1971 New York Jets season

The 1971 New York Jets season was the twelfth season for the team and the second in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 4-10 record from 1970 under head coach Weeb Ewbank.

1971 New York Jets season
Owner	Leon Hess
Head coach	Weeb Ewbank
Home field	Shea Stadium
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T Winston Hill

Disaster struck before the regular season started and the Jets finished 6–8. Joe Namath was injured in a preseason game against the Detroit Lions and required knee surgery, All-Pro WR George Sauer, Jr unexpectedly retired at the peak of his career, and All-Pro defensive end Verlon Biggs exercised his option and signed with the Washington Redskins.

After missing nineteen consecutive Jets games in 1970 and 1971, Namath returned to action against the San Francisco 49ers in the third quarter (November 28, 1971) and threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted by Johnny Fuller in the end zone on the final play of a 24–21 loss. He then started the final three games, and the Jets won the last two after suffering a 52–10 loss in a nationally televised game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1971 New York Jets Draft
Round	Pick #	Overall	Name	Position	College
1	6	6	John Riggins	Running back	Kansas
2	6	32	John Mooring	Tackle	Tampa
3	6	58	Chris Farasopoulos	Defensive back	BYU
4	6	84	Bill Zapalac	Linebacker	Texas
6	6	136	Phil Wise	Tight end	Nebraska-Omaha
7	6	162	Scott Palmer	Defensive tackle	Texas
8	6	188	Roy Kirksey	Guard	Maryland State
9	6	214	John Curtis	Tight end	Springfield
10	6	240	Jim Betts	Defensive back	Michigan
11	6	266	Vernon Studdard	Wide receiver	Mississippi
12	6	292	Rich Sowells	Defensive back	Alcorn
13	6	318	John Eggold	Defensive end	Arizona
14	6	344	John Harpring	Guard	Michigan
15	6	370	Dan Dyches	Center	South Carolina
16	6	396	Steve Harkey	Running back	Georgia Tech
17	6	422	Greg Flaska	Defensive end	Western Michigan

Roster

1971 New York Jets roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Bob Davis 12 Joe Namath 18 Al Woodall Running backs (RB) 32 Emerson Boozer 36 Steve Harkey 42 Cliff McClain 37 George Nock 44 John Riggins FB 41 Matt Snell Wide receivers (WR) 7 Eddie Bell 88 Rich Caster 13 Don Maynard 22 Vern Studdard Tight ends (TE) 82 Gary Arthur 87 Pete Lammons 89 Wayne Stewart

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Roger Finnie G 70 Dave Foley T 67 Dave Herman G 75 Winston Hill T 63 Roy Kirksey G 71 John Mooring T 66 Randy Rasmussen G 52 John Schmitt C 76 Bob Svihus T Defensive linemen (DL) 64 Chuck Hinton DT 57 John Little DT 84 Mark Lomas DE 72 Scott Palmer DT 81 Gerry Philbin DE 79 Clovis Swinney DT 53 Bill Zapalac DE

Linebackers (LB) 62 Al Atkinson 51 Ralph Baker 56 Paul Crane 55 John Ebersole 60 Larry Grantham Defensive backs (DB) 43 John Dockery CB 19 Chris Farasopoulos FS 33 W. K. Hicks FS 48 Gus Hollomon SS 21 Steve Tannen CB 45 Earlie Thomas CB 27 Phil Wise SS Special teams 3 Bobby Howfield K 20 Steve O'Neal P

Practice squad Currently vacant Reserve 80 John Elliott DT (IR) Rookies in italics , 0 practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 19	at Baltimore Colts	L 0–22	0–1	Memorial Stadium	56,458	Recap
2	September 27	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 10–17	0–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,358	Recap
3	October 3	at Miami Dolphins	W 14–10	1–2	Miami Orange Bowl	70,670	Recap
4	October 10	at New England Patriots	L 0–20	1–3	Schaefer Stadium	61,357	Recap
5	October 17	Buffalo Bills	W 28–17	2–3	Shea Stadium	61,948	Recap
6	October 24	Miami Dolphins	L 14–30	2–4	Shea Stadium	62,130	Recap
7	October 31	at San Diego Chargers	L 21–49	2–5	San Diego Stadium	44,786	Recap
8	November 7	Kansas City Chiefs	W 13–10	3–5	Shea Stadium	62,812	Recap
9	November 14	Baltimore Colts	L 13–14	3–6	Shea Stadium	63,947	Recap
10	November 21	at Buffalo Bills	W 20–7	4–6	War Memorial Stadium	41,577	Recap
11	November 28	San Francisco 49ers	L 21–24	4–7	Shea Stadium	63,936	Recap
12	December 4	at Dallas Cowboys	L 10–52	4–8	Texas Stadium	66,689	Recap
13	December 12	New England Patriots	W 13–6	5–8	Shea Stadium	63,175	Recap
14	December 19	Cincinnati Bengals	W 35–21	6–8	Shea Stadium	63,151	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.

External links

• 1971 statistics