1971 Dallas Cowboys season

1971 Dallas Cowboys season
Owner	Clint Murchison, Jr.
Head coach	Tom Landry
General manager	Tex Schramm
Home field	Cotton Bowl Texas Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	1st NFC East
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (at Vikings) 20–12 Won NFC Championship (vs. 49ers) 14–3 Won Super Bowl VI (vs. Dolphins) 24–3
← 1970 Cowboys seasons 1972 →

The 1971 Dallas Cowboys season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League, the first at the new Texas Stadium in suburban Irving, Texas and the 12th season under head coach Tom Landry. The Cowboys led the NFL with 406 points scored. Their defense allowed 222 points.

For the sixth consecutive season, the Cowboys had a first-place finish. They won their second-consecutive NFC championship, then defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VI to capture their first Super Bowl championship. They were the first team from the NFC to win a Super Bowl since the 1970 merger of the National Football League and the American Football League, and subsequently, the first team from the NFC East division to win the title.

NFL Draft[]

The 1971 NFL Draft was one of the worst in the history of the franchise, although the Cowboys recovered draft choices by trading Tody Smith and Ike Thomas to other teams. Third-round selection Bill Gregory played seven seasons with the Cowboys, winning two Super Bowl rings. Eighth-round selection Ron Jessie was cut after the Cowboys acquired San Diego Chargers All-Pro Lance Alworth, but went on to enjoy a long and successful NFL career with the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams.

1971 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	25	Tody Smith	DE	USC
2	51	Ike Thomas	DB	Bishop
3	69	Sam Scarber	RB	New Mexico
3	77	Bill Gregory	DT	Wisconsin
4	80	Joe Carter	TE	Grambling State
4	103	Adam Mitchell	OT	Ole Miss
5	129	Ron Kadziel	LB	Stanford
6	155	Steve Maier	WR	Northern Arizona
7	181	Bill Griffin	OT	Catawba
8	206	Ron Jessie *	WR	Kansas
9	233	Honor Jackson	DB	Pacific
10	259	Rodney Wallace	OT	New Mexico
11	285	Ernest Bonwell	DT	Lane
12	311	Steve Goepel	QB	Colgate
13	337	James Ford	RB	Texas Southern
14	363	Tyrone Couey	DB	Utah State
15	389	Bob Young	TE	Delaware
16	415	John Brennan	OT	Boston College
17	440	John Bomer	C	Memphis
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Season recap[]

The Cowboys opened the new Texas Stadium with a 44–21 win over the New England Patriots on Oct. 24. Duane Thomas scored the first touchdown, a 56-yard run two minutes and 16 seconds after the start of the game. Attendance was 65,708 persons.

The team entered the season still having the reputation of "not being able to win the big games" and "next year's champion". The Super Bowl V loss added more fuel to that widely held view. As in the previous season, Dallas had a quarterback controversy as Roger Staubach and Craig Morton alternated as starting quarterback (in a loss to the Bears in game 7, Morton and Staubach alternated plays).^[2] The Cowboys were 4–3 at the season midpoint. But after head coach Tom Landry settled on Staubach, the Cowboys won their last seven regular season games to finish with an 11–3 record.

Staubach finished the regular season as the NFL's top rated passer (101.8) by throwing for 1,882 yards, 15 touchdowns, and only 4 interceptions. He was also a terrific rusher, gaining 343 yards and 2 touchdowns on 41 carries. Said Cold Hard Football Facts of Staubach's 1971 season, "Staubach finally out-jockeyed Craig Morton for the starting gig with the Cowboys in 1971 and instantly produced one of the greatest passing seasons in history. The numbers are not big and gaudy, but they were ruthlessly efficient –- the 104.8 passer rating truly amazing in a season in which the average rating was 62.2. His 8.9 [yards-per-attempt] in the regular season is phenomenal in any era of the NFL, as was his 18 [touchdowns] against a meager 4 [interceptions] (including postseason). The Cowboys did not lose a single one of Staubach's 13 starts in 1971 and –- most impressively –- he lifted the proverbial "team that couldn't win the big game" to its long-awaited first NFL championship.[...]"^[3]

Dallas also had an outstanding trio of running backs, Walt Garrison, Duane Thomas, and Calvin Hill, who rushed for a combined total of 1,690 yards and 14 touchdowns during the season. Garrison led the team in receptions during the season. (Thomas, upset that the Cowboys would not renegotiate his contract after his excellent rookie year, had stopped talking to the press and to almost everyone on the team). Wide Receivers Bob Hayes and Lance Alworth also provided a deep threat, catching a combined total of 69 passes for 1,327 yards and 10 touchdowns. The offensive line, anchored by all-pro tackle Rayfield Wright, Pro Bowlers John Niland and Ralph Neely, and #64 Tony Liscio who was coaxed out of retirement by Tom Landry after Ralph Neely got injured off the field, was also a primary reason for their success on offense. (Neely had broken his leg in November in a dirt-bike accident, and was replaced first by Gregg and then by Tony Liscio, who came out of retirement.)

The Dallas defense (nicknamed the "Doomsday Defense") had given up only one touchdown in the last 25 quarters prior to the Super Bowl. Their defensive line was anchored by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Bob Lilly, who excelled at pressuring quarterbacks and breaking up running plays. Dallas also had an outstanding trio of linebackers: Pro Bowler Chuck Howley, who recorded 5 interceptions and returned them for 122 yards; Dave Edwards 2 interceptions; and Lee Roy Jordan, who recorded 2 interceptions. The Cowboys secondary was led by 2 future hall of fame cornerbacks Herb Adderley (6 interceptions for 182 return yards) and Mel Renfro (4 interceptions for 11 yards). Safeties Cliff Harris and Pro Bowler Cornell Green also combined for 4 interceptions.After the 1971 Bob Lilly would play in the last of his last pro bowl despite being selected after the 1972 and 1973 seasons.Lilly would also score his final career touchdown in a 42–7 smashing of The Philadelphia Eagles.Lilly would retire with the NFL record of scoring the most tds by a defensive lineman with 4.

• September 26, 1971 – Herb Adderley became the first Cowboy to have three interceptions in one game.
• The Cowboys earned their first win on Monday Night Football by defeating the New York Giants 20–13 which also the last game The Cowboys played in The Cotton Bowl.

Schedule[]

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Site	Attendance	Recap
1	September 19	at Buffalo Bills	W 49–37	1–0	War Memorial Stadium	46,206	Recap
2	September 26	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 42–7	2–0	Veterans Stadium	65,358	Recap
3	October 3	Washington Redskins	L 16–20	2–1	Cotton Bowl	61,554	Recap
4	October 11	New York Giants	W 20–13	3–1	Cotton Bowl	68,378	Recap
5	October 17	at New Orleans Saints	L 14–24	3–2	Tulane Stadium	83,088	Recap
6	October 24	New England Patriots	W 44–21	4–2	Texas Stadium	65,708	Recap
7	October 31	at Chicago Bears	L 19–23	4–3	Soldier Field	55,049	Recap
8	November 7	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 16–13	5–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,486	Recap
9	November 14	Philadelphia Eagles	W 20–7	6–3	Texas Stadium	60,178	Recap
10	November 21	at Washington Redskins	W 13–0	7–3	RFK Stadium	53,041	Recap
11	November 25	Los Angeles Rams	W 28–21	8–3	Texas Stadium	66,595	Recap
12	December 4	New York Jets	W 52–10	9–3	Texas Stadium	66,689	Recap
13	December 12	at New York Giants	W 42–14	10–3	Yankee Stadium	62,815	Recap
14	December 18	St. Louis Cardinals	W 31–12	11–3	Texas Stadium	66,672	Recap

Division opponents are in bold text

Standings[]

NFC East
view talk	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	11	3	0	.786	7–1	8–3	406	222	W7
Washington Redskins	9	4	1	.692	6–1–1	8–2–1	276	190	L1
Philadelphia Eagles	6	7	1	.462	4–3–1	5–5–1	221	302	W3
St. Louis Cardinals	4	9	1	.308	1–7	2–8–1	231	279	L2
New York Giants	4	10	0	.286	1–7	3–8	228	362	L5

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

Game summaries[]

Week 1[]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Cowboys Bills 1 Cowboys Calvin Hill 2-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 7 0 1 Bills Haven Moses 73-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Shaw, Grant Guthrie kick good 7 7 1 Bills O. J. Simpson 6-yard touchdown run, Grant Guthrie kick good 7 14 2 Cowboys Bob Hayes 76-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Mike Clark kick good 14 14 2 Cowboys Walt Garrison 3-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 21 14 2 Bills 40-yard field goal by Grant Guthrie 21 17 2 Bills Marlin Briscoe 75-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Shaw, Grant Guthrie kick good 21 24 2 Cowboys Calvin Hill 3-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 28 24 3 Bills Marlin Briscoe 23-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Shaw, Grant Guthrie kick no good 28 30 3 Cowboys Reggie Rucker 19-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Mike Clark kick good 35 30 4 Cowboys Calvin Hill 1-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 42 30 4 Cowboys Calvin Hill 1-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 49 30 4 Bills Ike Hill 26-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Shaw, Grant Guthrie kick good 49 37 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 49 37

Week 2[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 0 21 7 14 42 Eagles 0 0 0 7 7 Date: September 26 Location: Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 59°F; wind 7 Referee: Bob Frederic

Scoring summary Q2 DAL Hill 1 yard run (Clark kick) DAL 7–0 Q2 DAL Lilly 7 yard fumble return (Clark kick) DAL 14–0 Q2 DAL Garrison 4 yard pass from Morton (Clark kick) DAL 21–0 Q3 DAL Richardson 16 yard pass from Morton (Clark kick) DAL 28–0 Q4 DAL Morton 2 yard run (Clark kick) DAL 35–0 Q4 DAL Welch 2 yard run (Clark kick) DAL 42–0 Q4 PHI Nelson 102 yard field goal return (Feller kick) DAL 42–7

^[4]

Week 3[]

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Week 4[]

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 3 3 0 7 13 • Cowboys 3 10 7 0 20 Date: October 11 Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas Game start: 8:00 p.m. CDT Game weather: 64°F • Wind 7 Referee: Tommy Bell TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith

Scoring summary 1 DAL Mike Clark 42-yard field goal Cowboys 3–0 1 NYG Pete Gogolak 35-yard field goal Tie 3–3 2 DAL Mike Clark 41-yard field goal Cowboys 6–3 2 NYG Pete Gogolak 20-yard field goal Tie 6–6 2 DAL Billy Truax 4-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Mike Clark kick) Cowboys 13–6 3 DAL Bob Hayes 48-yard pass from Craig Morton (Mike Clark kick) Cowboys 20–6 4 NYG Clifton McNeil 24-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Pete Gogolak kick) Cowboys 20–13

^[5]

Last game at the Cotton Bowl

Week 6[]

1 2 3 4 Total Patriots 7 0 0 14 21 • Cowboys 10 24 0 10 44 Date: October 24 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 1:00 p.m. CDT Game weather: 62°F • Wind 6 Referee: Fred Wyant Television network: NBC

Scoring summary 1 DAL Duane Thomas 56-yard run (Mike Clark kick) Cowboys 7–0 1 DAL Mike Clark 16-yard field goal Cowboys 10–0 1 NE Jim Nance 1-yard run (Charlie Gogolak kick) Cowboys 10–7 2 DAL Roger Staubach 2-yard run (Mike Clark kick) Cowboys 17–7 2 DAL Mike Clark 17-yard field goal Cowboys 20–7 2 DAL Bob Hayes 35-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Mike Clark kick) Cowboys 27–7 2 DAL Bob Hayes 28-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Mike Clark kick) Cowboys 34–7 4 DAL Mike Clark 12-yard field goal Cowboys 37–7 4 NE Randy Vataha 33-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Charlie Gogolak kick) Cowboys 37–14 4 DAL Joe Williams 2-yard run (Mike Clark kick) Cowboys 44–14 4 NE Tom Beer 31-yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Charlie Gogolak kick) Cowboys 44–21

^[6]

Dallas' first game at Texas Stadium.

Week 7[]

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Week 8[]

1 2 3 4 Total • Cowboys 3 0 3 10 16 Cardinals 0 10 0 3 13 Date: November 7 Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST Game weather: 29°F; wind 11 Referee: Fred Swearingen

Scoring summary Q1 DAL Fritsch 27 yard field goal DAL 3–0 Q2 STL Bakken 41 yard field goal Tie 3–3 Q2 STL Williams 11 yard pass from Hart (Bakken kick) STL 10–3 Q3 DAL Fritsch 14 yard field goal STL 10–6 Q4 DAL Ditka 4 yard pass from Staubach (Reeves run) DAL 13–10 Q4 STL Bakken 36 yard field goal TIE 13–13 Q4 DAL Fritsch 26 yard field goal DAL 16–13

^[7]

Week 9[]

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 0 0 7 7 • Cowboys 3 7 7 3 20 Date: November 14 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST Game weather: 73°F; wind 17 Referee: Jim Tunney

Scoring summary Q1 DAL Fritsch 23 yard field goal DAL 3–0 Q2 DAL Thomas 1 yard run (Fritsch kick) DAL 10–0 Q3 DAL Thomas 13 yard run (Fritsch kick) DAL 17–0 Q4 DAL Fritsch 46 yard field goal DAL 20–0 Q4 PHI Liske 1 yard run (Feller kick) DAL 20–7

^[8]

Playoffs[]

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Game Site	Attendance	Recap
Divisional	December 25	at Minnesota Vikings	W 20–12	Metropolitan Stadium	47,307	Recap
NFC Championship	January 2	San Francisco 49ers	W 14–3	Texas Stadium	63,409	Recap
Super Bowl VI	January 16	vs Miami Dolphins	W 24–3	Tulane Stadium	81,023	Recap

NFC Divisional Playoff[]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP DAL MIN 1 Cowboys 26-yard field goal by Mike Clark 3 0 2 Vikings 27-yard field goal by Fred Cox 3 3 2 Cowboys 44-yard field goal by Mike Clark 6 3 3 Cowboys Duane Thomas 13-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 13 3 3 Cowboys Bob Hayes 9-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Mike Clark kick good 20 3 4 Vikings Roger Staubach tackled in end zone for a safety by Alan Page 20 5 4 Vikings Stu Voigt 6-yard touchdown reception from Gary Cuozzo, Fred Cox kick good 20 12 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 20 12

NFC Championship Game[]

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP SF DAL 2 Cowboys Calvin Hill 1-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 0 7 3 49ers 28-yard field goal by Bruce Gossett 3 7 4 Cowboys Duane Thomas 2-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 3 14 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 3 14

Super Bowl VI[]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP DAL MIA 1 Cowboys 9-yard field goal by Mike Clark 3 0 2 Cowboys Lance Alworth 7-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Mike Clark kick good 10 0 2 Dolphins 31-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian 10 3 3 Cowboys Duane Thomas 3-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 17 3 4 Cowboys Mike Ditka 7-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Mike Clark kick good 24 3 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 24 3

Roster[]

Dallas Cowboys 1971 roster
Quarterbacks 14 Craig Morton 12 Roger Staubach Running Backs 32 Walt Garrison FB 35 Calvin Hill 30 Dan Reeves 33 Duane Thomas 42 Claxton Welch 36 Joe Williams Wide Receivers 23 Margene Adkins 19 Lance Alworth 22 Bob Hayes 31 Gloster Richardson Tight Ends 89 Mike Ditka 87 Billy Truax		Offensive Linemen 79 Forrest Gregg G/T 64 Tony Liscio T 51 Dave Manders C 73 Ralph Neely T 76 John Niland G 61 Blaine Nye G 72 Don Talbert T 71 Rodney Wallace G/T 70 Rayfield Wright T Defensive Linemen 66 George Andrie DE 63 Larry Cole DE 62 John Fitzgerald DT 77 Bill Gregory DT 74 Bob Lilly DT 75 Jethro Pugh DT 85 Tody Smith DE 67 Pat Toomay DE		Linebackers 60 Lee Roy Caffey OLB 52 Dave Edwards OLB 54 Chuck Howley OLB 55 Lee Roy Jordan MLB 50 D. D. Lewis OLB 56 Tom Stincic MLB Defensive Backs 26 Herb Adderley CB 34 Cornell Green SS/CB 43 Cliff Harris FS/PR 20 Mel Renfro CB/FS 37 Ike Thomas CB/KR 41 Charlie Waters FS Special Teams 83 Mike Clark K 15 Toni Fritsch K 10 Ron Widby P		Reserve Lists 78 Bob Asher T (IR) Rookies in italics 45 Active, 1 Inactive

Awards and records[]

• Led NFC, Fewest Rushing Yards Allowed, 1,144 yards
• Led NFL, 401 Points Scored
• Led NFL, 5,035 Total Yards Gained
• Herb Adderley, Three Interceptions in One Game, Club Record
• Roger Staubach, MVP, Super Bowl VI
• Roger Staubach, NFL Passing Leader
• Roger Staubach, Led NFL, 2,786 pass yards
• Roger Staubach, Bert Bell Award^[9]
• Roger Staubach, NFC Pro Bowl
• Roger Staubach, All-Pro Quarterback
• Duane Thomas, NFL Touchdown Leader (13 – 11 Rushing, 2 Receiving)

References[]

External links[]

• 1971 Dallas Cowboys season
• 1971 Dallas Cowboys