- 1971 NFL season
Infobox NFL
year = 1971
NFLchampion =Dallas Cowboys
regular_season =September 19 1971 -December 19 1971
playoffs_start =December 25 1971
AFCchampion =Miami Dolphins
NFCchampion =Dallas Cowboys
sb_name = VI
sb_date =January 16 1972
sb_site =Tulane Stadium ,New Orleans, Louisiana
pb_date =January 23 1972 The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd
regular season of theNational Football League . The season ended withSuper Bowl VI when theDallas Cowboys defeated theMiami Dolphins . Before the season, the Boston Patriots changed their name to "New England Patriots" after they moved to their new home field, Schaefer Stadium inFoxborough, Massachusetts .Major rule changes
*Teams will not be charged a time out for an injured player unless the injury occurs inside the last two minutes of a half.
Division races
Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth "wild card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebraker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents records, and conference play.
National Football Conference
Tiebreakers
*New England finished ahead of N.Y. Jets in the AFC East based on better strength of schedule (.537 to Jets' .510).
Playoffs
:Note: Prior to the 1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.Round8
RD1=Divisional Playoffs
RD2=Conf. Championship Games
RD3=
References
* "NFL Record and Fact Book" (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
* [http://www.nfl.com/history/chronology/1971-1980 NFL History 1971-1980] (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
* [http://nflhistory.net/linescores/pdf/1971.pdf 1971 season in details]
* "Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League" (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
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