# 1971 Cleveland Browns season

The 1971 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 22nd season with the National Football League.
After missing the playoffs the previous year, the Browns got off to a good start at 4–1 only to stumble losing four straight to fall to 4–5. However, the Browns would rebound to win the final five games of the season for the AFC Central Division title. Just as the 1967 Browns returned to the playoffs following a one-year absence, so, too, did the '71 club, which was in its first season under new head coach Nick Skorich after Blanton Collier's final team in 1970 had finished just 7–7, ending a string of three consecutive postseason berths.
As was the case in 1967, the '71 Browns went 9–5 and won a division crown. They captured the AFC Central for the first time, finishing three games in front of the soon-to-emerge Pittsburgh Steelers (6–8). In the playoffs the Browns would fall in the first round 20–3 to the Baltimore Colts. Running back Leroy Kelly was on the downside of his Pro Football Hall of Fame career, but he did manage to rush for 865 yards and 10 touchdowns – still good for a 14-game season. Wide receiver Fair Hooker led the team in receptions with 45.

## Offseason
### Draft

1971 Cleveland Browns draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 14 | Clarence Scott * | DB | Kansas State | |
| 2 | 40 | Bo Cornell | LB | Washington | |
| 3 | 66 | Paul Staroba | WR | Michigan | Played with Browns in 1972 |
| 3 | 68 | Charlie Hall | LB | Houston | |
| 4 | 92 | Bubba Pena | G | UMass | Played with Browns in 1972 |
| 5 | 118 | Stan Brown | WR | Purdue | |
| 6 | 142 | Doug Dieken * | T | Illinois | |
| 6 | 144 | Jay Dixon | DE | Boston University | |
| 7 | 170 | Bob Jacobs | K | Wyoming | |
| 8 | 196 | Larry Zelina | RB | Ohio State | |
| 9 | 222 | Wilmur Levels | DB | North Texas State | |
| 10 | 248 | Steve Casteel | LB | Oklahoma | |
| 11 | 274 | Mike Sikich | G | Northwestern | |
| 12 | 300 | Tony Blanchard | TE | North Carolina | |
| 13 | 326 | Thad Jamula | T | Lehigh | |
| 14 | 352 | Rick Kingrea | LB | Tulane | |
| 15 | 378 | Bill Green | DB | Western Kentucky | |
| 16 | 404 | Dave Smith | WR | Mississippi State | |
| 17 | 430 | Leo Dillon | C | Dayton | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Exhibition schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| 1 | August 8 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 24–38 | 0–1 | Candlestick Park | 40,000 |
| 2 | August 13 | Los Angeles Rams | L 5–17 | 0–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 52,503 |
| 3 | August 20 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 15–16 | 0–3 | Cotton Bowl | 69,099 |
| 4 | August 28 | vs. Chicago Bears | L 19–20 | 0–4 | Notre Dame Stadium | 43,568 |
| 5 | September 4 | New York Giants | W 30–7 | 1-4 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 82,710 |
| 6 | September 10 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 13–27 | 1-5 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 46,171 |
There was a doubleheader on September 4, 1971 Jets vs Steelers and Giants vs Browns.

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 19 | Houston Oilers | W 31–0 | 1–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 73,387 | Recap |
| 2 | September 26 | at Baltimore Colts | W 14–13 | 2–0 | Memorial Stadium | 56,837 | Recap |
| 3 | October 4 | Oakland Raiders | L 20–34 | 2–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 84,285 | Recap |
| 4 | October 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 27–17 | 3–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 83,391 | Recap |
| 5 | October 17 | at Cincinnati Bengals | W 27–24 | 4–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 60,284 | Recap |
| 6 | October 24 | Denver Broncos | L 0–27 | 4–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 75,674 | Recap |
| 7 | October 31 | Atlanta Falcons | L 14–31 | 4–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 76,825 | Recap |
| 8 | November 7 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 9–26 | 4–4 | Three Rivers Stadium | 50,202 | Recap |
| 9 | November 14 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–13 | 4–5 | Municipal Stadium | 50,388 | Recap |
| 10 | November 21 | New England Patriots | W 27–7 | 5–5 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 65,238 | Recap |
| 11 | November 28 | at Houston Oilers | W 37–24 | 6–5 | Houston Astrodome | 37,921 | Recap |
| 12 | December 5 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 31–27 | 7–5 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 82,705 | Recap |
| 13 | December 12 | at New Orleans Saints | W 21–17 | 8–5 | Tulane Stadium | 72,794 | Recap |
| 14 | December 19 | at Washington Redskins | W 20–13 | 9–5 | RFK Stadium | 53,041 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

## Game summaries
### Week 1: vs. Houston

The Browns open the regular season by blasting the Oilers, 31-0, in Nick Skorich's first game as coach. Leroy Kelly scores the Browns' first two touchdowns on 1-yard runs, and Bill Nelsen and Mike Phipps both throw a touchdown pass. The Browns intercept five passes (two by rookie Clarence Scott) and yield just 11 first downs.

### Week 2: At Baltimore

The Browns survived a late mistake and upset the defending Super Bowl-champion Colts, 14-13 at Baltimore. After Walt Sumner intercepts a Johnny Unitas pass with five seconds left (Cleveland's fifth interception), he attempts to lateral to Scott, who never touches the ball as Baltimore's Ray Perkins recovers at the Cleveland 27. But the Colts, out of timeouts, watch the clock expire before they can get off a field-goal attempt.

### Week 5: At Cincinnati

The Browns edge the Bengals, 27-24, at Cincinnati on Bo Scott's third touchdown - a 4-yard run with 39 seconds remaining. The win improves Cleveland's record to 4-1 and drops Paul Brown's defending AFC Central-champion Bengals to 1-4. The Browns get a break when defensive end Jack Gregory recovers a fumble at the Cincinnati 10, setting up a Nelsen-to-Scott TD pass.

### Week 7: vs. Atlanta

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| Browns | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
* Date: October 31
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 63 °F (17 °C), relative humidity 72%, round (wind) 11 mph (18 km/h)
* Game attendance: 76,825
* TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui (play–by–play), Irv Cross (color commentator) and Frank Clarke (sideline reporter)
Game information :
First quarter
ATL – Burrow 39 yard pass from Shiner (Bell kick) Falcons 7, Browns 0
ATL – Hansen 40 yard interception return (Bell kick) Falcons 14, Browns 0
Second quarter
ATL – Mitchell 23 yard pass from Shiner (Bell kick) Falcons 21, Browns 0
Third quarter
ATL – Butler 1 yard rush (Bell kick) Falcons 28, Browns 0
CLE – Scott 12 yard rush (Cockroft kick) Falcons 28, Browns 7
Fourth quarter
ATL – Bell 27 yard field goal Falcons 31, Browns 7
CLE – Collins 24 yard pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick) Falcons 31, Browns 14
Top passers
ATL – Dick Shiner 6/9, 115 yds, 2 TD
CLE – Bill Nelsen 9/19, 108 yds, 1 TD, 4 INT
Top rushers
ATL – Cannonball Butler 21 carr, 63 yds, 1 TD
CLE – Bo Scott 11 carr, 46 yds, 1 TD
Top receivers
ATL – Jim Mitchell 3 rec, 35 yds, 1 TD
CLE – Fair Hooker & Milt Morin 3 rec, 30 yds
Turnovers
ATL – 0
CLE – 4 :

### Week 10 vs. New England

The Browns snap a four-game losing streak with a 27-7 win over the Patriots at Cleveland Stadium. Kelly rushes for 113 yards and scores two touchdowns, one on a 7-yard pass from Nelsen for the game's first score. The Browns intercept four passes by New England rookie Jim Plunkett, who has trouble adjusting on a windy day.

### Week 12 vs. Cincinnati

The Browns clinch their first AFC Central Division title with a 31-27 win over Cincinnati at Cleveland. Leroy Kelly, who surpassed the 100-yard mark for the 26th time, scores the first and last touchdowns to complement a 224-yard passing performance by Nelsen.

## Postseason

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| Divisional | December 26 | Baltimore Colts | L 3–20 | 0–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 74,082 | Recap |

## Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 5–1 | 7–4 | 285 | 273 | W5 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 4–2 | 5–6 | 246 | 292 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 2–4 | 4–7 | 251 | 330 | W3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 1–5 | 3–8 | 284 | 265 | L3 |
    Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
vte1971 NFL season :
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1971 NFL draft
NFL playoffs
Pro Bowl
Super Bowl VI :