# 1971 Detroit Lions season

The 1971 Detroit Lions season was their 42nd in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–4, winning only seven games.
Mired in adversity, the 1971 season turned especially tragic for the Lions and the NFL when, during their week 6 hosting of the Chicago Bears, Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes collapsed on the playing field. Unresponsive, Hughes was pronounced dead later that day of heart failure. Since 1971, no Detroit player has worn Hughes' #85 jersey save on special permission of the Hughes family.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1971 Detroit Lions draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 21 | Bob Bell | DT | Cincinnati | |
| 2 | 30 | Dave Thompson | C | Clemson | from Philadelphia |
| 2 | 48 | Charlie Weaver | LB | USC | |
| 3 | 72 | Al Clark | DB | Eastern Michigan | |
| 4 | 100 | Larry Woods | DT | Tennessee State | |
| 5 | 125 | Pete Newell | G | Michigan | |
| 6 | 150 | Frank Harris | QB | Boston College | from Philadelphia |
| 6 | 152 | Herman Franklin | WR | USC | |
| 7 | 177 | Brownie Wheless | OT | Rice | |
| 8 | 204 | Ken Lee | LB | Washington | |
| 9 | 229 | Mickey Zofko | RB | Auburn | |
| 11 | 281 | Phil Webb | DB | Colorado State | |
| 12 | 308 | Bill Pilconis | WR | Pittsburgh | |
| 13 | 332 | David Abercrombie | RB | Tulane | |
| 14 | 360 | Tom Lorenz | TE | Iowa State | |
| 15 | 385 | Ed Coates | WR | Central Missouri | |
| 16 | 411 | Tom Kutchinski | DB | Michigan State | |
| 17 | 436 | Gordon Jolley | OT | Utah | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||
Notes
* Detroit traded QB Greg Barton to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' second-round selection (30th) and second- and third-round selections in 1972.
* Detroit traded DE Denis Moore to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' sixth-round selection (150th).
* Detroit traded its tenth-round selection (256th) to Philadelphia in exchange for DB Len Persin.

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 20 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–16 | 0–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 |
| 2 | September 26 | at New England Patriots | W 34–7 | 1–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 61,057 |
| 3 | October 3 | Atlanta Falcons | W 41–38 | 2–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 |
| 4 | October 10 | Green Bay Packers | W 31–28 | 3–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 |
| 5 | October 17 | at Houston Oilers | W 31–7 | 4–1 | Astrodome | 45,885 |
| 6 | October 24 | Chicago Bears | L 23–28 | 4–2 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 |
| 7 | November 1 | at Green Bay Packers | T 14–14 | 4–2–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,961 |
| 8 | November 7 | at Denver Broncos | W 24–20 | 5–2–1 | Mile High Stadium | 51,200 |
| 9 | November 14 | Los Angeles Rams | L 13–21 | 5–3–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 |
| 10 | November 21 | at Chicago Bears | W 28–3 | 6–3–1 | Soldier Field | 55,049 |
| 11 | November 25 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 32–21 | 7–3–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 |
| 12 | December 5 | Philadelphia Eagles | L 20–23 | 7–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 54,418 |
| 13 | December 11 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–29 | 7–5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 49,784 |
| 14 | December 19 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 27–31 | 7–6–1 | Candlestick Park | 45,580 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### 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.

### Season summary
#### 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
* 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.