The 1971 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 22nd season with the National Football League.

After missing the playoffs the previous year, the Browns got off to a good start at 4–1 only to stumble losing four straight to fall to 4–5. However, the Browns would rebound to win the final five games of the season for the AFC Central Division title. Just as the 1967 Browns returned to the playoffs following a one-year absence, so, too, did the '71 club, which was in its first season under new head coach Nick Skorich after Blanton Collier's final team in 1970 had finished just 7–7, ending a string of three consecutive postseason berths.

As was the case in 1967, the '71 Browns went 9–5 and won a division crown. They captured the AFC Central for the first time, finishing three games in front of the soon-to-emerge Pittsburgh Steelers (6–8). In the playoffs the Browns would fall in the first round 20–3 to the Baltimore Colts. Running back Leroy Kelly was on the downside of his Pro Football Hall of Fame career, but he did manage to rush for 865 yards and 10 touchdowns – still good for a 14-game season. Wide receiver Fair Hooker led the team in receptions with 45.

Offseason Draft

Staff

Roster

Exhibition schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at San Francisco 49ers L 24–38 0–1 Candlestick Park 40,000 2 Los Angeles Rams L 5–17 0–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 52,503 3 at Dallas Cowboys L 15–16 0–3 Cotton Bowl 69,099 4 vs. Chicago Bears L 19–20 0–4 Notre Dame Stadium 43,568 5 New York Giants W 30–7 1-4 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 82,710 6 at St. Louis Cardinals L 13–27 1-5 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,171 There was a doubleheader on September 4, 1971 Jets vs Steelers and Giants vs Browns.

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 19 Houston Oilers W 31–0 1–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 73,387 Recap 2 September 26 at Baltimore Colts W 14–13 2–0 Memorial Stadium 56,837 Recap 3 Oakland Raiders L 20–34 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 84,285 Recap 4 October 10 Pittsburgh Steelers W 27–17 3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 83,391 Recap 5 October 17 at Cincinnati Bengals W 27–24 4–1 Riverfront Stadium 60,284 Recap 6 October 24 Denver Broncos L 0–27 4–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 75,674 Recap 7 October 31 Atlanta Falcons L 14–31 4–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 76,825 Recap 8 November 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 9–26 4–4 Three Rivers Stadium 50,202 Recap 9 November 14 at Kansas City Chiefs L 7–13 4–5 Municipal Stadium 50,388 Recap 10 November 21 New England Patriots W 27–7 5–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 65,238 Recap 11 November 28 at Houston Oilers W 37–24 6–5 Houston Astrodome 37,921 Recap 12 December 5 Cincinnati Bengals W 31–27 7–5 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 82,705 Recap 13 December 12 at New Orleans Saints W 21–17 8–5 Tulane Stadium 72,794 Recap 14 December 19 at Washington Redskins W 20–13 9–5 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries Week 1: vs. Houston The Browns open the regular season by blasting the Oilers, 31-0, in Nick Skorich's first game as coach. Leroy Kelly scores the Browns' first two touchdowns on 1-yard runs, and Bill Nelsen and Mike Phipps both throw a touchdown pass. The Browns intercept five passes (two by rookie Clarence Scott) and yield just 11 first downs.

Week 2: At Baltimore The Browns survived a late mistake and upset the defending Super Bowl-champion Colts, 14-13 at Baltimore. After Walt Sumner intercepts a Johnny Unitas pass with five seconds left (Cleveland's fifth interception), he attempts to lateral to Scott, who never touches the ball as Baltimore's Ray Perkins recovers at the Cleveland 27. But the Colts, out of timeouts, watch the clock expire before they can get off a field-goal attempt.

Week 5: At Cincinnati The Browns edge the Bengals, 27-24, at Cincinnati on Bo Scott's third touchdown - a 4-yard run with 39 seconds remaining. The win improves Cleveland's record to 4-1 and drops Paul Brown's defending AFC Central-champion Bengals to 1-4. The Browns get a break when defensive end Jack Gregory recovers a fumble at the Cincinnati 10, setting up a Nelsen-to-Scott TD pass. The players gave the game ball to Coach Howard Keys who was in the hospital with complications from cancer and died October 21, 1971.

Week 7: vs. Atlanta

Week 10 vs. New England The Browns snap a four-game losing streak with a 27-7 win over the Patriots at Cleveland Stadium. Kelly rushes for 113 yards and scores two touchdowns, one on a 7-yard pass from Nelsen for the game's first score. The Browns intercept four passes by New England rookie Jim Plunkett, who has trouble adjusting on a windy day.

Week 12 vs. Cincinnati The Browns clinch their first AFC Central Division title with a 31-27 win over Cincinnati at Cleveland. Leroy Kelly, who surpassed the 100-yard mark for the 26th time, scores the first and last touchdowns to complement a 224-yard passing performance by Nelsen.

Postseason

Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Divisional December 26 Baltimore Colts L 3–20 0–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 74,082 Recap

Standings

References

External links 1971 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference 1971 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1971 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com at DatabaseFootball.com