The 1971 Miami Dolphins season was the team's sixth, and second in the National Football League (NFL). The team improved on their 10–4 record from 1970 and finished at 10–3–1 to win the first of four consecutive AFC East titles. They opened the season with a tie at Denver, split the next two, then won eight consecutive to improve to 9–1–1.
| 1971 Miami Dolphins season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Don Shula |
| Home field | Miami Orange Bowl |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–3–1 |
| Division place | 1st AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Won Divisional Playoffs (atChiefs) 27–24 (2OT) Won AFC Championship (vs. Colts) 21–0 Lost Super Bowl VI (vs. Cowboys) 3–24 |
| Pro Bowlers | 7 QBBob Griese FSJake Scott DEBill Stanfill GLarry Little WRPaul Warfield RBMercury Morris FBLarry Csonka |
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The Dolphins won their first division title, finishing first in the AFC East, and then defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round in a second overtime (the game is considered the longest in NFL history by time). They advanced to their first AFC championship game and shut out the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Colts 21–0. However, in Super Bowl VI, Miami was walloped 24–3 by the Dallas Cowboys. After losing that Super Bowl, the Dolphins did not lose another game until week 2 of the 1973 season, going 32–2 (.941) overall in the next two seasons (1972, 1973), both ending with Super Bowl victories.
| 1971 Miami Dolphins draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 47 | Otto Stowe | Wide receiver | Iowa State | |
| 3 | 74 | Dale Farley | Linebacker | West Virginia | |
| 4 | 99 | Joe Theismann * | Quarterback | Notre Dame | |
| 6 | 151 | Dennis Coleman | Linebacker | Mississippi | |
| 7 | 178 | Ron Dickerson | Defensive back | Kansas State | |
| 9 | 230 | Vern Den Herder | Defensive end | Central College (Iowa) | |
| 10 | 255 | Ron Maree | Defensive tackle | Purdue | |
| 11 | 282 | Vic Surma | Tackle | Penn State | |
| 12 | 307 | Leroy Byras | Running back | Alcorn A&M | |
| 13 | 333 | Lonnie Hepburn | Defensive back | Texas Southern | |
| 14 | 359 | David Vaughn | Tight end | Memphis State | |
| 15 | 386 | Bob Richards | Guard | California | |
| 16 | 410 | Chris Myers | Wide receiver | Kenyon | |
| 17 | 437 | Curt Mark | Linebacker | Mayville (ND) | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Practice squad
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| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 19 | atDenver Broncos | T 10–10 | 0–0–1 | Mile High Stadium | 51,228 | |
| 2 | September 26 | atBuffalo Bills | W 29–14 | 1–0–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 45,139 | |
| 3 | October 3 | New York Jets | L 10–14 | 1–1–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 70,670 | |
| 4 | October 10 | atCincinnati Bengals | W 23–13 | 2–1–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 60,099 | |
| 5 | October 17 | New England Patriots | W 41–3 | 3–1–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 58,822 | |
| 6 | October 24 | atNew York Jets | W 30–14 | 4–1–1 | Shea Stadium | 62,130 | |
| 7 | October 31 | atLos Angeles Rams | W 20–14 | 5–1–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 72,903 | |
| 8 | November 7 | Buffalo Bills | W 34–0 | 6–1–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 61,016 | |
| 9 | November 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–21 | 7–1–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 66,435 | |
| 10 | November 21 | Baltimore Colts | W 17–14 | 8–1–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 75,312 | |
| 11 | November 29 | Chicago Bears | W 34–3 | 9–1–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 75,312 | |
| 12 | December 5 | atNew England Patriots | L 13–34 | 9–2–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,457 | |
| 13 | December 11 | atBaltimore Colts | L 3–14 | 9–3–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 | |
| 14 | December 19 | Green Bay Packers | W 27–6 | 10–3–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 76,812 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
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| AFC East | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Miami Dolphins | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 5–3 | 7–3–1 | 315 | 174 | W1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–3 | 313 | 140 | L1 |
| New England Patriots | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 4–4 | 6–5 | 238 | 325 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 4–4 | 6–5 | 212 | 299 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 1–7 | 1–10 | 184 | 394 | L3 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Divisional | December 25 | atKansas City Chiefs | W 27–24 (2OT) | 1–0 | Municipal Stadium | 45,822 |
| AFC Championship | January 2, 1972 | Baltimore Colts | W 21–0 | 2–0 | Orange Bowl | 76,622 |
| Super Bowl VI | January 16, 1972 | Dallas Cowboys | L 3–24 | 2–1 | Tulane Stadium | 80,591 |
Miami Dolphins 27 K.C. Chiefs 24 (20T)
Miami Dolphins 21 Baltimore Colts 0
Dallas Cowboys 24 Miami Dolphins 3
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