1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season

39th season in franchise history August 2023 March 2026 Pittsburgh Steelers 1971 6–8 2nd AFC Central Art Rooney Dan Rooney Chuck Noll Three Rivers Stadium Did not qualify border:none; padding:0; 2 DT Joe Greene LB Andy Russell None Andy Russell Steelers seasons The 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 39th in the National Football League. The team showed improvement, finishing in second place in the AFC Central Division with a 6–8 record. Terry Bradshaw struggled with turnovers in his second season, throwing 22 interceptions to 13 touchdown passes. The Steelers that year drafted wide receiver Frank Lewis, Hall of Fame linebacker Jack Ham, guard Gerry Mullins, defensive end Dwight White, tight end/tackle Larry Brown, defensive tackle Ernie Holmes, and safety Mike Wagner, while signing safety Glen Edwards as an undrafted free agent; all of them were key contributors during the Steelers Super Bowl teams of the 1970s. Offseason NFL draft +RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes18Frank LewisWRGrambling234Jack HamLBPenn State360Steven DavisRBDelaware State486Gerry MullinsTEUSC4104Dwight WhiteDEEast Texas State5106Larry BrownTEKansas5112Melvin HolmesOTNorth Carolina A&T5126Ralph AndersonDBWest Texas State5128Fred BristerLBMississippi6138Craig HannemanOTOregon State7164Worthy McClureOTMississippi8184Larry CroweRBTexas Southern8190Paul RogersPKNebraska8203Ernie HolmesDTTexas Southern9216Mike AndersonLBLSU10242Jim O'SheaTEBoston College11268Mike WagnerDBWestern Illinois13320Alfred YoungWRSouth Carolina State14346McKinney EvansDBNew Mexico Highlands15372Ray MakinOGKentucky16398Walter HuntleyDBTrinity17424Danny EhleRBHoward Payne Personnel Staff 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers #08214A white #EEC607 President – Arthur J. Rooney Vice president – John R. McGinley Vice president – Daniel M. Rooney Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr. Public relations director – Ed Kiely Ticket manager – Joseph H. Carr Traveling secretary – James A. Boston Publicity director – Joe Gordon Office manager – Terrence Jacobs Ticket office assistant – Arthur Laughlin Director of player personnel – Dick Haley Assistant director of player personnel – Bill Nunn Head coach – Chuck Noll Offensive backfield – Max Coley Offensive line – Bob Fry Quarterbacks – Babe Parilli Receivers – Lionel Taylor Defensive line – Walter Hackett Defensive backfield – Charlie Sumner Strength coach – Louis Riecke Team physician, orthopedic – Dr. John Best Team Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber Team dentist – Dr. Robert Gray Trainer – Ralph Berlin Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi, Jack Hart 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers Preseason Prospectus Roster 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers 40 8 4 12 Terry Bradshaw 16 Bob Leahy American football 46 Warren Bankston 20 Rocky Bleier 36 Jim Brumfield 33 John Fuqua 26 Preston Pearson 43 Frank Lewis American football y 25 Ronnie Shanklin 82 Dave Smith wide receiver  2 Jon Staggers 31 Al Young wide receiver y 85 Bob Adams American football 87 Larry Brown tight end, born 1949 y 74 John Brown offensive tackle T 50 Jim Clack C/G 77 Melvin Holmes y T 55 Jon Kolb T 56 Ray Mansfield C 51 Bobby Maples C 72 Gerry Mullins y G 66 Bruce Van Dyke G 76 Bert Askson DE 75 Joe Greene DT 68 L. C. Greenwood DE 60 Ben McGee DT 65 Lloyd Voss DT 78 Dwight White y DE 53 Henry Davis American football OLB 59 Jack Ham y OLB 34 Andy Russell American football OLB 61 Brian Stenger MLB 49 Ralph Anderson defensive back y FS 28 Ocie Austin FS 37 Chuck Beatty SS 47 Mel Blount CB 44 Lee Calland CB 48 John Rowser CB 10 Roy Gerela K 39 Bobby Walden P 58 Chuck Allen LB IR 57 Sam Davis American football G IR 35 Steve Davis running back y RB NF-Ill. 27 Glen Edwards safety y S IR  5 Terry Hanratty QB IR 54 Dennis Onkotz LB IR 23 Mike Wagner y S IR 67 Clarence Washington DT IR -- Craig Hanneman y DE 82 Dennis Hughes American football TE -- John Lanier y no RB 73 Rick Sharp T Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result 1 September 19, 1971 at Chicago Bears L 17–15 2 September 26, 1971 Cincinnati Bengals W 21–10 3 October 3, 1971 San Diego Chargers W 21–17 4 October 10, 1971 at Cleveland Browns L 27–17 5 October 18, 1971 at Kansas City Chiefs L 38–16 6 October 24, 1971 Houston Oilers W 23–16 7 October 31, 1971 at Baltimore Colts L 34–21 8 November 7, 1971 Cleveland Browns W 26–9 9 November 14, 1971 at Miami Dolphins L 24–21 10 November 21, 1971 New York Giants W 17–13 11 November 28, 1971 Denver Broncos L 22–10 12 December 5, 1971 at Houston Oilers L 29–3 13 December 12, 1971 at Cincinnati Bengals W 21–13 14 December 19, 1971 Los Angeles Rams L 23–14 Game summaries Week 1 at Bears 1971 Chicago Bears season Pittsburgh Steelers 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 (Sunday September 26, 1971): Cincinnati Bengals Bengals 3 0 7 0 Steelers 7 0 7 7 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 48,448 Referee: Norm Schachter TV announcers: Scoring drives: Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 33 – Bengals 3–0 Pittsburgh – Smith 16 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 7–3 Cincinnati – Parrish 14 fumble return (Muhlmann kick) – Bengals 10–7 Pittsburgh – Staggers 67 punt return (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–10 Pittsburgh – Pearson 13 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 21–10 Week 3 (Sunday October 3, 1971): San Diego Chargers Chargers 3 7 7 0 Steelers 7 0 7 7 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 44,339 Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers: Scoring drives: San Diego – FG Partee 21 – Chargers 3–0 Pittsburgh – Fuqua 5 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 7–3 San Diego – Parks 16 pass from Hadl (Partee kick) – Chargers 10–7 Pittsburgh – Fuqua 1 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–10 San Diego – Garrett 4 run (Partee kick) – Chargers 17–14 Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 5 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 21–17 Steelers stopped San Diego with a goal line stand, preserving the 21–17 win. Week 4 (Sunday October 10, 1971): Cleveland Browns Steelers 0 7 3 7 Browns 10 10 0 7 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 83,391 Referee: Jack Vest TV announcers: Scoring drives: Cleveland – FG Cockroft 25 – Browns 3–0 Cleveland – Morin 19 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick) – Browns 10–0 Cleveland – Scott 18 run (Cockroft kick) – Browns 17–0 Pittsburgh – D. Smith 22 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Browns 17–7 Cleveland – FG Cockroft 20 – Browns 20–7 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 33 – Browns 20–10 Pittsburgh – Shanklin 11 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Browns 20–17 Cleveland – Kelly 7 run (Cockroft kick) – Browns 27–17 Week 5 (Monday October 18, 1971): Kansas City Chiefs Steelers 9 0 0 7 Chiefs 0 28 0 10 at the Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 49,533 Referee: Pat Haggerty TV announcers:ABC Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, Don Meredith Scoring drives: Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 32 – Steelers 3–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 40 – Steelers 6–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 35 – Steelers 9–0 Kansas City – Taylor 5 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick) – Steelers 9–7 Kansas City – Taylor 27 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 14–9 Kansas City – Wright 5 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 21–9 Kansas City – Podolak 1 run (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 28–9 Kansas City – FG Stenerud 11 – Chiefs 31–9 Pittsburgh – Fuqua 1 run (Gerela kick) – Chiefs 31–16 Kansas City – Thomas 32 interception return (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 38–16 Week 6 (Sunday October 24, 1971): Houston Oilers Oilers 7 3 6 0 Steelers 3 3 3 14 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 45,872 Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers: Scoring drives: Houston – Dawkins 1 run (Moseley kick) – Oilers 7–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 28 – Oilers 7–3 Houston – FG Moseley 24 – Oilers 10–3 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 22 – Oilers 10–6 Houston – Dawkins 1 run (kick failed) – Oilers 16–6 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela – Oilers 16–9 Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick) – Tie 16–16 Pittsburgh – Fuqua 30 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 23–16 Week 7 (Sunday October 31, 1971): Baltimore Colts Steelers 0 7 7 7 Colts 7 20 7 0 at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland Game time: Game weather: 60,238 Game attendance: Referee: Jack Reader TV announcers: Scoring drives: Baltimore – Bulaich 1 run (O'Brien kick) – Colts 7–0 Baltimore – FG O'Brien 20 – Colts 10–0 Baltimore – FG O'Brien 9 – Colts 13–0 Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 3 run (Gerela kick) – Colts 13–7 Baltimore – Richardson 19 pass from Morrall (O'Brien kick) – Colts 20–7 Baltimore – Richardson 49 pass from Morrall (O'Brien kick) – Colts 27–7 Baltimore – Perkins 60 pass from Morrall (O'Brien kick) – Colts 34–7 Pittsburgh – Shanklin 31 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Colts 34–14 Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick) – Colts 34–21 Week 8 (Sunday November 7, 1971): Cleveland Browns Browns 0 2 7 0 Steelers 10 6 0 10 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 50,202 Referee: Fred Wyant TV announcers: Scoring drives: Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 45 – Steelers 3–0 Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 10–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 23 – Steelers 13–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 17 – Steelers 16–0 Cleveland – Safety, Houston tackled Walden in end zone – Steelers 16–2 Cleveland – Scott 1 run (Cockroft kick) – Steelers 16–9 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 13 – Steelers 19–9 Pittsburgh – Smith 40 pass from Hanratty (Gerela kick) – Steelers 26–9 Week 9 (Sunday November 14, 1971): Miami Dolphins Steelers 14 7 0 0 Dolphins 3 14 7 0 at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 66,435 Referee: Bob Frederic TV announcers: Scoring drives: Miami – FG Yepremian 43 – Dolphins 3–0 Pittsburgh – Smith 30 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 7–3 Pittsburgh – Shanklin 28 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–3 Pittsburgh – Smith 16 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 21–3 Miami – Warfield 12 pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) – Steelers 21–10 Miami – Warfield 86 pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) – Steelers 21–17 Miami – Warfield 60 pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) – Dolphins 24–21 Week 10 (Sunday November 21, 1971): New York Giants Giants 7 6 0 0 Steelers 3 7 7 0 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 50,008 Referee: Fred Silva TV announcers: Scoring drives: New York Giants – Houston 26 pass from Tarkenton (Gogolak kick) – Giants 7–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 25 – Giants 7–3 New York Giants – FG Gogolak 25 – Giants 10–3 Pittsburgh – Rowser 70 interception return (Gerela kick) – Tie 10–10 New York Giants – FG Gogolak 29 – Giants 13–10 Pittsburgh – Shanklin 4 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 17–13 The Steelers ended a 15-game losing streak to NFC member teams. Week 11 (Sunday November 28, 1971): Denver Broncos Broncos 0 10 0 12 Steelers 0 0 10 0 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 39,710 Referee: Tommy Bell TV announcers: Scoring drives: Denver – Little 3 run (J. Turner kick) – Broncos 7–0 Denver – FG J. Turner 32 – Broncos 10–0 Pittsburgh – Pearson 8 pass from Hanratty (Gerela kick) – Broncos 10–7 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 – Tie 10–10 Denver – Little 16 run (Turner kick) – Broncos 17–10 Denver – Safety, Lynch tackled Walden in end zone – Broncos 19–10 Denver – FG J. Turner 12 – Broncos 22–10 Week 12 (Sunday December 5, 1971): Houston Oilers Steelers 0 3 0 0 Oilers 16 6 0 7 at the Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 37,778 Referee: Fred Swearingen TV announcers: Scoring drives: Houston – Reed 27 pass from Pastorini (Moseley kick) – Oilers 7–0 Houston – FG Moseley 25 – Oilers 10–0 Houston – Campbell 8 run (kick blocked) – Oilers 16–0 Houston – FG Moseley 37 – Oilers 19–0 Houston – FG Moseley 25 – Oilers 22–0 Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 15 – Oilers 22–3 Houston – Holmes 4 run (Moselely kick) – Oilers 29–3 Week 13 (Sunday December 12, 1971): Cincinnati Bengals Steelers 7 0 14 0 Bengals 0 7 6 0 at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 60,022 Referee: Jack Vest TV announcers: Scoring drives: Pittsburgh – Hanratty 3 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 7–0 Cincinnati – Coslet 43 pass from Carter (Muhlmann kick) – Tie 7–7 Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 22 – Bengals 10–7 Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 18 – Bengals 13–7 Pittsburgh – Fuqua 40 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–13 Pittsburgh – Shanklin 5 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 21–13 Week 14 (Sunday December 19, 1971): Los Angeles Rams Rams 13 3 7 0 Steelers 0 7 7 0 at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Game time: Game weather: Game attendance: 45,233 Referee: Pat Haggerty TV announcers: Scoring drives: Los Angeles – FG Ray 15 – Rams 3–0 Los Angeles – FG Ray 15 – Rams 6–0 Los Angeles – Snow 20 pass from Gabriel (Ray kick) – Rams 13–0 Pittsburgh – L. Brown 3 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Rams 13–7 Los Angeles – FG Ray 15 – Rams 16–7 Pittsburgh – Shanklin 2 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Rams 16–14 Los Angeles – L. Smith 1 run (Ray kick) – Rams 23–14 Standings References External links 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com Category:Pittsburgh Steelers seasons Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steel