# 1971 Chicago Bears season

The 1971 Chicago Bears season was their 52nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 6–8 record, another below .500 showing, eventually costing head coach Jim Dooley his job. This was their 1st season at Soldier Field.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1971 Chicago Bears draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 11 | Joe Moore | Running back | Missouri |
| 2 | 28 | Jim Harrison | Running back | Missouri |
| 2 | 36 | Charlie Ford | Cornerback | Houston |
| 3 | 64 | Tony McGee | Defensive end | Bishop |
| 3 | 71 | Bob Newton | Tackle | Nebraska |
| 4 | 89 | Jerry Moore | Safety | Arkansas |
| 6 | 135 | Earl Thomas | Wide receiver | Houston |
| 7 | 167 | Buddy Lee | Quarterback | LSU |
| 7 | 176 | Dennis Ferris | Running back | Pittsburgh |
| 8 | 192 | Karl Weiss | Tackle | Vanderbilt |
| 9 | 220 | Lester McClain | Wide receiver | Tennessee |
| 10 | 245 | Larry Rowden | Linebacker | Houston |
| 11 | 270 | Cliff Hardy | Cornerback | Michigan State |
| 12 | 298 | Steve Booras | Defensive end | Mesa C. C. |
| 13 | 323 | Ed Nicholas | Tackle | N. C. State |
| 14 | 347 | Willie Lewis | Running back | Arizona |
| 15 | 376 | Ron Maciejowski | Quarterback | Ohio State |
| 16 | 401 | Sid Bailey | Defensive end | Texas–Arlington |
| 17 | 426 | Ray Garganes | Linebacker | Millersville |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 19 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 17–15 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 55,049 |
| 2 | September 26 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 20–17 | 2–0 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900 |
| 3 | October 3 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 3–17 | 2–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 66,957 |
| 4 | October 10 | New Orleans Saints | W 35–14 | 3–1 | Soldier Field | 55,049 |
| 5 | October 17 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 0–13 | 3–2 | Candlestick Park | 44,000 |
| 6 | October 24 | at Detroit Lions | W 28–23 | 4–2 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 |
| 7 | October 31 | Dallas Cowboys | W 23–19 | 5–2 | Soldier Field | 55,049 |
| 8 | November 7 | Green Bay Packers | L 14–17 | 5–3 | Soldier Field | 55,049 |
| 9 | November 14 | Washington Redskins | W 16–15 | 6–3 | Soldier Field | 55,049 |
| 10 | November 21 | Detroit Lions | L 3–28 | 6–4 | Soldier Field | 55,049 |
| 11 | November 29 | at Miami Dolphins | L 3–34 | 6–5 | Miami Orange Bowl | 75,312 |
| 12 | December 5 | at Denver Broncos | L 3–6 | 6–6 | Mile High Stadium | 51,200 |
| 13 | December 12 | at Green Bay Packers | L 10–31 | 6–7 | Lambeau Field | 56,263 |
| 14 | December 19 | Minnesota Vikings | L 10–27 | 6–8 | Soldier Field | 55,049 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

## Game summaries
### Week 1

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 15 |
| Bears | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
* Date: September 19, 1971
* Game time: 2:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C)
* Game attendance: 55,049
* Referee: Bernie Ulman
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Second quarter
PIT – Preston Pearson fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed). Steelers 6–0. Drive:
CHI – Mac Percival 33-yard field goal. Steelers 6–3. Drive:
Third quarter
PIT – Roy Gerela 32-yard field goal. Steelers 9–3. Drive:
PIT – Roy Gerela 29-yard field goal. Steelers 12–3. Drive:
Fourth quarter
PIT – Roy Gerela 42-yard field goal. Steelers 15–3. Drive:
CHI – Ross Brupbacher 30-yard fumble return (Mac Percival kick). Steelers 15–10.
CHI – George Farmer 8-yard pass from Kent Nix (Mac Percival kick). Bears 17–15. Drive:
Top passers
PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 10/24, 129 yards, 4 INT
CHI – Jack Concannon – 15/26, 116 yards, INT
Top rushers
PIT – John Fuqua – 17 rushes, 114 yards
CHI – Don Shy – 9 rushes, 19 yards
Top receivers
PIT – Ron Shanklin – 6 receptions, 113 yards
CHI – George Farmer – 4 receptions, 59 yards, TD :

### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bears | 0 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 20 |
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 |
* Dick Gordon 10 Rec, 115 Yds

### Week 6

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Lions | 6 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
* Date: October 24, 1971
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
* Game attendance: 54,418
* Referee: Jack Reader
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
First quarter
DET – Errol Mann 28-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive:
CHI – Don Shy 21-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 7–3. Drive:
DET – Errol Mann 49-yard field goal. Bears 7–6. Drive:
Second quarter
CHI – George Farmer 54-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 14–6. Drive:
DET – Ron Jessie 102-yard kickoff return (Errol Mann kick). Bears 14–13.
DET – Larry Walton 16-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Lions 20–14. Drive:
CHI – Bob Wallace 15-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 21–20. Drive:
Third quarter
DET – Errol Mann 29-yard field goal. Lions 23–21. Drive:
Fourth quarter
CHI – Bobby Douglass 1-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 28–23. Drive:
Top passers
CHI – Bobby Douglass – 15/21, 160 yards, 2 TD
DET – Greg Landry – 11/26, 173 yards, TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
CHI – Don Shy – 18 rushes, 99 yards, TD
DET – Steve Owens – 16 rushes, 81 yards
Top receivers
CHI – George Farmer – 6 receptions, 95 yards, TD
DET – Altie Taylor – 4 receptions, 41 yards :
Chuck Hughes became the first NFL player to die on the field during a game.

## Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Minnesota Vikings | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 5–1 | 9–2 | 245 | 139 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 2–3–1 | 3–6–1 | 341 | 286 | L2 |
| Chicago Bears | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 2–4 | 5–6 | 185 | 276 | L5 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 8 | 2 | .333 | 2–3–1 | 2–7–2 | 274 | 298 | L1 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.