1971 New England Patriots season

1971 New England Patriots season
Head coach	John Mazur
General manager	Upton Bell
Owner	Billy Sullivan
Home field	Schaefer Stadium
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	T-3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	none
AP All-Pros	none
Uniform

The 1971 season New England Patriots season was the team's twelfth, and second in the National Football League. The 1971 season was the first that the team played as the New England Patriots, changing their name from the Boston Patriots, briefly to the Bay State Patriots before changing it again to the New England Patriots, in an effort to regionalize the franchise's equal distance from Boston and Providence.

The Patriots finished the season with a record of six wins and eight losses, and finished third in the AFC East division. It was the first season the Patriots played in Schaeffer Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts after playing in three different stadiums the previous three seasons in Boston.

During training camp, the Dallas Cowboys traded disgruntled running back Duane Thomas to the Patriots for Carl Garrett and Halvor Hagen. Thomas became embroiled in a conflict with coach John Mazur, prompting Patriots general manager Upton Bell to request that Commissioner Pete Rozelle void the trade three days after it had been made. Rozelle granted Bell's request, and the traded players returned to where they had been prior to the deal.

Staff

New England Patriots 1971 staff
Front Office President – Billy Sullivan General Manager – Upton Bell Assistant General Manager – Peter Hadhazy Director of Player Personnel – Bucko Kilroy Director of Pro Scouting – Rommie Loudd Head Coaches Head Coach – John Mazur Offensive Coaches Offensive Backs/Receivers – Sam Rutigliano Receivers – Jerry Stoltz Offensive Line – Bruce Beatty			Defensive Coaches Defensive Line – Dick Evans Linebackers – John Meyer Defensive Backfield – Tom Fletcher

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result			Game site	Record	Attendance
			PF	PA	Rst
1	September 19	Oakland Raiders	20	6	W	Schaeffer Stadium	1–0	55,405
2	September 26	Detroit Lions	7	34	L	Schaeffer Stadium	1–1	61,057
3	October 3	Baltimore Colts	3	23	L	Schaeffer Stadium	1–2	61,232
4	October 10	New York Jets	20	0	W	Schaeffer Stadium	2–2	61,357
5	October 17	at Miami Dolphins	3	41	L	Miami Orange Bowl	2–3	58,822
6	October 24	at Dallas Cowboys	21	44	L	Texas Stadium	2–4	65,708
7	October 31	at San Francisco 49ers	10	27	L	Candlestick Park	2–5	45,092
8	November 7	Houston Oilers	28	20	W	Schaeffer Stadium	3–5	53,155
9	November 14	Buffalo Bills	38	33	W	Schaeffer Stadium	4–5	57,446
10	November 21	at Cleveland Browns	7	27	L	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	4–6	65,238
11	November 28	at Buffalo Bills	20	27	L	War Memorial Stadium	4–7	27,166
12	December 5	Miami Dolphins	34	13	W	Schaeffer Stadium	5–7	61,457
13	December 12	at New York Jets	6	13	L	Shea Stadium	5–8	63,175
14	December 19	at Baltimore Colts	21	17	W	Memorial Stadium	6–8	57,942

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins	10	3	1	.769	5–3	7–3–1	315	174	W1
Baltimore Colts	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	313	140	L1
New England Patriots	6	8	0	.429	4–4	6–5	238	325	W1
New York Jets	6	8	0	.429	4–4	6–5	212	299	W2
Buffalo Bills	1	13	0	.071	1–7	1–10	184	394	L3

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

Roster

All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1971 New England Patriots.

Name	Position	Notes
Randy Vataha	WR
Jim Plunkett	QB
Jim Nance	RB
Carl Garrett	RB
Tom Neville	Tackle
Bill Lenkaitis	C
Julius Adams	DE
Tom Beer	TE
Ron Berger	DE
Randy Beverly	CB
Hubie Bryant	WR
James Cheyunski	LB
Bob Gladieux	WR
Charlie Gogolak	K
Rickie Harris	S
Tom Janik	P
Odell Lawson	RB
Jack Maitland	RB
Mike Montler	Tackle
Ed Philpott	LB
David Rowe	DT
Dennis Wirgowski	DT
Don Webb	S
Al Sykes	WR
Ron Sellers	WR
John Outlaw	DB
Steve Kiner	DB
Reggie Rucker	WR
Halvor Hagen	OT
Bob Gladieux	RB
Eric Crabtree	WR
Phil Clark	DB
Roland Moss	TE
Houston Antwine	DE