1971 Baltimore Colts season
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The Colts playing against the Browns in the
1971 AFC Divisional Playoffs Game.
The 1971 Baltimore Colts season was the 19th season for the team in the National Football League. Led by second-year head coach Don McCafferty, the Colts appeared to be on the verge of winning the AFC East again after beating the Miami Dolphins 14–3 in the penultimate game of the regular season. However, the Colts lost the final game of the season at home to the New England Patriots, dropping them to 10–4 and the wild card berth. They lost to the Dolphins in the AFC Championship game. The Baltimore defense gave up a total of 140 points for 14 regular season games, an average of ten points a game. In their four defeats, they lost by a combined total of 15 points.
This was the final season under the ownership of Carroll Rosenbloom, who traded franchises with the Los Angeles Rams in July 1972, with players and coaching staffs remaining intact.
Offseason
NFL draft
Round
|
Pick
|
Player
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Position
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School/Club Team
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Personnel
Staff/coaches
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
Week
|
Date
|
Opponent
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Result
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Record
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Venue
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Attendance
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1
|
September 19
|
New York Jets
|
W 22–0
|
1–0
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Memorial Stadium
|
56,458
|
2
|
September 26
|
Cleveland Browns
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L 13–14
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1–1
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Memorial Stadium
|
56,837
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3
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October 3
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at New England Patriots
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W 23–3
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2–1
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Schaefer Stadium
|
61,232
|
4
|
October 10
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at Buffalo Bills
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W 43–0
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3–1
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War Memorial Stadium
|
46,206
|
5
|
October 17
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at New York Giants
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W 31–7
|
4–1
|
Yankee Stadium
|
62,860
|
6
|
October 25
|
at Minnesota Vikings
|
L 3–10
|
4–2
|
Metropolitan Stadium
|
49,784
|
7
|
October 31
|
Pittsburgh Steelers
|
W 34–21
|
5–2
|
Memorial Stadium
|
60,238
|
8
|
November 8
|
Los Angeles Rams
|
W 24–17
|
6–2
|
Memorial Stadium
|
57,722
|
9
|
November 14
|
at New York Jets
|
W 14–13
|
7–2
|
Shea Stadium
|
63,947
|
10
|
November 21
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at Miami Dolphins
|
L 14–17
|
7–3
|
Miami Orange Bowl
|
75,312
|
11
|
November 28
|
at Oakland Raiders
|
W 37–14
|
8–3
|
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
|
54,689
|
12
|
December 5
|
Buffalo Bills
|
W 24–0
|
9–3
|
Memorial Stadium
|
58,476
|
13
|
December 11
|
Miami Dolphins
|
W 14–3
|
10–3
|
Memorial Stadium
|
60,238
|
14
|
December 19
|
New England Patriots
|
L 17–21
|
10–4
|
Memorial Stadium
|
57,942
|
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
|
Game summaries
Week 1
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Jets |
0 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
0 |
• Colts |
10 |
9 | 0 | 3 |
22 |
- Date: September 19
- Location: Memorial Stadium
- Game start: 4:00 p.m. EDT
- Game attendance: 56,458
- Game weather:
72 °F (22 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
| Q1 | | BAL | O'Brien 38 yard field goal | BAL 3–0 |
| Q1 | | BAL | Matte 1 yard run (O'Brien kick) | BAL 10–0 |
| Q2 | | BAL | O'Brien 21 yard field goal | BAL 13–0 |
| Q2 | | BAL | Bulaich 67 yard run (kick failed) | BAL 19–0 |
| Q4 | | BAL | O'Brien 21 yard field goal | BAL 22–0 |
|
Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Postseason
The team made it to the playoffs as a No. 4 seed and traveled to Cleveland to play the Cleveland Browns in the divisional round. The Colts led 14–0 at the half and would cruise to a 20–3 win. They then traveled south to play the Miami Dolphins and tried to make it to their second consecutive Super Bowl. Colts QB Johnny Unitas was intercepted three times as they were shut out 21–0.
See also
References
- ^ "Plunkett bumps Colts from lead". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. December 20, 1971. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ "Colts owner trades club for Rams". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. July 14, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
- ^ "Colts' owner now sole owner of Rams". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. July 14, 1972. p. 12.
- ^ Maule, Tex (August 14, 1972). "Nay on the neighs, yea on the baas". Sports Illustrated. p. 67.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Aug-14.
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 297
External links
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