1971 Buffalo Bills season

1971 Buffalo Bills season
1971 Buffalo Bills season
Owner	Ralph Wilson
Head coach	Harvey Johnson
Home field	War Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	1–13
Division place	5th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1970; Bills seasons; 1972 →;

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

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.^[a]

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.^[1]

Running back O. J. Simpson would have a stellar year, despite the Billsʼ 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.^[2]

Offseason

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^[b]

1971 Buffalo Bills Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	4	J. D. Hill	WR	Arizona State
2	29	Jan White	TE	Ohio State
3	53	Bruce Jarvis	C	Washington
3	57	Jim Braxton	FB	West Virginia
5	107	Donnie Green	OT	Purdue
5	113	Tim Beamer	DB	Illinois
6	145	Bill McKinley	DE	Arizona
7	160	Bob Chandler	WR	USC
8	183	Louis Ross	DE	South Carolina State
8	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	TCU
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

^[3]

Personnel

Coaches/Staff

1971 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

President – Ralph Wilson
Vice President and General Manager – Bob Lustig
Vice President – Pat McGroder

Coaching staff

Head coach - Harvey Johnson

Offensive coaches

Quarterbacks coach - Tom Flores
Offensive Line – Marvin Bass

Defensive coaches'

Defensive Line – Doc Urich
Linebackers – Ralph Hawkins
Defensive Backfield – Bobby Hunt

Source: https://pro-football-history.com/franchise/7/buffalo-bills-coaches

Final roster

**1971 Buffalo Bills roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 12 James Harris 16 Dennis Shaw Running backs (RB) 34 Jim Braxton FB 36 Greg Jones 30 Wayne Patrick 32 O. J. Simpson Wide receivers (WR) 86 Marlin Briscoe 81 Bob Chandler 28 Ike Hill 40 J. D. Hill 25 Haven Moses Tight ends (TE) 85 Ted Koy 80 Jan White		Offensive linemen (OL) 62 Levert Carr G 63 Dick Cunningham T 79 Paul Costa T 74 Donnie Green T 51 Bruce Jarvis C 54 Howard Kindig T 67 Joe O'Donnell G 61 Jim Reilly G 68 Willie Young T Defensive linemen (DL) 82 Al Cowlings DE 78 Jim Dunaway DT 72 Bob Hews DE 64 Chuck Hurston DE 76 Mike McBath DE 75 Cal Snowden DE 71 Bob Tatarek DT		Linebackers (LB) 56 Al Andrews 52 Edgar Chandler 51 Jerald Collins 59 Paul Guidry 55 Bill McKinley 58 Mike Stratton Defensive backs (DB) 21 Jackie Allen FS 46 Tim Beamer CB 43 Tony Greene SS 20 Robert James CB 48 John Pitts SS 47 Pete Richardson FS 41 Alvin Wyatt CB Special teams 11 Spike Jones P 3 John Leypoldt K				Reserve 73 Richard Cheek G (IR) 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
view talk edit	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.

^[4]

Game summaries

Week 11

	1	2	3	4	Total
Patriots	3	3	7	7	20
• Bills	0	17	0	10	27

Date: November 28
Location: War Memorial Stadium
Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 27,166
Game weather: 38 °F (3.3 °C); wind 12 mph (19 km/h)

^[5]

Notes

^ 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.
^ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.

References

^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: Team Game Finder Query Results
^ "1971 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
^ "Buffalo Bills 1971 NFL Entry Draft". The Football Database.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Co. p. 297. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.
^ "New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills — November 28th, 1971". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.

[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.

["Pro_Bowler_note-4] Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.

[2] Pro-Football-Reference.com: Team Game Finder Query Results

[3] "1971 Buffalo Bills Statistics & Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2021.

[Buffalo_Bills_1971_NFL_Entry_Draft-5] "Buffalo Bills 1971 NFL Entry Draft". The Football Database.

[6] NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. New York, NY: Workman Publishing Co. p. 297. ISBN 0-7611-2480-2.

[7] "New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills — November 28th, 1971". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.

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