1971 Buffalo Bills season

The 1971 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's second season in the National Football League, and the 12th overall.

1971 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachHarvey Johnson
Home fieldWar Memorial Stadium
Results
Record1–13
Division place5th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify

For the second time in four seasons, the Bills finished with only one victory. The Bills 1–13 record (a 0.071 winning percentage) remains the worst in franchise history. The team allowed 394 points, the most in franchise history for a 14-game season.

The season began in turmoil when coach John Rauch resigned, forcing pro personnel director Harvey Johnson to assume the position for the second time on an interim basis.[1]

Buffalo lost their first ten games of the season, extending their losing streak to 15 and winless streak to 17, dating back to the previous season. They were held scoreless in four games; their minus-210 point differential is the worst in the team's history, and one of the forty worst point-differentials in NFL history.[2]

Running back O. J. Simpson would have a stellar year, despite the Bills poor team record. Simpson would rush for 742 yards on 183 attempts. However, Simpson would only score 5 touchdowns, the fewest for a single season in his career. The Bills would only score 21 touchdowns as a team during the 1971 season, a franchise low.[3]

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1971 NFL Draft

The Bills had a strong draft in 1971, selecting several players who would have long-term impact with the team.

  • Wide receiver J. D. Hill played five seasons for the Bills, making the Pro Bowl in his second season.
  • Fullback Jim Braxton was an effective blocker for star tailback O. J. Simpson for the next seven seasons.
  • Right tackle Donnie Green became a key component in the Bills' "Electric Company" offensive line for the next seven seasons.
  • Receiver Bob Chandler played with the Bills for nine seasons, making second team All-Pro in 1975 and 1977, and leading the league in receptions from '75–'77, with 176 catches.
= Pro Bowler[4]
1971 Buffalo Bills Draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
1 4 J. D. Hill WR Arizona State
2 29 Jan White TE Ohio State
3 53 Bruce Jarvis C Washington
57 Jim Braxton FB West Virginia
5 107 Donnie Green OT Purdue
113 Tim Beamer DB Illinois
6 145 Bill McKinley DE Arizona
7 160 Bob Chandler WR Southern California
8 183 Louis Ross DE South Carolina State
185 Tyrone Walls RB Missouri
9 213 Bob Strickland LB Auburn
11 263 Andy Browder T Texas A&I
12 291 Jim Sheffield K Texas A&M
13 316 Busty Underwood QB Texas Christian
14 341 Jim Hoots DE Missouri Southern
15 369 Charles Cole RB Toledo
16 394 Billy Hunter DB Utah
17 419 Pat Morrison TE Arkansas

[5]

Personnel

Coaches/Staff
1971 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches'

Final roster
1971 Buffalo Bills 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 Venue Recap
1 September 19 Dallas Cowboys L 37–49 0–1 War Memorial Stadium Recap
2 September 26 Miami Dolphins L 14–29 0–2 War Memorial Stadium Recap
3 October 3 at Minnesota Vikings L 0–19 0–3 Metropolitan Stadium Recap
4 October 10 Baltimore Colts L 0–43 0–4 War Memorial Stadium Recap
5 October 17 at New York Jets L 17–28 0–5 Shea Stadium Recap
6 October 23 at San Diego Chargers L 3–20 0–6 San Diego Stadium Recap
7 October 31 St. Louis Cardinals L 23–28 0–7 War Memorial Stadium Recap
8 November 7 at Miami Dolphins L 0–34 0–8 Miami Orange Bowl Recap
9 November 14 at New England Patriots L 33–38 0–9 Schaefer Stadium Recap
10 November 21 New York Jets L 7–20 0–10 War Memorial Stadium Recap
11 November 28 New England Patriots W 27–20 1–10 War Memorial Stadium Recap
12 December 5 at Baltimore Colts L 0–24 1–11 Memorial Stadium Recap
13 December 12 Houston Oilers L 14–20 1–12 War Memorial Stadium Recap
14 December 19 at Kansas City Chiefs L 9–22 1–13 Municipal Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings
AFC East
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.

[6]

Week 1

Week 11
1 234Total
Patriots 3 377 20
• Bills 0 17010 27
  • Date: November 28
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 27,166
  • Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C); wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
Scoring summary
Q1NEGogolak 40 yard field goalNE 3–0
Q2BUFHill 11 yard pass from Shaw (Leypoldt kick)BUF 7–3
Q2NEGogolak 17 yard field goalBUF 7–6
Q2BUFHill 47 yard pass from Shaw (Leypoldt kick)BUF 14–6
Q2BUFLeypoldt 48 yard field goalBUF 17–6
Q3NENance 1 yard run (Gogolak kick)BUF 17–13
Q4BUFSimpson 7 yard run (Leypoldt kick)BUF 24–13
Q4NESellers 12 yard pass from Plunkett (Gogolak kick)BUF 24–20
Q4BUFLeypoldt 41 yard field goalBUF 27–20

[7]

References
  1. Lou Saban, who resigned as coach of the Denver Broncos after eight games in 1971, would return to Buffalo in 1972; Saban had previously guided the Bills to consecutive American Football League championships in 1964 and 1965.
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com: Team Game Finder Query Results
  3. "1971 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  4. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  5. Buffalo Bills 1971 NFL Entry Draft
  6. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 297
  7. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-20.
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