1971 Atlanta Falcons season

1971 Atlanta Falcons season
OwnerRankin M. Smith Sr.
General managerNorm Van Brocklin
Head coachNorm Van Brocklin
Home fieldAtlanta Stadium
Results
Record7–6–1
Division place3rd NFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1971 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's sixth year in the National Football League (NFL). It was the first winning season in franchise history.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1971 Atlanta Falcons draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 7 Joe Profit  Running back Northeast Louisiana
      Made roster  

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1971 Atlanta Falcons staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Norm Van Brocklin

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches




Roster

1971 Atlanta Falcons roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 19 San Francisco 49ers W 20–17 1–0 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 56,990
2 September 26 at Los Angeles Rams T 20–20 1–0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 57,895
3 October 3 at Detroit Lions L 38–41 1–1–1 Tiger Stadium 54,418
4 October 10 St. Louis Cardinals L 9–26 1–2–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850
5 October 17 Los Angeles Rams L 16–24 1–3–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850
6 October 24 New Orleans Saints W 28–6 2–3–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850
7 October 31 at Cleveland Browns W 31–14 3–3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,825
8 November 7 at Cincinnati Bengals W 9–6 4–3–1 Riverfront Stadium 59,604
9 November 14 New York Giants L 17–21 4–4–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850
10 November 22 Green Bay Packers W 28–21 5–4–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850
11 November 28 at Minnesota Vikings L 7–24 5–5–1 Metropolitan Stadium 49,784
12 December 5 Oakland Raiders W 24–13 6–5–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850
13 December 12 at San Francisco 49ers L 3–24 6–6–1 Kezar Stadium 44,582
14 December 19 at New Orleans Saints W 24–20 7–6–1 Tulane Stadium 75,954
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
San Francisco 49ers 9 5 0 .643 2–4 7–4 300 216 W2
Los Angeles Rams 8 5 1 .615 4–1–1 7–3–1 313 260 W1
Atlanta Falcons 7 6 1 .538 3–2–1 4–6–1 274 277 W1
New Orleans Saints 4 8 2 .333 2–4 4–7 266 347 L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings 11 3 0 .786 5–1 9–2 245 139 W2
Detroit Lions 7 6 1 .538 2–3–1 3–6–1 341 286 L2
Chicago Bears 6 8 0 .429 2–4 5–6 185 276 L5
Green Bay Packers 4 8 2 .333 2–3–1 2–7–2 274 298 L1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
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.

References

  1. ^ "1971 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.