American Football Database
Register
Advertisement
1971 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head Coach Paul Brown
Home Field Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record 4–10–0
Place 4th AFC Central
Playoff Finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
1970 1972

The 1971 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's fourth year in professional football and its second with the National Football League. 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. 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, statically this was the first year the Bengals led their opponents in almost every category.

Offseason[]

NFL Draft[]

1971 Cincinnati Bengals Draft
Round Pick # Overall Name Position College
1 15 15 Vernon Holland Offensive Tackle Tennessee State
2 15 41 Steve Lawson Guard Kansas
3 15 67 Ken Anderson Quarterback Augustana
4 15 93 Fred Willis Running Back Boston College
5 6 110 Arthur May Defensive End Tuskegee
7 11 167 Cornelius Craig Defensive Back Fisk
8 15 197 Fred Herring Defensive Back Tennessee State
9 15 223 Gary Gustafson Linebacker Montana State
10 15 249 Jack Stambaugh Guard Oregon
11 15 275 Edward Marshall Wide Receiver Cameron State
12 15 301 James Hayden Defensive End Memphis State
13 15 327 David Knapman Tight End Central Washington
14 15 353 Irvin Mallory Defensive Back Virginia Union
15 15 379 Bob Thomas Running Back Arizona State
16 15 405 Mark Debevc Linebacker Ohio State
17 16 432 Sam Pearson Defensive Back Western Kentucky

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Season results
Date Opponent Result Score Attendance Location
September 19 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–14 55,880 Riverfront
September 26 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–21 48,448 Three Rivers
October 3 at Green Bay Packers L 17–20 56,263 Lambeau Field
October 10 Miami Dolphins L 13–23 60,099 Riverfront
October 17 Cleveland Browns L 24–27 60,284 Riverfront
October 24 at Oakland Raiders L 27–31 54,699 Oakland Coliseum
October 31 at Houston Oilers L 6–10 37,947 Astrodome
November 7 Atlanta Falcons L 6–9 59,604 Riverfront
November 14 at Denver Broncos W 24–10 51,200 Mile High
November 21 Houston Oilers W 28–13 59,390 Riverfront
November 28 San Diego Chargers W 31–0 59,580 Riverfront
December 5 at Cleveland Browns L 27–31 82,705 Cleveland
December 12 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–21 60,022 Riverfront
December 19 at New York Jets L 21–35 63,151 Shea

Standings[]

AFC Central
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 9 5 0 .643 285 273 W-5
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 8 0 .429 246 292 L-1
Houston Oilers 4 9 1 .308 251 330 W-3
Cincinnati Bengals 4 10 0 .286 284 265 L-3

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)

Roster[]

Cincinnati Bengals rosterview · talk · edit
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Awards and records[]

Pro Bowl Selections[]

References[]

AFC East Central West NFC East Central West
Baltimore Cincinnati Denver Dallas Chicago Atlanta
Buffalo Cleveland Kansas City NY Giants Detroit Los Angeles
Miami Houston Oakland Philadelphia Green Bay New Orleans
New England Pittsburgh San Diego St. Louis Minnesota San Francisco
NY Jets Washington
1971 NFL DraftNFL PlayoffsPro BowlSuper Bowl VI
Advertisement