| 1971 Atlanta Falcons season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Rankin M. Smith Sr. |
| General manager | Norm Van Brocklin |
| Head coach | Norm Van Brocklin |
| Home field | Atlanta Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–6–1 |
| Division place | 3rd NFC West |
| Playoff finish | Did 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.
| 1971 Atlanta Falcons draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Joe Profit | Running back | Northeast Louisiana | |
| Made roster | |||||
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
|
| 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. | ||||||
| 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.
- ^ "1971 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
| |
| Franchise | |
| Stadiums | |
| Culture | |
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Wild card / First round berths (8) | |
| Division championships (6) | |
| Conference championships (2) | |
| Ring of Honor | |
| Current league affiliations |
|
 | This article relating to an American football season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
| 1971 Atlanta Falcons season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Rankin M. Smith Sr. |
| General manager | Norm Van Brocklin |
| Head coach | Norm Van Brocklin |
| Home field | Atlanta Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–6–1 |
| Division place | 3rd NFC West |
| Playoff finish | Did 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.
| 1971 Atlanta Falcons draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Joe Profit | Running back | Northeast Louisiana | |
| Made roster | |||||
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
|
| 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. | ||||||
| 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.
- ^ "1971 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
| |
| Franchise | |
| Stadiums | |
| Culture | |
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Wild card / First round berths (8) | |
| Division championships (6) | |
| Conference championships (2) | |
| Ring of Honor | |
| Current league affiliations |
|
|
| This article relating to an American football season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |