| 1971 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Chuck Noll |
| Home Field | Three Rivers Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–8 |
| Place | 2nd AFC Central |
| Playoff Finish | did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | 2
|
| Team MVP | Andy Russell |
| Timeline | |
| Previous Season | Next Season |
| 1970 | 1972 |
Offseason[]
NFL Draft[]
Preseason[]
Schedule[]
Game summaries[]
Regular season[]
Schedule[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 19 | at Chicago | L 17–15 | 0-1 |
| 2 | September 26 | Cincinnati | W 21–10 | 1-1 |
| 3 | October 3 | San Diego | W 21–17 | 2-1 |
| 4 | October 10 | at Cleveland | L 27–17 | 2-2 |
| 5 | October 18 | at Kansas City | L 38–16 | 2-3 |
| 6 | October 24 | Houston | W 23–16 | 3-3 |
| 7 | October 31 | at Baltimore | L 34–21 | 3-4 |
| 8 | November 7 | Cleveland | W 26–9 | 4-4 |
| 9 | November 14 | at Miami | L 24–21 | 4-5 |
| 10 | November 21 | NY Giants | W 17–13 | 5-5 |
| 11 | November 28 | Denver | L 22–10 | 5-6 |
| 12 | December 5 | at Houston | L 29–3 | 5-7 |
| 13 | December 12 | at Cincinnati | W 21–13 | 6-7 |
| 14 | December 19 | Los Angeles | L 23–14 | 6-8 |
Game summaries[]
Week 1 (Sunday September 19): Chicago Bears[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 15 | |
| Bears | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 55,049
- Referee: Bernie Ulman
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Pearson fumble recovery in end zone (kick failed)6–0
- Chicago – FG Percival 33 6–3
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 32 9–3
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 29 12–3
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 42 15–3
- Chicago – Brupbacher 30 fumble return (Percival kick)15–10
- Chicago – Farmer 8 pass from Nix (Percival kick)17–15
Week 2 (Sunday September 26): Cincinnati Bengals[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | |
| Steelers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 48,448
- Referee: Norm Schachter
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 33 3–0
- Pittsburgh – Smity 16 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)7–3
- Cincinnati – Parrish 14 fumble return (Muhlmann kick)10–7
- Pittsburgh – Staggers 67 punt return (Gerela kick)14–10
- Pittsburgh – Pearson 13 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)21–10
Week 3 (Sunday October 3): San Diego Chargers[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 | |
| Steelers | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 44,339
- Referee: Jim Tunney
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- San Diego – FG Partee 21 3–0
- Pittsburgh – Fuqua 5 run (Gerela kick)7–3
- San Diego – Parks 16 pass from Hadl (Partee kick)10–7
- Pittsburgh – Fuqua 1 run (Gerela kick)14–10
- San Diego – Garrett 4 run (Partee kick)17–14
- Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 5 run (Gerela kick)21–17
Week 4 (Sunday October 10): Cleveland Browns[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 | |
| Browns | 10 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 83,391
- Referee: Jack Vest
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Cleveland – FG Cockroft 25 3–0
- Cleveland – Morin 19 pass from Nelsen (Cockroft kick)10–0
- Cleveland – Scott 18 run (Cockroft kick)17–0
- Pittsburgh – D. Smith 22 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)17–7
- Cleveland – FG Cockroft 20 20–7
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 33 20–10
- Pittsburgh – Shanklin 11 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)20–17
- Cleveland – Kelly 7 run (Cockroft kick)27–17
Week 5 (Monday October 18): Kansas City Chiefs[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 9 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 16 | |
| Chiefs | 0 | 28 | 0 | 10 | 38 |
at the Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 49,533
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers:ABC Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford, Don Meredith
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 32 3–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 40 6–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 35 9–0
- Kansas City – Taylor 5 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick)9–7
- Kansas City – Taylor 27 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick)14–9
- Kansas City – Wright 5 pass from Dawson (Stenerud kick) 21–9
- Kansas City – Podolak 1 run (Stenerud kick)28–9
- Kansas City – FG Stenerud 11 31–9
- Pittsburgh – Fuqua 1 run (Gerela kick)31–16
- Kansas City – Thomas 32 interception return (Stenerud kick)38–16
Week 6 (Sunday October 24): Houston Oilers[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 7 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 16 | |
| Steelers | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 23 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 45,872
- Referee: Ben Dreith
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Houston – Dawkins 1 run (Moseley kick)7–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 28 3–7
- Houston – FG Moseley 24 3–10* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 22 6–10 Houston – Dawkins 1 run (kick failed) 6–16
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 9–16
- Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick)16–16
- Pittsburgh – Fuqua 30 run (Gerela kick)23–16
Week 7 (Sunday October 31): Baltimore Colts[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | |
| Colts | 7 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 34 |
at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
- Game time:
- Game weather: 60,238
- Game attendance:
- Referee: Jack Reader
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Baltimore – Bulaich 1 run (O'Brien kick)7–0
- Baltimore – FG O'Brien 20 10–0
- Baltimore – FG O'Brien 9 13–0
- Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 3 run (Gerela kick)13–7
- Baltimore – Richardson 19 pass from Morrall (O'Brien kick)20–7
- Baltimore – Richardson 49 pass from Morrall (O'Brien kick)27–7
- Baltimore – Perkins 60 pass from Morrall (O'Brien kick)34–7
- Pittsburgh – Shanklin 31 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)34–14
- Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick)34–21
Week 8 (Sunday November 7): Cleveland Browns[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 9 | |
| Steelers | 10 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 26 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 50,202
- Referee: Fred Wyant
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 45 3–0
- Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick)10–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 23 13–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 17 16–0
- Cleveland – Safety, Houston tackled Walden in end zone 16–2
- Cleveland – Scott 1 run (Cockroft kick)16–9
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 13 19–9
- Pittsburgh – Smith 40 pass from Hanratty (Gerela kick)26–9
Week 9 (Sunday November 14): Miami Dolphins[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 | |
| Dolphins | 3 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 66,435
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Miami – FG Yepremain 43 3–0
- Pittsburgh – Smith 30 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)7–3
- Pittsburgh – Shanklin 28 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)14–3
- Pittsburgh – Smith 16 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)21–3
- Miami – Warfield 12 pass from Griese (Yepremain kick)21–10
- Miami – Warfield 86 pass from Griese (Yepremain kick)21–17
- Miami – Warfield 60 pass from Griese (Yepremain kick)24–21
Week 10 (Sunday November 21): New York Giants[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 7 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 | |
| Steelers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 50,008
- Referee: Fred Silva
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- New York Giants – Houston 26 pass from Tarkenton (Gogolak kick)7–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 25 7–3
- New York Giants – FG Gogolak 25 10–3
- Pittsburgh – Rowser 70 interception return (Gerela kick)10–10
- New York Giants – FG Gogolak 29 13–10
- Pittsburgh – Shanklin 4 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)17–13
Week 11 (Sunday November 28): Denver Broncos[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos | 0 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 22 | |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 39,710
- Referee: Tommy Bell
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Denver – Little 3 run (J. Turner kick)7–0
- Denver – FG J. Turner 32 10–0
- Pittsburgh – Pearson 8 pass from Hanratty (Gerela kick) 10–7
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 10–10
- Denver – Little 16 run (Turner kick) 17–10
- Denver – Safety, Lynch tackled Walden in end zone 19–10
- Denver – FG J. Turner 12 22–10
Week 12 (Sunday December 5): Houston Oilers[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Oilers | 16 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 29 |
at the Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 37,778
- Referee: Fred Swearingen
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Houston – Reed 27 pass from Pastorini (Moseley kick)7–0
- Houston – FG Moseley 25 10–0
- Houston – Campbell 8 run (kick blocked) 16–0
- Houston – FG Moseley 37 19–0
- Houston – FG Moseley 25 22–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 15 22–3
- Houston – Holmes 4 run (Moselely kick)29–3
Week 13 (Sunday December 12): Cincinnati Bengals[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 | |
| Bengals | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 60,022
- Referee: Jack Vest
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – Hanratty 3 run (Gerela kick)7–0
- Cincinnati – Coslet 43 pass from Carter (Muhlmann kick)7–7
- Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 22 10–7
- Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 18 13–7
- Pittsburgh – Fuqua 40 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)14–13
- Pittsburgh – Shanklin 5 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)21–13
Week 14 (Sunday December 19): Los Angeles Rams[]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 13 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 23 | |
| Steelers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Game time:
- Game weather:
- Game attendance: 45,233
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
- TV announcers:
Scoring Drives:
- Los Angeles – FG Ray 15 3–0
- Los Angeles – FG Ray 15 6–0
- Los Angeles – Snow 20 pass from Gabriel (Ray kick)13–0
- Pittsburgh – L. Brown 3 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)13–7
- Los Angeles – FG Ray 15 16–7
- Pittsburgh – Shanklin 2 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)16–14
- Los Angeles – L. Smith 1 run (Ray kick)23–14
Standings[]
| AFC Central | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 285 | 273 | W-5 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 246 | 292 | L-1 |
| Houston Oilers | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 251 | 330 | W-3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 284 | 265 | L-3 |