1971 Buffalo Bills season

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Head coach

Harvey Johnson

Home field

War Memorial Stadium

Results

Record

1–13

Division place

5th AFC East

Playoff finish

did not qualify

Timeline

Previous season		Next season
< 1970		1972 >

The 1971 Buffalo Bills season was the 12th season for the club and its second in the National Football League.

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.^[1]

Buffalo lost their first ten games of the 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.^[2]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1971 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 ^[3]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	4	J.D. Hill	Wide Receiver	Arizona State
2	29	Jan White	Tight End	Ohio State
3	53	Bruce Jarvis	Center	Washington State
3	57	Jim Braxton	Fullback	West Virginia
5	107	Donnie Green	Offensive Tackle	Purdue
5	113	Tim Beamer	Defensive Back	Illinois
6	145	Bill McKinley	Defensive End	Arizona
7	160	Bob Chandler	Wide Receiver	Southern California
8	183	Louis Ross	Defensive End	South Carolina State

^[4]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Streak	Attendance
1	Sep 19	vs. Dallas Cowboys	Loss 49–37	0–1	L1	46,206
2	Sep 26	vs. Miami Dolphins	Loss 29–14	0–2	L2	45,139
3	Oct 3	at Minnesota Vikings	Loss 19–0	0–3	L3	47,900
4	Oct 10	vs. Baltimore Colts	Loss 43–0	0–4	L4	46,206
5	Oct 17	at New York Jets	Loss 28–17	0–5	L5	61,948
6	Oct 23	at San Diego Chargers	Loss 20–3	0–6	L6	49,261
7	Oct 31	vs. St. Louis Cardinals	Loss 28–23	0–7	L7	40,040
8	Nov 7	at Miami Dolphins	Loss 34–0	0–8	L8	61,016
9	Nov 14	at New England Patriots	Loss 38–33	0–9	L9	57,446
10	Nov 21	vs. New York Jets	Loss 20–7	0–10	L10	41,577
11	Nov 28	vs. New England Patriots	Win 27–20	1–10	W1	27,166
12	Dec 5	at Baltimore Colts	Loss 24–0	1–11	L1	58,476
13	Dec 12	vs. Houston Oilers	Loss 20–14	1–12	L2	28,107
14	Dec 19	at Kansas City Chiefs	Loss 22–9	1–13	L3	48,121

^[5]

Standings

Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
AFC East
Miami Dolphins	10	3	1	.769	315	174
Baltimore Colts	10	4	0	.714	313	140
New England Patriots	6	8	0	.429	238	325
New York Jets	6	8	0	.429	212	299
Buffalo Bills	1	13	0	.071	184	394

^[6]

Game summaries

Week 1: Dallas Cowboys

See also: 1971 Dallas Cowboys season

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	7	21	7	14	49
Bills	14	10	6	7	37

at War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York

Date: September 19
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 55°F, wind 9 mph
Box Score

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	Cowboys	Bills
1					Cowboys	Calvin Hill 2-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good	7	0
1					Bills	Haven Moses 73-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Shaw, Grant Guthrie kick good	7	7
1					Bills	O.J. Simpson 6-yard touchdown run, Grant Guthrie kick good	7	14
2					Cowboys	Bob Hayes 76-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Mike Clark kick good	14	14
2					Cowboys	Walt Garrison 3-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good	21	14
2					Bills	40-yard field goal by Grant Guthrie	21	17
2					Bills	Marlin Briscoe 75-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Shaw, Grant Guthrie kick good	21	24
2					Cowboys	Calvin Hill 3-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good	28	24
3					Bills	Marlin Briscoe 23-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Shaw, Grant Guthrie kick no good	28	30
3					Cowboys	Reggie Rucker 19-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Mike Clark kick good	35	30
4					Cowboys	Calvin Hill 1-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good	42	30
4					Cowboys	Calvin Hill 1-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good	49	30
4					Bills	Ike Hill 26-yard touchdown reception from Dennis Shaw, Grant Guthrie kick good	49	37
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							49	37

Roster

Awards and honors

References

↑ 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-Football-Reference.com: Team Game Finder Query Results
↑ Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
↑ Buffalo Bills 1971 NFL Entry Draft
↑ , 1971 Buffalo Bills Schedule
↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 297

Buffalo Bills

Founded in 1959
Based in Orchard Park, New York

The Franchise

Stadiums

Culture

Lore

Head Coaches

Division Championships (10)

Super Bowl Appearances (4)

League Championships (2)

AFL: 1964
1965

Wall of Fame

Media

Current League Affiliations

League: National Football League
Conference: American Football Conference
Division: East Division

Rivalries

Seasons (54)

1960s	1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969

1970s	1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979

1980s	1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

1990s	1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

2000s	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2010s	2010 2011 2012 2013

v t e Buffalo Bills seasons

1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory

1971 NFL season

East	Central	West	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

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