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. Only the Vikings had a better defense in football that year, giving up only 139 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. The Colts divisional round win against Cleveland would ultimately be their final playoff victory as a Baltimore franchise. It would be another 24 years before the team, now based on Indianapolis, won another postseason game.
Offseason
NFL draft
Round Pick Player Position School/Club team
Personnel
Staff/coaches 1971 Baltimore Colts staff Front office Owner/president and treasurer – Carroll Rosenbloom General manager – Don Klosterman
Coaching staff Head coach – Don McCafferty Offensive coaches Receivers/offensive ends – Dick Bielski Offensive coordinator – John Idzik Offensive line coach – Red Miller Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/defensive line – John Sandusky Defensive backfield – Bobby Boyd Linebackers coach – Hank Bullough
Roster
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 19 New York Jets W 22–0 1–0 Memorial Stadium 56,458 2 September 26 Cleveland Browns L 13–14 1–1 Memorial Stadium 56,837 3 October 3 at New England Patriots W 23–3 2–1 Schaefer Stadium 61,232 4 October 10 at Buffalo Bills W 43–0 3–1 War Memorial Stadium 46,206 5 October 17 at New York Giants W 31–7 4–1 Yankee Stadium 62,860 6 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 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 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 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
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Aug-14.
Standings
NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 297
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.
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional December 26 at Cleveland Browns W 20–3 1–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 70,734 AFC Championship January 2, 1972 at Miami Dolphins L 0–21 1–1 Miami Orange Bowl 76,622
See also History of the Indianapolis Colts Indianapolis Colts seasons Colts–Patriots rivalry
References
External links 1971 Baltimore Colts at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1971 Baltimore Colts at JT-SW.com 1971 Baltimore Colts Season. Classic Sports via YouTube.com, Jan. 12, 2021. (Video.)