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1971 Houston Oilers season
The 1971 Houston Oilers season was the team's 12th season, and second with the National Football League. The Oilers improved on their previous season's output of three victories, winning four games in 1971. They missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
| 1971 Houston Oilers season |
|---|
| Bud Adams |
| John W. Breen |
| Ed Hughes |
| Houston Astrodome |
| 4–9–1 |
| 3rd AFC Central |
| Did not qualify |
| FS Ken Houston |
The 1971 Houston Oilers season was the team's 12th season, and second with the National Football League. The Oilers improved on their previous season's output of three victories, winning four games in 1971. They missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.
The 1971 Oilers are the only team in NFL history to throw three-or-more interceptions in ten different games. (The team was 2–7–1 in those games.)
One of the only bright spots was fifth year safety Ken Houston. Houston, who had the best season of his career, snagged 9 interceptions for 220 yards and 4 touchdowns (all career highs).
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 | Column 5 | Column 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 Houston Oilers draft | |||||
| 1 | 3 | Dan Pastorini * | Quarterback | Santa Clara | |
| 3 | 56 | Lynn Dickey | Quarterback | Kansas State | |
| .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 | Column 5 | Column 6 | Column 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks (QB) | ||||||
| 10 Lynn Dickey | ||||||
| 12 Charley Johnson | ||||||
| 7 Dan Pastorini P | ||||||
| Running backs (RB) |
35 Woody Campbell 36 Robert Holmes 28 Andy Hopkins 2 Dickie Post 32 Ward Walsh Wide receivers (WR)
81 Jim Beirne 00 Ken Burrough 87 Linzy Cole 84 Mac Haik 18 Charlie Joiner Tight ends (TE)
89 Alvin Reed | | Offensive linemen (OL) 74 Gene Ferguson T 66 Tom Funchess G/T 75 Elbert Drungo G 60 Tom Regner G 62 Jerry Sturm C 76 Walter Suggs C/T 77 Sam Walton T 56 Bob Young G Defensive linemen (DL)
88 Allen Aldridge DE 65 Elvin Bethea DE 82 Ron Billingsley DT 79 Pat Holmes DE 78 Mike Tilleman DT | | Linebackers (LB) 52 Garland Boyette MLB 59 Phil Croyle OLB 37 Dave Olerich MLB 58 Ron Pritchard OLB 85 Floyd Rice OLB 90 George Webster OLB Defensive backs (DB)
19 Willie Alexander CB 48 Bob Atkins CB/S 25 John Charles FS 45 Leroy Howard CB 29 Ken Houston SS 22 Zeke Moore CB Special teams (ST)
11 Mark Moseley K | | Practice squad 33 Benny Johnson CB 24 Mike Richardson RB 41 Leroy Sledge RB Reserve
73 Leo Brooks DT (IR) -- Roy Hopkins RB (IR) 64 Ron Saul G (IR)
Rookies in italics |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 19 | at Cleveland Browns | L 0–31 | 0–1 | Cleveland Stadium | 73,387 | Recap | |
| September 26 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 16–20 | 0–2 | Houston Astrodome | 46,498 | Recap | |
| October 3 | New Orleans Saints | T 13–13 | 0–2–1 | Houston Astrodome | 47,966 | Recap | |
| October 10 | at Washington Redskins | L 13–22 | 0–3–1 | RFK Stadium | 53,041 | Recap | |
| October 17 | Detroit Lions | L 7–31 | 0–4–1 | Houston Astrodome | 45,885 | Recap | |
| October 24 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 16–23 | 0–5–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 45,872 | Recap | |
| October 31 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 10–6 | 1–5–1 | Houston Astrodome | 37,947 | Recap | |
| November 7 | at New England Patriots | L 20–28 | 1–6–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 53,155 | Recap | |
| November 14 | at Oakland Raiders | L 21–41 | 1–7–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 54,705 | Recap | |
| November 21 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 13–28 | 1–8–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 59,390 | Recap | |
| November 28 | Cleveland Browns | L 24–37 | 1–9–1 | Houston Astrodome | 37,921 | Recap | |
| December 5 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 29–3 | 2–9–1 | Houston Astrodome | 37,778 | Recap | |
| December 12 | at Buffalo Bills | W 20–14 | 3–9–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 28,107 | Recap | |
| December 19 | San Diego Chargers | W 49–33 | 4–9–1 | Houston Astrodome | 35,959 | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
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