1971 New York Jets season

1971 season of NFL team New York Jets November 2013 March 2026 New York Jets 1971 6–8 3rd AFC East Weeb Ewbank Leon Hess Shea Stadium Did not qualify T Winston Hill Jets seasons The 1971 New York Jets season was the twelfth season for the team and the second in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 4–10 record from 1970 under head coach Weeb Ewbank. Disaster struck before the regular season started and the Jets finished 6–8. Joe Namath was injured in a preseason game against the Detroit Lions and required knee surgery, All-Pro WR George Sauer, Jr unexpectedly retired at the peak of his career, and All-Pro defensive end Verlon Biggs exercised his option and signed with the Washington Redskins. After missing nineteen consecutive Jets games in 1970 and 1971, Namath returned to action against the San Francisco 49ers in the third quarter (November 28, 1971) and threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted by Johnny Fuller in the end zone on the final play of a 24–21 loss. He then started the final three games, and the Jets won the last two after suffering a 52–10 loss in a nationally televised game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys. Offseason NFL draft 1971 New York Jets Draft Round Pick # Overall Name Position College 1 6 6 John Riggins Running back Kansas 2 6 32 John Mooring Tackle Tampa 3 6 58 Chris Farasopoulos Defensive back BYU 4 6 84 Bill Zapalac Linebacker Texas 6 6 136 Phil Wise Tight end Nebraska-Omaha 7 6 162 Scott Palmer Defensive tackle Texas 8 6 188 Roy Kirksey Guard Maryland State 9 6 214 John Curtis Tight end Springfield 10 6 240 Jim Betts Defensive back Michigan 11 6 266 Vernon Studdard Wide receiver Mississippi 12 6 292 Rich Sowells Defensive back Alcorn 13 6 318 John Eggold Defensive end Arizona 14 6 344 John Harpring Guard Michigan 15 6 370 Dan Dyches Center South Carolina 16 6 396 Steve Harkey Running back Georgia Tech 17 6 422 Greg Flaska Defensive end Western Michigan Roster New York Jets 1971 0 0 15 Bob Davis quarterback 12 Joe Namath 18 Al Woodall 32 Emerson Boozer 36 Steve Harkey y 42 Cliff McClain 37 George Nock 44 John Riggins y  7 Eddie Bell wide receiver 88 Rich Caster 13 Don Maynard 22 Vern Studdard y 82 Gary Arthur 87 Pete Lammons 89 Wayne Stewart American football 70 Dave Foley American football T 67 Dave Herman American football G 75 Winston Hill T 71 John Mooring y C 66 Randy Rasmussen American football, born 1945 G 52 John Schmitt American football C 76 Bob Svihus T 64 Chuck Hinton American football DT 57 John Little American football DT/DE 84 Mark Lomas DE 81 Gerry Philbin DE 53 Bill Zapalac y DE 62 Al Atkinson MLB 51 Ralph Baker linebacker OLB 56 Paul Crane OLB 55 John Ebersole American football MLB 60 Larry Grantham OLB 43 John Dockery CB 19 Chris Farasopoulos y FS 33 W. K. Hicks FS 21 Steve Tannen American football CB 45 Earlie Thomas CB 27 Phil Wise American football y SS  3 Bobby Howfield K 20 Steve O'Neal P 80 John Elliott defensive lineman DT IR 61 Roger Finnie DT IR 48 Gus Hollomon S IR 63 Roy Kirksey y G IR 72 Scott Palmer American football y DT IR 41 Matt Snell RB IR 46 Rich Sowells y CB IR 85 Steve Thompson defensive tackle, born 1945 DT Retired Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 19 at Baltimore Colts L 0–22 0–1 Memorial Stadium 56,458 Recap 2 September 27, 1971 at St. Louis Cardinals L 10–17 0–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,358 Recap 3 October 3 at Miami Dolphins W 14–10 1–2 Miami Orange Bowl 70,670 Recap 4 October 10 at New England Patriots L 0–20 1–3 Schaefer Stadium 61,357 Recap 5 October 17 Buffalo Bills W 28–17 2–3 Shea Stadium 61,948 Recap 6 October 24 Miami Dolphins L 14–30 2–4 Shea Stadium 62,130 Recap 7 October 31 at San Diego Chargers L 21–49 2–5 San Diego Stadium 44,786 Recap 8 November 7 Kansas City Chiefs W 13–10 3–5 Shea Stadium 62,812 Recap 9 November 14 Baltimore Colts L 13–14 3–6 Shea Stadium 63,947 Recap 10 November 21 at Buffalo Bills W 20–7 4–6 War Memorial Stadium 41,577 Recap 11 November 28 San Francisco 49ers L 21–24 4–7 Shea Stadium 63,936 Recap 12 December 4, 1971 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–52 4–8 Texas Stadium 66,689 Recap 13 December 12 New England Patriots W 13–6 5–8 Shea Stadium 63,175 Recap 14 December 19 Cincinnati Bengals W 35–21 6–8 Shea Stadium 63,151 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 297 References External links 1971 statistics Category:New York Jets seasons New York Jets New York Jets season Category:1970s in Queens