1971 Cincinnati Bengals season

NFL team season December 2013 March 2026 Cincinnati Bengals 1971 4 10 y 4th AFC Central Paul Brown Riverfront Stadium Did not qualify Bengals seasons The 1971 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 2nd season in the National Football League, and the 4th overall. Cornerback Lemar Parrish set a team record with seven interceptions, including one for a 65-yard score, Cincinnati's first-ever interception return for a touchdown. The Bengals, coming off their first division-winning season of 1970, drafted quarterback Ken Anderson in the third round of the 1971 NFL Draft. Anderson would go on to play 16 seasons for the club and set numerous team passing records. While 1971 proved to be a disappointment, losing six games by four points or less, statistically this was the first year the Bengals led their opponents in almost every category, including point differential (+19); Cincinnati's 4 10 winning percentage is the lowest in NFL history by a team with a positive point differential.Lowest winning percentage by a team with a point differential of +1 or greater https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/football/team-season-finder.cgi live https://archive.today/20260112075441/https://www.sports-reference.com/stathead/tiny/CfpYV January 12, 2026 January 12, 2026 Stathead Offseason NFL draft 1971 NFL draft 1971 Cincinnati Bengals 1 15 Vernon Holland Offensive tackle Tennessee State yes 2 41 Steve Lawson Guard Kansas yes 3 67 Ken Anderson Quarterback Augustana yes yes 4 93 Fred Willis Running back Boston College yes 5 110 Art May Defensive end Tuskegee 7 171 Neal Craig Defensive back Fisk yes 8 197 Fred Herring Defensive back Tennessee State 9 223 Gary Gustafson Linebacker Montana State 10 249 Jack Stambaugh Guard Oregon 11 275 Ed Marshall Wide receiver Cameron yes 12 301 James Hayden Defensive end Memphis 13 327 David Knapman Tight end Central Washington 14 353 Irvin Mallory Defensive back Virginia Union 15 379 Bob Thomas Running back Arizona State 16 405 Mark Debevc Linebacker Ohio State 17 432 Sam Pearson Defensive back Western Kentucky no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/1971_draft.htm 1971 Cincinnati Bengals draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 12, 2014 Personnel Staff 1971 Cincinnati Bengals President – John Sawyer Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown Head Coach/General Manager – Paul Brown Quarterbacks/Receivers – Bill Walsh Offensive Backfield – Jack Donaldson Offensive Line – Bill Johnson Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backfield – Chuck Weber Defensive Line – Chuck Studley Linebackers – Vince Costello Roster 1971 Cincinnati Bengals 14 Ken Anderson quarterback y 11 Virgil Carter 44 Doug Dressler 19 Essex Johnson 40 Ron Lamb 30 Jess Phillips footballer 18 Paul Robinson American football 33 Fred Willis y 35 Mike Haffner American football 83 Ed Marshall y 25 Chip Myers 17 Speedy Thomas 88 Bruce Coslet 87 Mike Kelly gridiron football, born 1948 84 Bob Trumpy 63 Guy Dennis G/C 72 Howard Fest G 76 Vernon Holland y T 54 Bob Johnson American football C 68 Steve Lawson American football y G 73 Pat Matson G 71 Rufus Mayes T 82 Royce Berry DE 70 Ron Carpenter defensive lineman DE 79 Steve Chomyszak DT 80 Ken Johnson defensive end, born 1947 DE/DT 78 Willie Jones defensive lineman, born 1942 DE 74 Mike Reid singer DT 81 Nick Roman DE 52 Doug Adams American football MLB 51 Ken Avery OLB 58 Al Beauchamp OLB 66 Bill Bergey MLB 59 Larry Ely MLB 53 Bill Peterson linebacker OLB 23 Al Coleman FS 34 Neal Craig y SS 29 Sandy Durko FS 20 Lemar Parrish CB 13 Ken Riley CB 31 Fletcher Smith American football SS 15 Dave Lewis punter P 16 Horst Mühlmann K 12 Greg Cook QB IR 27 Ken Dyer S IR 75 Ernie Wright T IR https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/1971_roster.htm 1971 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players Pro-Football-Reference.com October 20, 2014 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 19 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–14 1–0 Riverfront Stadium Recap 2September 26 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–21 1–1 Three Rivers Stadium Recap 3October 3 at Green Bay Packers L 17–20 1–2 Lambeau Field Recap 4October 10 Miami Dolphins L 13–23 1–3 Riverfront Stadium Recap 5October 17 Cleveland Browns L 24–27 1–4 Riverfront Stadium Recap 6October 24 at Oakland Raiders L 27–31 1–5 Oakland Coliseum Recap 7 October 31 at Houston Oilers L 6–10 1–6 Astrodome Recap 8November 7 Atlanta Falcons L 6–9 1–7 Riverfront Stadium Recap 9November 14 at Denver Broncos W 24–10 2–7 Mile High Stadium Recap 10 November 21 Houston Oilers W 28–13 3–7 Riverfront Stadium Recap 11November 28 San Diego Chargers W 31–0 4–7 Riverfront Stadium Recap 12December 5 at Cleveland Browns L 27–31 4–8 Cleveland Stadium Recap 13 December 12 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–21 4–9 Riverfront Stadium Recap 14 December 19 at New York Jets L 21–35 4–10 Shea Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 1 vs Eagles 1971 Philadelphia Eagles season Cincinnati Bengals 1971 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Philadelphia Eagles (0–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0–0) September 19 1:00 p.m. EDT Eagles 0 7 0 7 Bengals 0 10 17 10 Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio 68 F C • Wind 6 mph km/h knot Pro-Football-Reference.com Eagles Pete Liske20/40, 301 Yds, 2 TD, 3 INT Tom Woodeshick7 Rush, 29 Yds Ben Hawkins7 Rec, 118 Yds, 2 TD Bengals Virgil Carter22/30, 273 Yds, 3 TD Essex Johnson8 Rush, 113 Yds, TD Speedy Thomas4 Rec, 122 Yds, TD PHI CIN collapsed 2 Bengals RecTD Eric Crabtree Virgil Carter 2 good Horst Muhlmann run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 7 2 Eagles RecTD Ben Hawkins Pete Liske 10 good Happy Feller run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 7 2 Bengals FG 36 Horst Muhlmann 7 10 3 Bengals RecTD Speedy Thomas Virgil Carter 90 good Horst Muhlmann run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 17 3 Bengals FG 35 Horst Muhlmann 7 20 4 Bengals RecTD Jess Phillips Virgil Carter 7 good Horst Muhlmann run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 27 4 Eagles RecTD Ben Hawkins Pete Liske 15 good Happy Feller run/pass good/failed/incomplete 14 27 4 Bengals RushTD Essex Johnson 68 good Horst Muhlmann run/pass good/failed/incomplete 14 34 4 Bengals FG 26 Horst Muhlmann 14 37 14 37 Standings Team stats 1971 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats TEAM STATS Bengals Opponents TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 236 213 Rushing 109 93 Passing 115 102 Penalty 12 18 TOTAL NET YARDS 4266 3906 Avg Per Game 304.7 279.0 Total Plays 867 811 Avg. Per Play 4.9 4.8 NET YARDS RUSHING 2142 1778 Avg. Per Game 153.0 127.0 Total Rushes 462 446 NET YARDS PASSING 2124 2128 Avg. Per Game 151.7 152.0 Sacked Yards Lost 40–303 30–254 Gross Yards 2427 2382 Att. Completions 365–214 335–157 Completion Pct. 58.6 46.9 Intercepted 11 27 PUNTS-AVERAGE 73–44.7 73–40.9 PENALTIES-YARDS 82-921 72–722FUMBLES-BALL LOST 29–12 21–12 TOUCHDOWNS 32 32 Rushing 14 11 Passing 15 19 Returns 3 2 Score by Periods 1 2 3 4 Tot Bengals 58 64 91 71 284 Opponents 44 71 48 102 265 Team leaders Passing: Virgil Carter (222 Att, 138 Comp, 1624 Yds, 62.2 Pct, 10 TD, 7 Int, 86.2 Rating) Rushing: Fred Willis (135 Att, 590 Yds, 4.4 Avg, 36 Long, 7 TD) Receiving: Bob Trumpy (40 Rec, 531 Yds, 13.3 Avg, 44 Long, 3 TD) Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 91 points (20 FG; 31 PAT) Awards and records Pro Bowl selections CB Lemar Parrish References External links 1971 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com Cincinnati Bengals Category:Cincinnati Bengals seasons Cincinnati