1971 Houston Oilers season

Last updated

1971 Houston Oilers season
Owner Bud Adams
General manager John W. Breen
Head coach Ed Hughes
Home stadium Houston Astrodome
Results
Record4–9–1
Division place3rd AFC Central
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers 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. [1] They missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

Contents

The 1971 Oilers are the only team in NFL history to throw three-or-more interceptions in ten different games. [2] (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, snaged 9 interceptions for 220 yards and 4 touchdowns (all career highs).

Offseason

NFL draft

1971 Houston Oilers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
13 Dan Pastorini *  Quarterback Santa Clara
356 Lynn Dickey   Quarterback Kansas State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[3]

Roster

1971 Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 19at Cleveland Browns L 0–310–1 Cleveland Stadium 73,387 Recap
2September 26 Kansas City Chiefs L 16–200–2 Houston Astrodome 46,498 Recap
3October 3 New Orleans Saints T 13–130–2–1Houston Astrodome47,966 Recap
4October 10at Washington Redskins L 13–220–3–1 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap
5October 17 Detroit Lions L 7–310–4–1Houston Astrodome45,885 Recap
6October 24at Pittsburgh Steelers L 16–230–5–1 Three Rivers Stadium 45,872 Recap
7October 31 Cincinnati Bengals W 10–61–5–1Houston Astrodome37,947 Recap
8November 7at New England Patriots L 20–281–6–1 Schaefer Stadium 53,155 Recap
9November 14at Oakland Raiders L 21–411–7–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 54,705 Recap
10November 21at Cincinnati Bengals L 13–281–8–1 Riverfront Stadium 59,390 Recap
11November 28 Cleveland Browns L 24–371–9–1Houston Astrodome37,921 Recap
12December 5 Pittsburgh Steelers W 29–32–9–1Houston Astrodome37,778 Recap
13December 12at Buffalo Bills W 20–143–9–1 War Memorial Stadium 28,107 Recap
14December 19 San Diego Chargers W 49–334–9–1Houston Astrodome35,959 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Cleveland Browns 950.6435–17–4285273W5
Pittsburgh Steelers 680.4294–25–6246292L1
Houston Oilers 491.3082–44–7251330W3
Cincinnati Bengals 4100.2861–53–8284265L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

  1. 1971 Houston Oilers
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the NFL, in the regular season, requiring Passes Intercepted >= 3, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.
  3. "1971 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.