1971 Washington Redskins season
| 1971 Washington Redskins season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | George Allen |
| Home field | RFK Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–4–1 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC East |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (49ers) 24–20 |
The 1971 Washington Redskins was the team's 40th in the National Football League, and their 35th in Washington, D.C.. The 1971 was the first with the Redskins for coach George Allen, who had been the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams for the previous five seasons.
Coming into the 1971 season, the team had not made it to the post-season for 26 seasons. The Redskins had had only four winning seasons since their last playoff berth in 1945, the most recent a 7-5-2 campaign in 1969 under Vince Lombardi, who died of colon cancer in September 1970.
Allen was Washington's fourth coach in as many seasons. Lombardi succeeded Otto Graham, and Bill Austin took over when Lombardi fell mortally ill.
Despite a broken left ankle suffered by leading receiver Charley Taylor in their week six loss to the Kansas City Chiefs which forced him to miss the remainder of the season, the Redskins went 9–4–1, good for second place in the NFC East, and a wild card berth, where they would ultimately fall to San Francisco, 24–20.
Off-season
NFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 38 | Cotton Speyrer | Wide Receiver | Texas |
| 6 | 141 | Conway Hayman | Guard | Delaware |
| 7 | 166 | Willie Germany | Defensive Back | Morgan State |
| 9 | 219 | Mike Fanucci | Defensive End | Arizona State |
| 10 | 244 | Jesse Taylor | Running Back | Cincinnati |
| 11 | 272 | George Starke | Tackle | Columbia |
| 12 | 297 | Jeff Severson | Defensive Back | Cal-Long Beach |
| 13 | 322 | Dan Ryczek | Center | Virginia |
| 14 | 349 | Bill Bynum | Quarterback | West New Mexico |
| 15 | 375 | Anthony Christnovich | Guard | La Crosse (Wis.) |
| 16 | 400 | Glenn Tucker | Linebacker | North Texas |
Roster
| 1971 Washington Redskins roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
{{{reserve_lists}}}
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Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 19, 1971 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 24–17 | |
| 2 | September 26, 1971 | at New York Giants | W 30–3 | |
| 3 | October 3, 1971 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 20–16 | |
| 4 | October 10, 1971 | Houston Oilers | W 22–13 | |
| 5 | October 17, 1971 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 20–0 | |
| 6 | October 24, 1971 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 27–20 | |
| 7 | October 31, 1971 | New Orleans Saints | W 24–14 | |
| 8 | November 7, 1971 | Philadelphia Eagles | T 7–7 | |
| 9 | November 14, 1971 | at Chicago Bears | L 16–15 | |
| 10 | November 21, 1971 | Dallas Cowboys | L 13–0 | |
| 11 | November 28, 1971 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 20–13 | |
| 12 | December 5, 1971 | New York Giants | W 23–7 | |
| 13 | December 13, 1971 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 38–24 | |
| 14 | December 19, 1971 | Cleveland Browns | L 20–13 |
Game summaries
Week 3
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Week 8
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Playoffs
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 26, 1971 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 24–20 |
Standings
| NFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Richard Nixon Play
Rumor has it 37th President Richard Nixon called a key play which caused the Redskins to lose to the 49ers. This was just a rumor, although Nixon was friends with George Allen and attended a practice game once where he tried the same play to much better results.[2]