1971 Denver Broncos season

1971 Denver Broncos season
Head coach	Lou Saban (9 games) Jerry Smith (5 games)
General manager	Lou Saban
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	4–9–1
Division place	4th AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1971 Denver Broncos season was the team's 12th season in professional football and second in the National Football League (NFL). The team finished the season with four wins, nine losses, and one tie. They once again finished fourth in the AFC West. Floyd Little became the 13th player ever in professional football to rush for at least 1,000 yards in one season.^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1971 Denver Broncos staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Gerald Phipps President – Allan Phipps Director of Player Personnel – Fred Gehrke Director of Scouting – Carroll Hardy Head coaches General Manager/Head Coach – Lou Saban Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – Hunter Enis Tight Ends – Whitey Dovell Offensive Line – Jerry Smith			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Stan Jones Defensive Backfield – Joe Collier Special teams coaches Special Teams – Whitey Dovell

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Attendance
1	September 19	Miami Dolphins	T 10–10	Mile High Stadium	0–0–1	51,228
2	September 26	at Green Bay Packers	L 13–34	Milwaukee County Stadium	0–1–1	47,957
3	October 3	Kansas City Chiefs	L 3–16	Mile High Stadium	0–2–1	51,200
4	October 10	Oakland Raiders	L 16–27	Mile High Stadium	0–3–1	51,200
5	October 17	San Diego Chargers	W 20–16	Mile High Stadium	1–3–1	51,200
6	October 24	at Cleveland Browns	W 27–0	Cleveland Stadium	2–3–1	75,674
7	October 31	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 16–17	Veterans Stadium	2–4–1	65,358
8	November 7	Detroit Lions	L 20–24	Mile High Stadium	2–5–1	51,200
9	November 14	Cincinnati Bengals	L 10–24	Mile High Stadium	2–6–1	51,200
10	November 21	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–28	Municipal Stadium	2–7–1	49,945
11	November 28	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 22–10	Three Rivers Stadium	3–7–1	39,710
12	December 5	Chicago Bears	W 6–3	Mile High Stadium	4–7–1	51,200
13	December 12	at San Diego Chargers	L 17–45	San Diego Stadium	4–8–1	44,347
14	December 19	at Oakland Raiders	L 13–21	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	4–9–1	54,651

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Kansas City Chiefs	10	3	1	.769	4–1–1	8–2–1	302	208	W3
Oakland Raiders	8	4	2	.667	4–1–1	7–3–1	344	278	W1
San Diego Chargers	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–7	311	341	L1
Denver Broncos	4	9	1	.308	1–5	3–6–1	203	275	L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

1. Sports Illustrated, July 26, 2010, The Unexpected Hero by Gary Smith, p.63, Published by Time Inc.

External links

• 1971 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com