro Football Hall of Famers First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks
Stadiums	Staley Field Wrigley Field Memorial Stadium Soldier Field
Culture	Brian's Song 1971 2001 Brian Piccolo Award "Bear Down, Chicago Bears" "The Super Bowl Shuffle" Monsters of the Midway "Sweet Home Chicago" Bill Swerski's Superfans Chuck Swirsky Chicago Honey Bears Staley Da Bear Logos and uniforms Halas Hall A. E. Staley Jack Brickhouse George Halas Mike Ditka Roosevelt/Wabash 85386 Payton Jim Cornelison Club Dub ("Swag Surfin")
Lore	Staley Swindle 1932 Playoff Game First NFL Championship Game "The Sneakers Game" T formation 73–0 15–1 Super Bowl XX 46 defense Fog Bowl Cardiac Kids “They are who we thought they were“ "Double Doink"
Rivalries	Arizona Cardinals Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings New York Giants
Minor league affiliates	Newark Bears (AA, 1939–1941) Akron Bears (AFL, 1946) Bloomfield Cardinals (AFL, 1947) Richmond Rebels (AFL, 1948–1950)
Retired numbers	3 5 7 28 34 40 41 42 51 56 61 66 77 89
Key personnel	Principal owner: Virginia Halas McCaskey Chairman: George McCaskey President/CEO: Ted Phillips General Manager: Ryan Pace Head Coach: Matt Nagy
Division championships (21)	1933 1934 1937 1940 1941 1942 1943 1946 1956 1963 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1990 2001 2005 2006 2010 2018
Conference championships (4)	1956 1963 1985 2006
League championships (9)	1921 1932 1933 1940 1941 1943 1946 1963 1985 (XX)
Media	Broadcasters Radio: WBBM (AM) WCFS-FM (FM simulcast of WBBM) Personnel: Jeff Joniak (play-by-play) Tom Thayer (analyst) Zach Zaidman (sideline reporter and radio coach's show host) Television: WFLD (pre-season and most regular season games through Fox, official pre-game and post-game alternate) WPWR (official post-game) NBC Sports Chicago (in-season team programming) Personnel: Lou Canellis (gameday television host, pre-season sideline reporter) Sam Rosen (pre-season play-by-play) Jim Miller (pre-season analyst)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division
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v t Chicago Bears seasons
Formerly the Decatur Staleys (1920) and the Chicago Staleys (1921)
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