1971 Atlanta Falcons season

The 1971 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's sixth year in the National Football League (NFL). It was the first winning season in franchise history.

Offseason

**1971 Atlanta Falcons staff**
	Front office Chairman of the board – Rankin M. Smith Sr. President – Frank E. Wall General manager – Norm Van Brocklin Head coaches Head coach – Norm Van Brocklin Offensive coaches Offensive backfield – Billy Ray Barnes Receivers – Harry Gilmer Offensive line – Duane Putnam			Defensive coaches Head defensive – Marion Campbell Defensive line – Bob Griffin Defensive backfield – Fred Bruney

**1971 Atlanta Falcons final roster**

	Quarterbacks 17 Bob Berry 10 Leo Hart 11 Dick Shiner Running backs 28 Willie Belton 33 Cannonball Butler FB 45 Sonny Campbell 25 Art Malone 23 Joe Profit 5 Harmon Wages Wide receivers 82 Ken Burrow 81 Wes Chesson 45 Ray Jarvis 85 Ray Poage Tight ends 84 Mike Donohoe 86 Jim Mitchell		Offensive linemen 63 Dick Enderle G 65 Len Gotshalk T 75 George Kunz T 53 John Matlock C 64 Andy Maurer G 61 Bill Sandeman T 67 Malcolm Snider G 57 Jeff Van Note C Defensive linemen 88 Glen Condren DT 87 Claude Humphrey DE 72 Greg Lens DT 69 Mike Lewis DT 89 Randy Marshall DE 66 John Small DT 71 John Zook DE		Linebackers 52 Ron Acks 54 Grady Allen 62 John Bramlett 50 Greg Brezina 58 Don Hansen 59 Rudy Kuechenberg Defensive backs 34 Ray Brown S 27 Tom Hayes CB 35 Tony Plummer 22 John Mallory SS 36 Ken Reaves CB 47 Rudy Redmond CB 30 Larry Shears Special teams 37 Bill Bell K 26 Billy Lothridge P		Reserve lists 20 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 60 IRTooltip Injured reserve) 80 IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 19	San Francisco 49ers	W 20–17	1–0	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	56,990
2	September 26	at Los Angeles Rams	T 20–20	1–0–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	57,895
3	October 3	at Detroit Lions	L 38–41	1–1–1	Tiger Stadium	54,418
4	October 10	St. Louis Cardinals	L 9–26	1–2–1	Atlanta Stadium	58,850
5	October 17	Los Angeles Rams	L 16–24	1–3–1	Atlanta Stadium	58,850
6	October 24	New Orleans Saints	W 28–6	2–3–1	Atlanta Stadium	58,850
7	October 31	at Cleveland Browns	W 31–14	3–3–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	76,825
8	November 7	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 9–6	4–3–1	Riverfront Stadium	59,604
9	November 14	New York Giants	L 17–21	4–4–1	Atlanta Stadium	58,850
10	November 22	Green Bay Packers	W 28–21	5–4–1	Atlanta Stadium	58,850
11	November 28	at Minnesota Vikings	L 7–24	5–5–1	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
12	December 5	Oakland Raiders	W 24–13	6–5–1	Atlanta Stadium	58,850
13	December 12	at San Francisco 49ers	L 3–24	6–6–1	Kezar Stadium	44,582
14	December 19	at New Orleans Saints	W 24–20	7–6–1	Tulane Stadium	75,954
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

^ "1971 Atlanta Falcons draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2014.

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v t e Atlanta Falcons
Founded in 1966 Based in Atlanta, Georgia Headquartered in Flowery Branch, Georgia
Franchise	Franchise Team history Seasons Players Quarterbacks Head coaches Expansion draft Draft history First-round draft picks
Stadiums	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Georgia Dome Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Culture	Rankin M. Smith Sr. Arthur Blank Freddie Falcon The "Dirty Bird" (dance) "2 Legit 2 Quit" Brian Banks Quarterback
Lore	Grits Blitz Gary Anderson's missed field goal Michael Vick dog fighting investigation Timeline 28–3
Rivalries	Carolina Panthers New Orleans Saints Philadelphia Eagles
Wild card / First round berths (8)	1978 1982 1991 1995 2002 2008 2011 2017
Division championships (6)	1980 1998 2004 2010 2012 2016
Conference championships (2)	1998 2016
Ring of Honor	10 21 28 31 42 57 58 60 78 84 87
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: South Division
Category