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.

1971 Detroit Lions season
Head coach	Joe Schmidt
Home field	Tiger Stadium
Results
Record	7–6–1
Division place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

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

Main article: 1971 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.

Roster

Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks 17 Bill Cappleman 11 Greg Landry 19 Bill Munson Running backs 24 Mel Farr 36 Steve Owens 42 Altie Taylor 38 Bill Triplett 34 Mickey Zofko Wide receivers 89 Ron Jessie 85 Chuck Hughes 25 Earl McCullough 49 Larry Walton Tight ends 87 Craig Cotton 88 Charlie Sanders		Offensive linemen 54 Ed Flanagan C 76 Rocky Freitas T 68 Frank Gallagher G 66 Bob Kowalkowski G 79 Ray Parson T 65 Dave Thompson T 71 Chuck Walton G 75 Jim Yarbrough T Defensive linemen 73 Bob Bell DT 77 Dick Evey DT 74 Larry Hand DE 83 Jim Mitchell DE 84 Joe Robb DE 82 Jerry Rush DT 70 Larry Woods DT		Linebackers 51 Ken Lee 53 Mike Lucci 62 Ed Mooney 50 Paul Naumoff 55 Wayne Walker 59 Charlie Weaver Defensive backs 20 Lem Barney CB 44 Dick LeBeau CB 47 Wayne Rasmussen SS 48 Tom Vaughn 28 Mike Weger FS 45 Bobby Williams Special teams 12 Errol Mann K 18 Herman Weaver P		Reserve lists 81 Charlie Brown WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 40 Nick Eddy RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) rookies in italics

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
	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

See also: 1971 Chicago Bears season and Bears–Lions rivalry

Week Six: Chicago Bears (3–2) at Detroit Lions (4–1)

Period	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.