The 1971 Washington Redskins season was the team's 40th in the National Football League, and its 35th in Washington, D.C. The Redskins were led by first-year head coach George Allen, who had been the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams for the previous five seasons.

Coming into the 1971 season, the team had not made the postseason in 26 years. The Redskins had had only four winning seasons since their last playoff berth in 1945, the most recent a 7–5–2 campaign in 1969 under Vince Lombardi, who died of colon cancer in September 1970.

Allen was Washington's fourth head coach in as many seasons. Lombardi succeeded Otto Graham, and assistant Bill Austin took over when Lombardi fell mortally ill in the summer of 1970, and posted a 6–8 record.

Despite a broken left ankle suffered by leading receiver Charley Taylor in a week 6 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that forced him to miss the remainder of the season, the Redskins went 9–4–1, good for second place in the NFC East. They earned a wild card berth, but lost in the opening divisional round at San Francisco, 24–20.

Off-season

NFL draft

1971 Washington Redskins draft Round Selection Player Position College238Cotton SpeyrerWide ReceiverTexas6141Conway HaymanGuardDelaware7166Willie GermanyDefensive BackMorgan State9219Mike FanucciDefensive EndArizona State10244Jesse TaylorRunning BackCincinnati11272George StarkeTackleColumbia12297Jeff SeversonDefensive BackCal-Long Beach13322Dan RyczekCenterVirginia14349Bill BynumQuarterbackWest New Mexico15375Anthony ChristnovichGuardLa Crosse (Wis.)16400Glenn TuckerLinebackerNorth Texas

Undrafted free agents + 1971 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDewey StendahlKickerUW–La Crosse

Roster

Preseason

Schedule Week Date Opponent Time TV Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 at San Diego Chargers 11:00 p.m. EDT WMAL-TV L 10–19 0–1 San Diego Stadium 43,186 2 at Denver Broncos 10:00 p.m. EDT WMAL-TV W 17–13 1–1 Mile High Stadium 42,561 3 St. Louis Cardinals 8:00p.m. EDT WMAL-TV W 20–13 2–1 RFK Stadium 40,228 4 Baltimore Colts 8:00p.m. EDT WMAL-TV L 14–20 2–2 RFK Stadium 46,045 5 at Miami Dolphins 8:00p.m. EDT WMAL-TV L 10–27 2–3 Miami Orange Bowl 61,202 6 Cincinnati Bengals 8:00p.m. EDT WMAL-TV T 17–17 2–3–1 RFK Stadium 39,105

Pre season Game summaries

Week P1 (Saturday, August 7, 1971): at San Diego Chargers

Time of game:

RedskinsGame StatisticsChargers First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards

Week P2 (Saturday, August 14, 1971): at Denver Broncos

Time of game: 2 hours, 40 minutes

RedskinsGame StatisticsBroncos First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards

Week P3 (Saturday, August 21, 1971): vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Time of game:

CardinalsGame StatisticsRedskins First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards

Week P4 (Saturday, August 28, 1971): vs. Baltimore Colts

Time of game:

ColtsGame StatisticsRedskins First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards

Week P5 (Saturday, September 4, 1971): at Miami Dolphins

Time of game: 2 hours, 27 minutes

RedskinsGame StatisticsDolphins First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards

Week P6 (Saturday, September 11, 1971): vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Time of game:

BengalsGame StatisticsRedskins First downs Rushes–yards Passing yards Sacked–yards Net passing yards Total yards Return yards Fumbles–lost Penalties–yards

Regular season

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 at St. Louis Cardinals W 24–17 1–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,805 Recap 2 at New York Giants W 30–3 2–0 Yankee Stadium 62,795 Recap 3 at Dallas Cowboys W 20–16 3–0 Cotton Bowl 61,554 Recap 4 Houston Oilers W 22–13 4–0 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap 5 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–0 5–0 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap 6 at Kansas City Chiefs L 20–27 5–1 Municipal Stadium 51,989 Recap 7 New Orleans Saints W 24–14 6–1 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap 8 Philadelphia Eagles T 7–7 6–1–1 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap 9 at Chicago Bears L 15–16 6–2–1 Soldier Field 55,049 Recap 10 Dallas Cowboys L 0–13 6–3–1 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap 11 at Philadelphia Eagles W 20–13 7–3–1 Veterans Stadium 65,358 Recap 12 New York Giants W 23–7 8–3–1 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap 13 at Los Angeles Rams W 38–24 9–3–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 80,402 Recap 14 Cleveland Browns L 13–20 9–4–1 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Regular season game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday, September 19, 1971): at St. Louis Cardinals

Point spread: Redskins +7½ Time of game:

RedskinsGame StatisticsCardinals10 First downs 1338–148 Rushes–yards 38–11765 Passing yards 1386–17–0 10–27–40–0 Sacked–yards 0–065 Net passing yards 138213 Total yards 255171 Return yards 1387–40.9 5–39.82–1 Fumbles–lost 3–33–25 Penalties–yards 6–39

Individual stats Redskins Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RateKilmer6/176510003167.0

Redskins Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Brown1879121Harraway1362020Smith1505Milmer3202Mason1202Jefferson1000Petitbon1–20–2

Redskins ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Smith235131Taylor21106Brown110010Dowler1909

Redskins Kick ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngDuncan49022.500

Redskins Punt ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngDuncan273.500

Redskins PuntingPntYdsY/PLngBlckBragg728640.950

Redskins KickingXPM–XPAFGM–FGAMFGKnight3–31–3

Redskins InterceptionsIntYdsTDLGPDPetitbon36600Owens1808

Starting Lineups Position Starting Lineups: Week 1 – at St. Louis Offense WR Charley Taylor LT Jim Snowden LG Ray Schoenke C Len Hauss RG John Wilbur RT Walt Rock TE Jerry Smith WR Roy Jefferson QB Billy Kilmer FB Charley Harraway RB Larry Brown Defense LDE Ron McDole LDT Manny Sistrunk RDT Diron Talbert RDE Verlon Biggs LLB Jack Pardee MLB Myron Pottios RLB Chris Hanburger LCB Pat Fischer RCB Mike Bass SS Richie Petitbon FS Brig Owens

Week 2 (Sunday, September 26, 1971): at New York Giants

Point spread: Redskins –2½ Time of game:

RedskinsGame StatisticsGiants19 First downs 1330–126 Rushes–yards 25–68309 Passing yards 13923–32–0 14–30–21–8 Sacked–yards 5–51301 Net passing yards 88427 Total yards 156125 Return yards 795–38.4 9–42.31–0 Fumbles–lost 2–015–178 Penalties–yards 9–72

Individual stats Redskins Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RateKilmer23/32309201871123.0

Redskins Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Brown1672013Harraway941019Mason51307

Redskins ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Jefferson895018Taloyr6125271Smith561023Brown2804Dowler116016Harraway1404

Redskins Kick ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngDuncan12323.000

Redskins Punt ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngVactor5428.400Duncan3268.700

Redskins PuntingPntYdsY/PLngBlckBragg519238.445

Redskins KickingXPM–XPAFGM–FGAMFGKnight3–33–4

Redskins InterceptionsIntYdsTDLGPDPardee120120Petitbon114014

Starting Lineups Position Starting Lineups: Week 2 – at N.Y. Giants Offense WR Charley Taylor LT Jim Snowden LG Ray Schoenke C Len Hauss RG John Wilbur RT Walt Rock TE Jerry Smith WR Roy Jefferson QB Billy Kilmer FB Charley Harraway RB Larry Brown Defense LDE Ron McDole LDT Manny Sistrunk RDT Diron Talbert RDE Verlon Biggs LLB Jack Pardee MLB Myron Pottios RLB Chris Hanburger LCB Pat Fischer RCB Mike Bass SS Richie Petitbon FS Brig Owens

Week 3 (Sunday, October 3, 1971): at Dallas Cowboys

Point spread: Redskins +10 Time of game:

RedskinsGame StatisticsCowboys14 First downs 2041–200 Rushes–yards 29–8294 Passing yards 2275–10–1 17–35–02–9 Sacked–yards 3–4285 Net passing yards 185285 Total yards 267110 Return yards 1343–51.0 5–42.63–2 Fumbles–lost 1–13–15 Penalties–yards 5–35

Individual stats Redskins Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RateKilmer5/109411295076.7

Redskins Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Harrayway18111157Brown2181014Mason1606Kilmer1202

Redskins ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Jefferson267150Taylor21709Smith110010

Redskins Kick ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngDuncan38026.700

Redskins Punt ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngVactor33010.000

Redskins PuntingPntYdsY/PLngBlckBragg315351.058

Redskins KickingXPM–XPAFGM–FGAKnight2–22–2

Starting Lineups Position Starting Lineups: Week 3 – at Dallas Offense WR Charley Taylor LT Jim Snowden LG Ray Schoenke C Len Hauss RG John Wilbur RT Walt Rock TE Jerry Smith WR Roy Jefferson QB Billy Kilmer FB Charley Harraway RB Larry Brown Defense LDE Ron McDole LDT Manny Sistrunk RDT Diron Talbert RDE Verlon Biggs LLB Jack Pardee MLB Myron Pottios RLB Chris Hanburger LCB Pat Fischer RCB Mike Bass SS Richie Petitbon FS Brig Owens

Week 4 (Sunday, October 10, 1971): vs. Houston Oilers

Point spread: Redskins –10½ Time of game:

OilersGame StatisticsRedskins13 First downs 1121–46 Rushes–yards 40–115160 Passing yards 13616–35–3 10–21–02–14 Sacked–yards 0–0146 Net passing yards 136192 Total yards 251106 Return yards 1657–44.7 5–36.22–2 Fumbles–lost 2–24–35 Penalties–yards 5–63

Individual stats Redskins Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RateKilmer10/3213600004768.7

Redskins Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Harraway196509Brown185107Kilmer3–101

Redskins ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Taylor459043Jefferson356047Smith118018Harraway1202Brown1101

Starting Lineups

Week 5 (Sunday, October 17, 1971): vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Point spread: Redskins –4 Time of game:

CardinalsGame StatisticsRedskins11 First downs 2114–25 Rushes–yards 47–229180 Passing yards 12615–30–4 9–17–10–0 Sacked–yards 1–6180 Net passing yards 120205 Total yards 349100 Return yards 525–41.4 4–42.53–3 Fumbles–lost 2–14–30 Penalties–yards 7–60

Individual stats Redskins Passing C/ATT1YdsTDINTSkYdsLG3RateKilmer9/1712601163852.6

Redskins Rushing Car2YdsTDLG3Brown25150029Harraway1240119Jefferson113013Mason511010Hull2806Wyche1404Kilmer1313

Redskins ReceivingRec4YdsTDLG3Jefferson462038Taylor333017Alston121021Dowler110010

Redskins Kick ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngDuncan12525.000

Redskins Punt ReturnsRetYdsY/RtTDLngVactor100.000

Redskins PuntingPntYdsY/PLngBlckBragg417042.558

Redskins KickingXPM–XPAFGM–FGAMFGKnight2–22–3

Redskins InterceptionsIntYdsTDLGPDPardee32500Bass1202

Starting Lineups Position Starting Lineups: Week 5 – vs. St. Louis Offense WR Charley Taylor LT Jim Snowden LG Ray Schoenke C Len Hauss RG John Wilbur RT Walt Rock TE Jerry Smith WR Roy Jefferson QB Billy Kilmer FB Charley Harraway RB Larry Brown Defense LDE Ron McDole LDT Manny Sistrunk RDT Diron Talbert RDE Verlon Biggs LLB Jack Pardee MLB Myron Pottios RLB Chris Hanburger LCB Pat Fischer RCB Mike Bass SS Richie Petitbon FS Brig Owens

Week 6 (Sunday, October 24, 1971): at Kansas City Chiefs

Time of game:

RedskinsGame StatisticsChiefs16 First downs 2025–99 Rushes–yards 39–162220 Passing yards 20315–38–1 10–23–22–15 Sacked–yards 5–40205 Net passing yards 163304 Total yards 325176 Return yards 1314–44.0 5–47.82–1 Fumbles–lost 0–08–72 Penalties–yards 2–20

Week 7 (Sunday, October 31, 1971): vs. New Orleans Saints

Time of game:

SaintsGame StatisticsRedskins16 First downs 2131–106 Rushes–yards 37–173163 Passing yards 20412–27–1 13–22–26–57 Sacked–yards 0–0106 Net passing yards 204212 Total yards 37791 Return yards 1379–42.9 2–40.02–0 Fumbles–lost 4–413–123 Penalties–yards 6–61

Week 8 (Sunday, November 7, 1971): vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Time of game:

EaglesGame StatisticsRedskins10 First downs 1431–77 Rushes–yards 31–61124 Passing yards 15310–22–1 12–24–43–29 Sacked–yards 4–1795 Net passing yards 136172 Total yards 19786 Return yards 1087–37.4 5–43.82–0 Fumbles–lost 4–311–97 Penalties–yards 9–78

Week 9 (Sunday, November 14, 1971): at Chicago Bears

Time of game:

RedskinsGame StatisticsBears15 First downs 2028–88 Rushes–yards 34–205206 Passing yards 21424–36–0 15–33–02–11 Sacked–yards 5–34195 Net passing yards 180283 Total yards 385100 Return yards 575–32.8 4–40.30–0 Fumbles–lost 1–12–10 Penalties–yards 6–44

Week 10 (Sunday, November 21, 1971): vs. Dallas Cowboys

Point spread: Redskins +1 Time of game: