Major rule changes
- Teams will not be charged a time out for an injured player unless the injury occurs inside the last two minutes of a half or overtime.
- Missed field goal attempts can be run back.
Stadium changes
- Before the season, the Boston Patriots changed their name to “New England Patriots” after they moved to their new home field, Schaefer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
- The Chicago Bears moved their home games to Soldier Field.
- The Philadelphia Eagles moved their games to Veterans Stadium.
- The San Francisco 49ers moved into Candlestick Park.
- The Dallas Cowboys moved during the season to Texas Stadium.
- 11 teams played their home games on artificial turf in 1971. This was up from 7 teams in the NFL in 1970. The teams were: Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, Miami, New England, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and San Francisco.
Division races
Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth “wild card” team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, record against common opponents, and records in conference play. More tiebreakers were provided in 1971 because, in 1970, reversing just one game’s outcome would have led to a coin toss between Dallas and Detroit for the NFC wild card berth.
Week |
Eastern |
|
Central |
|
Western |
|
Wild Card |
|
1 |
3 teams |
1–0–0 |
2 teams |
1–0–0 |
2 teams |
1–0–0 |
3 teams |
1–0–0 |
2 |
2 teams |
2–0–0 |
Chicago |
2–0–0 |
Atlanta |
1–0–1 |
2 teams |
2–0–0 |
3 |
Washington |
3–0–0 |
4 teams |
2–1–0 |
San Francisco |
2–1–0 |
5 teams |
2–1–0 |
4 |
Washington |
4–0–0 |
Chicago* |
3–1–0 |
Los Angeles |
2–1–1 |
3 teams |
3–1–0 |
5 |
Washington |
5–0–0 |
Minnesota* |
4–1–0 |
Los Angeles |
3–1–1 |
Detroit |
4–1–0 |
6 |
Washington |
5–1–0 |
Minnesota |
5–1–0 |
Los Angeles |
4–1–1 |
4 teams |
4–2–0 |
7 |
Washington |
6–1–0 |
Minnesota |
6–1–0 |
San Francisco |
5–2–0 |
Chicago |
5–2–0 |
8 |
Washington |
6–1–1 |
Minnesota |
6–2–0 |
San Francisco |
6–2–0 |
Detroit |
5–2–1 |
9 |
Washington |
6–2–1 |
Minnesota |
7–2–0 |
San Francisco |
6–3–0 |
Chicago* |
6–3–0 |
10 |
Dallas |
7–3–0 |
Minnesota |
8–2–0 |
Los Angeles |
6–3–1 |
Washington* |
6–3–1 |
11 |
Dallas |
8–3–0 |
Minnesota |
9–2–0 |
San Francisco |
7–4–0 |
Washington* |
7–3–1 |
12 |
Dallas |
9–3–0 |
Minnesota |
9–3–0 |
Los Angeles |
7–4–1 |
Washington |
8–3–1 |
13 |
Dallas |
10–3–0 |
Minnesota |
10–3–0 |
San Francisco |
8–5–0 |
Washington |
9–3–1 |
14 |
Dallas |
11–3–0 |
Minnesota |
11–3–0 |
San Francisco |
9–5–0 |
Washington |
9–4–1 |
Week |
Eastern |
|
Central |
|
Western |
|
Wild Card |
|
1 |
2 teams |
1–0–0 |
2 teams |
1–0–0 |
San Diego |
1–0–0 |
2 teams |
1–0–0 |
2 |
Miami |
1–0–1 |
Cleveland |
2–0–0 |
Oakland* |
1–1–0 |
6 teams |
1–1–0 |
3 |
Baltimore |
2–1–0 |
Pittsburgh* |
2–1–0 |
Oakland* |
2–1–0 |
2 teams |
2–1–0 |
4 |
Baltimore |
3–1–0 |
Cleveland |
3–1–0 |
Oakland* |
3–1–0 |
Kansas City |
3–1–0 |
5 |
Baltimore |
4–1–0 |
Cleveland |
4–1–0 |
Oakland* |
4–1–0 |
Kansas City |
4–1–0 |
6 |
Miami |
4–1–1 |
Cleveland |
4–2–0 |
Oakland* |
5–1–0 |
Kansas City |
5–1–0 |
7 |
Miami |
5–1–1 |
Cleveland |
4–3–0 |
Oakland* |
5–1–1 |
Kansas City |
5–1–1 |
8 |
Miami |
6–1–1 |
Cleveland* |
4–4–0 |
Oakland |
5–1–2 |
Baltimore |
6–2–0 |
9 |
Miami |
7–1–1 |
Cleveland* |
4–5–0 |
Oakland |
6–1–2 |
Baltimore |
7–2–0 |
10 |
Miami |
8–1–1 |
Cleveland* |
5–5–0 |
Oakland |
7–1–2 |
Kansas City |
7–2–1 |
11 |
Miami |
9–1–1 |
Cleveland |
6–5–0 |
Oakland |
7–2–2 |
Baltimore |
8–3–0 |
12 |
Miami |
9–2–1 |
Cleveland |
7–5–0 |
Kansas City |
8–3–1 |
Baltimore |
9–3–0 |
13 |
Baltimore |
10–3–0 |
Cleveland |
8–5–0 |
Kansas City |
9–3–1 |
Miami |
9–3–1 |
14 |
Miami |
10–3–1 |
Cleveland |
9–5–0 |
Kansas City |
10–3–1 |
Baltimore |
10–4–0 |
Final standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
|
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
|
Tiebreakers
- New England finished ahead of N.Y. Jets in the AFC East based on better point differential in head to head games, 13 points.
Playoffs
- Note: Prior to the 1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation of division winners. Had the playoffs been seeded, the divisional round matchups would have been #3 Cleveland at #2 Miami and #4 wild card Baltimore at #1 Kansas City in the AFC; #4 wild card Washington at #1 Minnesota and #3 San Francisco at #2 Dallas in the NFC.
References
- NFL Record and Fact Book (
ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1971–1980 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (
ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
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Early era (1920–1969) | |
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Modern era (1970–present) | |
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