1971 Miami Dolphins season

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

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. This was the first of four consecutive AFC East titles for the Dolphins. They 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.

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

Game summaries[]

Week 2[]

1 234Total
• Dolphins 3 9710 29
Bills 7 070 14
  • Date: September 26
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 54 °F • Wind 11
  • Referee: Dick Jorgensen

[2]

Standings[]

AFC East
  • view
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 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[]

Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Divisional December 25 at Kansas City Chiefs W 27–24 (2OT) 1–0 Municipal Stadium 45,822
AFC Championship January 2, 1972 Baltimore Colts W 21–0 2–0 Orange Bowl 76,622
Super Bowl VI January 16, 1972 Dallas Cowboys L 3–24 2–1 Tulane Stadium 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

External links[]

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