# 1971 New York Jets season

The 1971 New York Jets season was the twelfth season for the team and the second in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 4–10 record from 1970 under head coach Weeb Ewbank.
Disaster struck before the regular season started and the Jets finished 6–8. Joe Namath was injured in a preseason game against the Detroit Lions and required knee surgery, All-Pro WR George Sauer, Jr unexpectedly retired at the peak of his career, and All-Pro defensive end Verlon Biggs exercised his option and signed with the Washington Redskins.
After missing nineteen consecutive Jets games in 1970 and 1971, Namath returned to action against the San Francisco 49ers in the third quarter (November 28, 1971) and threw for 258 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted by Johnny Fuller in the end zone on the final play of a 24–21 loss. He then started the final three games, and the Jets won the last two after suffering a 52–10 loss in a nationally televised game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1971 New York Jets Draft :
| Round | Pick # | Overall | Name | Position | College |
| 1 | 6 | 6 | John Riggins | Running back | Kansas |
| 2 | 6 | 32 | John Mooring | Tackle | Tampa |
| 3 | 6 | 58 | Chris Farasopoulos | Defensive back | BYU |
| 4 | 6 | 84 | Bill Zapalac | Linebacker | Texas |
| 6 | 6 | 136 | Phil Wise | Tight end | Nebraska-Omaha |
| 7 | 6 | 162 | Scott Palmer | Defensive tackle | Texas |
| 8 | 6 | 188 | Roy Kirksey | Guard | Maryland State |
| 9 | 6 | 214 | John Curtis | Tight end | Springfield |
| 10 | 6 | 240 | Jim Betts | Defensive back | Michigan |
| 11 | 6 | 266 | Vernon Studdard | Wide receiver | Mississippi |
| 12 | 6 | 292 | Rich Sowells | Defensive back | Alcorn |
| 13 | 6 | 318 | John Eggold | Defensive end | Arizona |
| 14 | 6 | 344 | John Harpring | Guard | Michigan |
| 15 | 6 | 370 | Dan Dyches | Center | South Carolina |
| 16 | 6 | 396 | Steve Harkey | Running back | Georgia Tech |
| 17 | 6 | 422 | Greg Flaska | Defensive end | Western Michigan |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 19 | at Baltimore Colts | L 0–22 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 56,458 | Recap |
| 2 | September 27 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 10–17 | 0–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 50,358 | Recap |
| 3 | October 3 | at Miami Dolphins | W 14–10 | 1–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | 70,670 | Recap |
| 4 | October 10 | at New England Patriots | L 0–20 | 1–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,357 | Recap |
| 5 | October 17 | Buffalo Bills | W 28–17 | 2–3 | Shea Stadium | 61,948 | Recap |
| 6 | October 24 | Miami Dolphins | L 14–30 | 2–4 | Shea Stadium | 62,130 | Recap |
| 7 | October 31 | at San Diego Chargers | L 21–49 | 2–5 | San Diego Stadium | 44,786 | Recap |
| 8 | November 7 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 13–10 | 3–5 | Shea Stadium | 62,812 | Recap |
| 9 | November 14 | Baltimore Colts | L 13–14 | 3–6 | Shea Stadium | 63,947 | Recap |
| 10 | November 21 | at Buffalo Bills | W 20–7 | 4–6 | War Memorial Stadium | 41,577 | Recap |
| 11 | November 28 | San Francisco 49ers | L 21–24 | 4–7 | Shea Stadium | 63,936 | Recap |
| 12 | December 4 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 10–52 | 4–8 | Texas Stadium | 66,689 | Recap |
| 13 | December 12 | New England Patriots | W 13–6 | 5–8 | Shea Stadium | 63,175 | Recap |
| 14 | December 19 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 35–21 | 6–8 | Shea Stadium | 63,151 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | 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.