1971 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1971 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 2nd season in the National Football League, and the 4th overall. Cornerback Lemar Parrish set a team record with seven interceptions, including one for a 65-yard score, Cincinnati's first-ever interception return for a touchdown. The Bengals, coming off their first division-winning season of 1970, drafted quarterback Ken Anderson in the third round of the 1971 NFL Draft. Anderson would go on to play 16 seasons for the club and set numerous team passing records. While 1971 proved to be a disappointment, losing six games by four points or less, statistically this was the first year the Bengals led their opponents in almost every category.

1971 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home stadium	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	4–10
Division place	4th AFC Central
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1970 Bengals seasons 1972 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1971 NFL draft

1971 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	15	Vernon Holland	Offensive tackle	Tennessee State
2	41	Steve Lawson	Guard	Kansas
3	67	Ken Anderson *	Quarterback	Augustana
4	93	Fred Willis	Running back	Boston College
5	110	Art May	Defensive end	Tuskegee
7	171	Neal Craig	Defensive back	Fisk
8	197	Fred Herring	Defensive back	Tennessee State
9	223	Gary Gustafson	Linebacker	Montana State
10	249	Jack Stambaugh	Guard	Oregon
11	275	Ed Marshall	Wide receiver	Cameron
12	301	James Hayden	Defensive end	Memphis
13	327	David Knapman	Tight end	Central Washington
14	353	Irvin Mallory	Defensive back	Virginia Union
15	379	Bob Thomas	Running back	Arizona State
16	405	Mark Debevc	Linebacker	Ohio State
17	432	Sam Pearson	Defensive back	Western Kentucky
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1971 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office President – John Sawyer Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown Head coaches Head Coach/General Manager – Paul Brown Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Receivers – Bill Walsh Offensive Backfield – Jack Donaldson Offensive Line – Bill Johnson

Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backfield – Chuck Weber Defensive Line – Chuck Studley Linebackers – Vince Costello

Roster

1971 Cincinnati Bengals roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Ken Anderson 11 Virgil Carter Running backs (RB) 44 Doug Dressler 19 Essex Johnson 40 Ron Lamb 30 Jess Phillips 18 Paul Robinson 33 Fred Willis Wide receivers (WR) 35 Mike Haffner 83 Ed Marshall 25 Chip Myers 17 Speedy Thomas Tight ends (TE) 88 Bruce Coslet 87 Mike Kelly 84 Bob Trumpy

Offensive linemen (OL) 63 Guy Dennis G/C 72 Howard Fest G 76 Vernon Holland T 54 Bob Johnson C 68 Steve Lawson G 73 Pat Matson G 71 Rufus Mayes T Defensive linemen (DL) 82 Royce Berry DE 70 Ron Carpenter DE 79 Steve Chomyszak DT 80 Ken Johnson DE/DT 78 Willie Jones DE 74 Mike Reid DT 81 Nick Roman DE

Linebackers (LB) 52 Doug Adams MLB 51 Ken Avery OLB 58 Al Beauchamp OLB 66 Bill Bergey MLB 59 Larry Ely MLB 53 Bill Peterson OLB Defensive backs (DB) 23 Al Coleman FS 34 Neal Craig SS 29 Sandy Durko FS 20 Lemar Parrish CB 13 Ken Riley CB 31 Fletcher Smith SS Special teams (ST) 15 Dave Lewis P 16 Horst Mühlmann K

Reserve 12 Greg Cook QB (IR) 27 Ken Dyer S (IR) 75 Ernie Wright T (IR) Rookies in italics

^[2]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 19	Philadelphia Eagles	W 37–14	1–0	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
2	September 26	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 10–21	1–1	Three Rivers Stadium	Recap
3	October 3	at Green Bay Packers	L 17–20	1–2	Lambeau Field	Recap
4	October 10	Miami Dolphins	L 13–23	1–3	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
5	October 17	Cleveland Browns	L 24–27	1–4	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
6	October 24	at Oakland Raiders	L 27–31	1–5	Oakland Coliseum	Recap
7	October 31	at Houston Oilers	L 6–10	1–6	Astrodome	Recap
8	November 7	Atlanta Falcons	L 6–9	1–7	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
9	November 14	at Denver Broncos	W 24–10	2–7	Mile High Stadium	Recap
10	November 21	Houston Oilers	W 28–13	3–7	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
11	November 28	San Diego Chargers	W 31–0	4–7	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
12	December 5	at Cleveland Browns	L 27–31	4–8	Cleveland Stadium	Recap
13	December 12	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–21	4–9	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
14	December 19	at New York Jets	L 21–35	4–10	Shea Stadium	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Eagles

See also: 1971 Philadelphia Eagles season

Week One: Philadelphia Eagles (0–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	0	7	14
Bengals	0	10	17	10	37

at Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio

• Date: September 19
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C) • Wind 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h; 5.2 kn)
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information
Eagles Pete Liske 20/40, 301 Yds, 2 TD, 3 INT Tom Woodeshick 7 Rush, 29 Yds Ben Hawkins 7 Rec, 118 Yds, 2 TD Bengals Virgil Carter 22/30, 273 Yds, 3 TD Essex Johnson 8 Rush, 113 Yds, TD Speedy Thomas 4 Rec, 122 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP PHI CIN 2 Bengals Eric Crabtree 2-yard touchdown reception from Virgil Carter, Horst Muhlmann kick good 0 7 2 Eagles Ben Hawkins 10-yard touchdown reception from Pete Liske, Happy Feller kick good 7 7 2 Bengals 36-yard field goal by Horst Muhlmann 7 10 3 Bengals Speedy Thomas 90-yard touchdown reception from Virgil Carter, Horst Muhlmann kick good 7 17 3 Bengals 35-yard field goal by Horst Muhlmann 7 20 4 Bengals Jess Phillips 7-yard touchdown reception from Virgil Carter, Horst Muhlmann kick good 7 27 4 Eagles Ben Hawkins 15-yard touchdown reception from Pete Liske, Happy Feller kick good 14 27 4 Bengals Essex Johnson 68-yard touchdown run, Horst Muhlmann kick good 14 34 4 Bengals 26-yard field goal by Horst Muhlmann 14 37 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 14 37

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	9	5	0	.643	5–1	7–4	285	273	W5
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	8	0	.429	4–2	5–6	246	292	L1
Houston Oilers	4	9	1	.308	2–4	4–7	251	330	W3
Cincinnati Bengals	4	10	0	.286	1–5	3–8	284	265	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Team stats

1971 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATS	Bengals	Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS	236	213
Rushing	109	93
Passing	115	102
Penalty	12	18
TOTAL NET YARDS	4266	3906
Avg Per Game	304.7	279.0
Total Plays	867	811
Avg. Per Play	4.9	4.8
NET YARDS RUSHING	2142	1778
Avg. Per Game	153.0	127.0
Total Rushes	462	446
NET YARDS PASSING	2124	2128
Avg. Per Game	151.7	152.0
Sacked Yards Lost	40–303	30–254
Gross Yards	2427	2382
Att. Completions	365–214	335–157
Completion Pct.	58.6	46.9
Intercepted	11	27
PUNTS-AVERAGE	73–44.7	73–40.9
PENALTIES-YARDS	82-921	72–722
FUMBLES-BALL LOST	29–12	21–12
TOUCHDOWNS	32	32
Rushing	14	11
Passing	15	19
Returns	3	2

Score by Periods	1	2	3	4	Tot
Bengals	58	64	91	71	284
Opponents	44	71	48	102	265

Team leaders

• Passing: Virgil Carter (222 Att, 138 Comp, 1624 Yds, 62.2 Pct, 10 TD, 7 Int, 86.2 Rating)
• Rushing: Fred Willis (135 Att, 590 Yds, 4.4 Avg, 36 Long, 7 TD)
• Receiving: Bob Trumpy (40 Rec, 531 Yds, 13.3 Avg, 44 Long, 3 TD)
• Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 91 points (20 FG; 31 PAT)

Awards and records

Pro Bowl selections

• CB Lemar Parrish