1971 Chicago Bears season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Chicago Bears 1971 6–8 3rd NFC Central Jim Dooley George Halas Soldier Field Did not qualify Bears seasons The 1971 Chicago Bears season was their 52nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 6–8 record, another below .500 showing, eventually costing head coach Jim Dooley his job. This was their 1st season at Soldier Field. Offseason NFL draft 1971 NFL draft 1971 Chicago Bears 1 11 Joe Moore Running back Missouri yes 2 28 Jim Harrison Running back Missouri yes 2 36 Charlie Ford Cornerback Houston yes 3 64 Tony McGee Defensive end Bishop yes 3 71 Bob Newton Tackle Nebraska yes 4 89 Jerry Moore Safety Arkansas yes 6 135 Earl Thomas Wide receiver Houston yes 7 167 Buddy Lee Quarterback LSU no 7 176 Dennis Ferris Running back Pittsburgh no 8 192 Karl Weiss Tackle Vanderbilt no 9 220 Lester McClain Wide receiver Tennessee no 10 245 Larry Rowden Linebacker Houston yes 11 270 Cliff Hardy Cornerback Michigan State yes 12 298 Steve Booras Defensive end Mesa C. C. no 13 323 Ed Nicholas Tackle N. C. State no 14 347 Willie Lewis Running back Arizona no 15 376 Ron Maciejowski Quarterback Ohio State no 16 401 Sid Bailey Defensive end Texas–Arlington no 17 426 Ray Garganes Linebacker Millersville no no Roster 1971 Chicago Bears 10 Bobby Douglass 16 Kent Nix 33 Jim Grabowski 35 Jim Harrison American football y 49 Joe Moore running back y 22 Cyril Pinder 24 Don Shy 34 Bill Tucker American football 43 George Farmer wide receiver, born 1948 45 Dick Gordon American football 84 Jim Seymour American football 21 Cecil Turner 38 Ray Ogden 82 Earl Thomas wide receiver y 89 Bob Wallace American football 72 Jim Cadile G 70 Jeff Curchin T 52 Rich Coady center C 50 Gene Hamlin C 61 Glen Holloway G 65 Randy Jackson offensive lineman T 78 Bob Newton American football G 73 Steve Wright American football, born 1942 T 75 Dave Hale DE 85 Willie Holman DE 71 Tony McGee defensive lineman y DT 87 Ed O'Bradovich DE 67 George Seals DT 76 Bill Staley DT 31 Ross Brupbacher OLB 55 Doug Buffone OLB 51 Dick Butkus MLB 30 Jimmy Gunn OLB 53 Larry Rowden y MLB 32 Charlie Ford y American football CB 29 Bob Jeter CB 18 Jerry Moore American football, born 1949 y FS 44 Garry Lyle FS 48 Ron Smith defensive back SS 20 Joe Taylor cornerback CB 88 Bobby Joe Green P 83 Mac Percival K 46 Craig Baynham RB IR 11 Jack Concannon QB IR 40 Gale Sayers RB IR 17 Cliff Hardy y CB 79 John Hoffman defensive end DE 14 Buddy Lee y no QB Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 19 Pittsburgh Steelers W 17–15 1–0 Soldier Field 55,049 2 September 26 at Minnesota Vikings W 20–17 2–0 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 3 October 3 at Los Angeles Rams L 3–17 2–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 66,957 4 October 10 New Orleans Saints W 35–14 3–1 Soldier Field 55,049 5 October 17 at San Francisco 49ers L 0–13 3–2 Candlestick Park 44,000 6 October 24 at Detroit Lions W 28–23 4–2 Tiger Stadium 54,418 7 October 31 Dallas Cowboys W 23–19 5–2 Soldier Field 55,049 8 November 7 Green Bay Packers L 14–17 5–3 Soldier Field 55,049 9 November 14 Washington Redskins W 16–15 6–3 Soldier Field 55,049 10 November 21 Detroit Lions L 3–28 6–4 Soldier Field 55,049 11 November 29, 1971 at Miami Dolphins L 3–34 6–5 Miami Orange Bowl 75,312 12 December 5 at Denver Broncos L 3–6 6–6 Mile High Stadium 51,200 13 December 12 at Green Bay Packers L 10–31 6–7 Lambeau Field 56,263 14 December 19 Minnesota Vikings L 10–27 6–8 Soldier Field 55,049 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 1 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season Chicago Bears 1971 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0) at Chicago Bears (0–0) September 19, 1971 2:00 p.m. Steelers 0 6 6 3 Bears 0 3 0 14 Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois 55,049 63 F C Bernie Ulman Pro-Football-Reference.com Second quarter PIT – Preston Pearson fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed). Steelers 6–0. Drive: CHI – Mac Percival 33-yard field goal. Steelers 6–3. Drive: Third quarter PIT – Roy Gerela 32-yard field goal. Steelers 9–3. Drive: PIT – Roy Gerela 29-yard field goal. Steelers 12–3. Drive: Fourth quarter PIT – Roy Gerela 42-yard field goal. Steelers 15–3. Drive: CHI – Ross Brupbacher 30-yard fumble return (Mac Percival kick). Steelers 15–10. CHI – George Farmer 8-yard pass from Kent Nix (Mac Percival kick). Bears 17–15. Drive: Top passers PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 10/24, 129 yards, 4 INT CHI – Jack Concannon – 15/26, 116 yards, INT Top rushers PIT – John Fuqua – 17 rushes, 114 yards CHI – Don Shy – 9 rushes, 19 yards Top receivers PIT – Ron Shanklin – 6 receptions, 113 yards CHI – George Farmer – 4 receptions, 59 yards, TD Week 2 Bears 0 0 3 17 Vikings 0 7 10 0 September 26 Metropolitan Stadium 1:00 p.m. CST 56 F; wind 13 mph on Fred Silva yes Q2 MIN Grim 4 yard pass from Cuozzo (Cox kick) MIN 7–0 Q3 CHI Percival 45 yard field goal MIN 7–3 Q3 MIN Grim 52 yard pass from Cuozzo (Cox kick) MIN 14–3 Q3 MIN Cox 14 yard field goal MIN 17–3 Q4 CHI Gordon 36 yard pass from Nix (Percival kick) MIN 17–10 Q4 CHI Percival 45 yard field goal MIN 17–13 Q4 CHI Gordon 19 yard pass from Nix (Percival kick) CHI 20–17 yes Dick Gordon 10 Rec, 115 Yds Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Dec-14. Week 6 1971 Detroit Lions season Bears–Lions rivalry Chicago Bears 1971 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Six: Chicago Bears (3–2) at Detroit Lions (4–1) October 24, 1971 2:00 p.m. EST Bears 7 14 0 7 Lions 6 14 3 0 Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan 54,418 60 F C Jack Reader Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter DET – Errol Mann 28-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive: CHI – Don Shy 21-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 7–3. Drive: DET – Errol Mann 49-yard field goal. Bears 7–6. Drive: Second quarter CHI – George Farmer 54-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 14–6. Drive: DET – Ron Jessie 102-yard kickoff return (Errol Mann kick). Bears 14–13. DET – Larry Walton 16-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Lions 20–14. Drive: CHI – Bob Wallace 15-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 21–20. Drive: Third quarter DET – Errol Mann 29-yard field goal. Lions 23–21. Drive: Fourth quarter CHI – Bobby Douglass 1-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 28–23. Drive: Top passers CHI – Bobby Douglass – 15/21, 160 yards, 2 TD DET – Greg Landry – 11/26, 173 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers CHI – Don Shy – 18 rushes, 99 yards, TD DET – Steve Owens – 16 rushes, 81 yards Top receivers CHI – George Farmer – 6 receptions, 95 yards, TD DET – Altie Taylor – 4 receptions, 41 yards Chuck Hughes became the first NFL player to die on the field during a game. Standings References Chicago Bears Category:Chicago Bears seasons Chicago Bears Category:Long stubs with short prose Category:1971 in Chicago