1971 Houston Oilers season
OwnerBud Adams
General managerJohn W. Breen
Head coachEd Hughes
Home fieldHouston Astrodome
Results
Record4–9–1
Division place3rd AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersFS Ken Houston

The 1971 Houston Oilers season was the team's 12th season, and second with the National Football League. The Oilers improved on their previous season's output of three victories, winning four games in 1971.[1] They missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season.

The 1971 Oilers are the only team in NFL history to throw three-or-more interceptions in ten different games.[2] (The team was 2–7–1 in those games.)

One of the only bright spots was fifth year safety Ken Houston. Houston, who had the best season of his career, snaged 9 interceptions for 220 yards and 4 touchdowns (all career highs).

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1971 NFL draft
1971 Houston Oilers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 3 Dan Pastorini *  Quarterback Santa Clara
3 56 Lynn Dickey  Quarterback Kansas State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[3]

Roster

1971 Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 19 at Cleveland Browns L 0–31 0–1 Cleveland Stadium 73,387 Recap
2 September 26 Kansas City Chiefs L 16–20 0–2 Houston Astrodome 46,498 Recap
3 October 3 New Orleans Saints T 13–13 0–2–1 Houston Astrodome 47,966 Recap
4 October 10 at Washington Redskins L 13–22 0–3–1 RFK Stadium 53,041 Recap
5 October 17 Detroit Lions L 7–31 0–4–1 Houston Astrodome 45,885 Recap
6 October 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 16–23 0–5–1 Three Rivers Stadium 45,872 Recap
7 October 31 Cincinnati Bengals W 10–6 1–5–1 Houston Astrodome 37,947 Recap
8 November 7 at New England Patriots L 20–28 1–6–1 Schaefer Stadium 53,155 Recap
9 November 14 at Oakland Raiders L 21–41 1–7–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 54,705 Recap
10 November 21 at Cincinnati Bengals L 13–28 1–8–1 Riverfront Stadium 59,390 Recap
11 November 28 Cleveland Browns L 24–37 1–9–1 Houston Astrodome 37,921 Recap
12 December 5 Pittsburgh Steelers W 29–3 2–9–1 Houston Astrodome 37,778 Recap
13 December 12 at Buffalo Bills W 20–14 3–9–1 War Memorial Stadium 28,107 Recap
14 December 19 San Diego Chargers W 49–33 4–9–1 Houston Astrodome 35,959 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 9 5 0 .643 5–1 7–4 285 273 W5
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 8 0 .429 4–2 5–6 246 292 L1
Houston Oilers 4 9 1 .308 2–4 4–7 251 330 W3
Cincinnati Bengals 4 10 0 .286 1–5 3–8 284 265 L3

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

References

  1. ^ 1971 Houston Oilers
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1940 to 2011, in the NFL, in the regular season, requiring Passes Intercepted >= 3, sorted by most games in season matching criteria.
  3. ^ "1971 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
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