1971 San Diego Chargers season

1971 San Diego Chargers season
Owner	Eugene V. Klein
General manager	Harland Svare
Head coach	Sid Gillman (games 1-10) Harland Svare (games 11-14)
Home field	San Diego Stadium
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	3rd AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 1971 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's second season in the National Football League (NFL), and its 12th overall. The team improved on their 5–6–3 record in 1970. It was Harland Svare's first season as the team's head coach. After a 1-4 start, the Chargers would slightly improve, winning 3 of their next 4 games. However, they would lose 3 of their final 5 games en route to a 6-8 finish. The only bright spot was quarterback John Hadl who completed 233 passes out of 431 attempts for 3,075 yards and 21 touchdowns and won the NFL Man of the Year award as well as leading the league in both passing yards and touchdown passes.

Roster

1971 San Diego Chargers final roster

	Quarterbacks 14 Marty Domres 21 John Hadl Running backs 38 Leon Burns 20 Mike Garrett 23 Mike Montgomery 22 Dickie Post 47 Jeff Queen FB 36 Eddie Ray Wide receivers 28 Chuck Dicus 27 Gary Garrison 84 Walker Gillette 25 Jerry LeVias 32 Billy Parks Tight ends 88 Pettis Norman 89 Art Strozier		Offensive linemen 69 Ira Gordon G 58 Harris Jones G 55 Carl Mauck C 76 Terry Owens T 57 Jack Porter C 78 Walt Sweeney G 70 Russ Washington T 63 Doug Wilkerson G Defensive linemen 82 Steve DeLong DE 77 Ron East DT 86 Wes Grant DE 80 Kevin Hardy DT 75 Gary Nowak DT 79 Andy Rice DE 85 John Tanner DE/TE 73 Lee Thomas DE 87 Tom Williams DE		Linebackers 60 Bob Babich 59 Pete Barnes 56 Bob Bruggers 66 Rick Redman 53 Mel Rogers 81 Jeff Staggs 55 Ray White Defensive backs 40 Joe Beauchamp CB 35 Chuck Detwiler 44 Chris Fletcher FS 39 Jim Hill SS 24 Bob Howard CB 30 Bryant Salter SS 43 Jim Tolbert SS Special teams 29 Dennis Partee K/P		Reserve lists 65 Sam Gruneisen C (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 19	Kansas City Chiefs	W 21–14	1–0	San Diego Stadium	54,061	Recap
2	September 26	Oakland Raiders	L 0–34	1–1	San Diego Stadium	54,084	Recap
3	October 3	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–21	1–2	Three Rivers Stadium	44,339	Recap
4	October 10	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–31	1–3	Municipal Stadium	50,514	Recap
5	October 17	at Denver Broncos	L 16–20	1–4	Mile High Stadium	51,200	Recap
6	October 23	Buffalo Bills	W 20–3	2–4	San Diego Stadium	49,261	Recap
7	October 31	New York Jets	W 49–21	3–4	San Diego Stadium	44,786	Recap
8	November 7	at New York Giants	L 17–35	3–5	Yankee Stadium	62,905	Recap
9	November 15	St. Louis Cardinals	W 20–17	4–5	San Diego Stadium	46,486	Recap
10	November 21	at Oakland Raiders	L 33–34	4–6	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,681	Recap
11	November 28	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 0–31	4–7	Riverfront Stadium	59,580	Recap
12	December 5	Minnesota Vikings	W 30–14	5–7	San Diego Stadium	54,505	Recap
13	December 12	Denver Broncos	W 45–17	6–7	San Diego Stadium	44,347	Recap
14	December 19	at Houston Oilers	L 33–49	6–8	Houston Astrodome	35,959	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week One: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	7	7	0	0	14
Chargers	0	0	7	14	21

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

• Date: September 19
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: 73 °F (22.8 °C), relative humidity 74%, wind 12 mph
• Game attendance: 54,061
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• Box score

Game information

First quarter KAN – Warren McVea 6-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 8:29. Chiefs 7–0. Drive: 5 plays, 31 yards, 1:36. Second quarter KAN – Ed Podolak 1-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 14:10. Chiefs 14–0. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 5:12. Third quarter SDG – Mike Montgomery 39-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 4:04. Chiefs 14–7. Drive: 5 plays, 81 yards, 2:56. Fourth quarter SDG – Jerry LeVias 37-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 9:34. Tied 14–14. Drive: 5 plays, 67 yards, 1:01. SDG – Mike Garrett 26-yard run (Dennis Partee kick), 5:20. Chargers 21–14. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:17. Top passers KAN – Len Dawson – 11/22, 152 yards, 2 INT SDG – John Hadl – 17/37, 260 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers KAN – Ed Podolak – 17 rushes, 65 yards, TD SDG – Mike Garrett – 15 rushes, 59 yards, TD Top receivers KAN – Otis Taylor – 3 receptions, 76 yards SDG – Gary Garrison – 4 receptions, 72 yards

Week 2: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week Two: Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	3	3	14	14	34
Chargers	0	0	0	0	0

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

• Date: September 26
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: 68 °F (20.0 °C), relative humidity 57%, wind 11 mph
• Game attendance: 54,084
• Referee: Jack Vest
• Box score

Game information

First quarter OAK – George Blanda 37-yard field goal, 4:26. Raiders 3–0. Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 1:29. Second quarter OAK – George Blanda 42-yard field goal, 5:01. Raiders 6–0. Drive: 7 plays, 27 yards, 2:37. Third quarter OAK – Fred Biletnikoff 36-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick), 7:55. Raiders 13–0. Drive: 8 plays, 74 yards, 4:48. OAK – Clarence Davis 2-yard run (George Blanda kick), 0:10. Raiders 20–0. Drive: 7 plays, 57 yards, 3:44. Fourth quarter OAK – Fred Biletnikoff 13-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick), 4:27. Raiders 27–0. Drive: 9 plays, 84 yards, 4:32. OAK – Ken Stabler 1-yard run (George Blanda kick), 0:21. Raiders 34–0. Drive: 5 plays, 52 yards, 2:10. Top passers OAK – Daryle Lamonica – 11/17, 162 yards, 2 TD SDG – John Hadl – 14/29, 174 yards, 5 INT Top rushers OAK – Clarence Davis – 9 rushes, 75 yards, TD SDG – Jeff Queen – 9 rushes, 31 yards Top receivers OAK – Fred Biletnikoff – 5 receptions, 93 yards, 2 TD SDG – Billy Parks – 5 receptions, 70 yards

Week 3: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week Three: San Diego Chargers at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	3	7	7	0	17
Steelers	7	0	7	7	21

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Date: October 3
• Game time: 1:10 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 68 °F (20.0 °C), relative humidity 82%, wind 7 mph
• Game attendance: 44,339
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• Box score

Game information

First quarter SDG – Dennis Partee 21-yard field goal, 6:26. Chargers 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 54 yards. PIT – John Fuqua 5-yard run (Roy Gerela kick), 4:15. Steelers 7–3. Drive: 1 play, 5 yards. Second quarter SDG – Billy Parks 16-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 4:19. Chargers 10–7. Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 7:02. Third quarter PIT – John Fuqua 1-yard run (Roy Gerela kick), 8:47. Steelers 14–10. Drive: 4 plays, 22 yards, 1:31. SDG – Mike Garrett 4-yard run (Dennis Partee kick), 2:09. Chargers 17–14. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 6:38. Fourth quarter PIT – Terry Bradshaw 5-yard run (Roy Gerela kick), 12:02. Steelers 21–17. Drive: 13 plays, 82 yards, 5:07. Top passers SDG – John Hadl – 25/36, 283 yards, TD, 2 INT PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 15/24, 175 yards Top rushers SDG – Mike Garrett – 12 rushes, 72 yards, TD PIT – John Fuqua – 15 rushes, 60 yards, 2 TD Top receivers SDG – Billy Parks – 8 receptions, 111 yards, TD PIT – John Fuqua – 5 receptions, 53 yards

Week 4: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week Four: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	3	7	0	0	10
Chiefs	0	10	7	14	31

at Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

• Date: October 10
• Game time: 1:05 p.m. CDT
• Game weather: 53 °F (11.7 °C), relative humidity 53%, wind 10 mph
• Game attendance: 50,514
• Referee: Jack Reader
• Box score

Game information

First quarter SDG – Dennis Partee 43-yard field goal, 9:58. Chargers 3–0. Drive: 6 plays, 29 yards. Second quarter SDG – Mike Garrett 3-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 14:15. Chargers 10–0. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards. KAN – Jim Otis 3-yard pass from Len Dawson (Jan Stenerud kick), 6:24. Chargers 10–7. Drive: 6 plays, 58 yards. KAN – Jan Stenerud 29-yard field goal, 1:13. Tied 10–10. Drive: 9 plays, 49 yards, 1:52. Third quarter KAN – Otis Taylor 3-yard pass from Len Dawson (Jan Stenerud kick), 4:23. Chargers 17–10. Drive: 7 plays, 61 yards, 3:23. Fourth quarter KAN – Warren McVea 15-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 11:15. Chargers 24–10. Drive: 7 plays, 60 yards, 3:24. KAN – Ed Podolak 7-yard run (Jan Stenerud kick), 0:16. Chargers 31–10. Drive: 13 plays, 70 yards, 8:28. Top passers SDG – John Hadl – 12/23, 125 yards, TD, 2 INT KAN – Len Dawson – 16/23, 188 yards, 2 TD Top rushers SDG – Mike Garrett – 7 rushes, 44 yards KAN – Wendell Hayes – 11 rushes, 80 yards Top receivers SDG – Billy Parks – 2 receptions, 36 yards SDG – Gary Garrison – 1 reception, 36 yards KAN – Otis Taylor – 6 receptions, 97 yards, TD

Week 5: at Denver Broncos

Week Five: San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	3	3	7	3	16
Broncos	7	13	0	0	20

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

• Date: October 17
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. MDT
• Game weather: 50 °F (10.0 °C), relative humidity 90%, wind 9 mph
• Game attendance: 51,200
• Referee: Dick Jorgensen
• Box score

Game information

First quarter DEN – Bobby Anderson 1-yard run (Jim Turner kick), 11:58. Broncos 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 3 yards. SDG – Dennis Partee 41-yard field goal, 9:15. Broncos 7–3. Drive: 6 plays, 39 yards, 2:43. Second quarter DEN – Jim Turner 49-yard field goal, 14:55. Broncos 10–3. Drive: 9 plays, 38 yards, 5:07. SDG – Dennis Partee 20-yard field goal, 11:20. Broncos 10–6. Drive: 10 plays, 36 yards, 3:35. DEN – Floyd Little 2-yard run (Jim Turner kick), 3:54. Broncos 17–6. Drive: 12 plays, 83 yards, 7:26. DEN – Jim Turner 10-yard field goal, 0:18. Broncos 20–6. Drive: 7 plays, 18 yards, 0:39. Third quarter SDG – Gary Garrison 21-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 0:53. Broncos 20–13. Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards. Fourth quarter SDG – Dennis Partee 35-yard field goal, 13:48. 'Broncos 20–16. Drive: 5 plays, -2 yards, 1:19. Top passers SDG – John Hadl – 18/44, 236 yards, TD, INT DEN – Don Horn – 7/17, 71 yards, INT Top rushers SDG – Billy Parks – 1 rush, 54 yards DEN – Bobby Anderson – 25 rushes, 106 yards, TD Top receivers SDG – Gary Garrison – 4 receptions, 105 yards, TD DEN – Bobby Anderson – 3 receptions, 43 yards

Week 6: vs. Buffalo Bills

Week Six: Buffalo Bills at San Diego Chargers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	0	3	0	3
Chargers	7	3	3	7	20

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

• Date: October 23
• Game time: 6:00 p.m. PDT
• Game weather: 64 °F (17.8 °C), relative humidity 78%, wind 7 mph
• Game attendance: 49,261
• Referee: Bernie Ulman
• Box score

Game information

First quarter SDG – Billy Parks 56-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 9:51. Chargers 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 80 yards, 2:37. Second quarter SDG – Dennis Partee 9-yard field goal, 4:13. Chargers 10–0. Drive: 15 plays, 70 yards, 7:28. Third quarter BUF – Grant Guthrie 36-yard field goal, 9:31. Chargers 10–3. Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 1:27. SDG – Dennis Partee 10-yard field goal, 6:31. Chargers 13–3. Drive: 5 plays, 57 yards, 3:00. Fourth quarter SDG – Billy Parks 12-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 2:27. Chargers 20–3. Drive: 5 plays, 56 yards, 3:14. Top passers BUF – James Harris – 4/8, 36 yards, INT SDG – John Hadl – 14/28, 215 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers BUF – O. J. Simpson – 18 rushes, 106 yards SDG – Mike Garrett – 19 rushes, 94 yards Top receivers BUF – Ike Hill – 2 receptions, 20 yards SDG – Gary Garrison – 4 receptions, 106 yards

Week 7: vs. New York Jets

Week Seven: New York Jets at San Diego Chargers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	7	7	7	0	21
Chargers	0	21	7	21	49

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

• Date: October 31
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 57 °F (13.9 °C), relative humidity 54%, wind 10 mph
• Game attendance: 44,786
• Referee: Fred Wyant
• Box score

Game information

First quarter NYJ – Rich Caster 23-yard pass from Bob Davis (Bobby Howfield kick), 6:59. Jets 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 35 yards, 0:57. Second quarter SDG – John Hadl 2-yard run (Dennis Partee kick), 10:32. Tied 7–7. Drive: 11 plays, 93 yards, 6:09. NYJ – John Riggins 31-yard pass from Bob Davis (Bobby Howfield kick), 5:59. Jets 14–7. Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 4:33. SDG – Mike Montgomery 37-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 2:45. Tied 14–14. Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:32. SDG – Billy Parks 17-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 0:26. Chargers 21–14. Drive: 4 plays, 34 yards, 0:24. Third quarter NYJ – Emerson Boozer 6-yard run (Ralph Baker pass from Bob Davis), 12:52. Tied 21–21. Drive: 3 plays, 18 yards, 1:35. SDG – Gary Garrison 49-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 9:44. Chargers 28–21. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 3:08. Fourth quarter SDG – Mike Montgomery 13-yard run (Dennis Partee kick), 10:57. Chargers 35–21. Drive: 5 plays, 64 yards, 1:52. SDG – Pettis Norman 21-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 9:10. Chargers 42–21. Drive: 2 plays, 21 yards, 0:17. SDG – Chris Fletcher 36-yard interception return (Dennis Partee kick), 3:30. Chargers 49–21. Top passers NYJ – Bob Davis – 8/18, 83 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT SDG – John Hadl – 19/27, 358 yards, 4 TD, INT Top rushers NYJ – John Riggins – 10 rushes, 63 yards SDG – Mike Garrett – 9 rushes, 55 yards Top receivers NYJ – Rich Caster – 4 receptions, 53 yards, TD SDG – Gary Garrison – 6 receptions, 162 yards, TD

Week 8: at New York Giants

Week Eight: San Diego Chargers at New York Giants – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	0	3	14	0	17
Giants	7	14	0	14	35

at Yankee Stadium, New York, New York

• Date: November 7
• Game time: 1:07 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 53 °F (11.7 °C), relative humidity 69%, wind 19 mph
• Game attendance: 62,905
• Referee: Norm Schachter
• Box score

Game information

First quarter NYG – Ron Johnson 1-yard run (Pete Gogolak kick), 0:47. Giants 7–0. Drive: 13 plays, 65 yards, 8:09. Second quarter NYG – Charlie Evans 9-yard run (Pete Gogolak kick), 9:54. Giants 14–0. Drive: 6 plays, 63 yards, 3:44. NYG – Rich Kotite 43-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Pete Gogolak kick), 1:10. Giants 21–0. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:34. SDG – Dennis Partee 28-yard field goal, 0:02. Giants 21–3. Drive: 5 plays, 60 yards, 1:08. Third quarter SDG – Gary Garrison 7-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 7:14. Giants 21–10. Drive: 13 plays, 74 yards, 6:31. SDG – Gary Garrison 21-yard pass from Mike Montgomery (Dennis Partee kick), 4:02. Giants 21–17. Drive: 5 plays, 58 yards, 1:10. Fourth quarter NYG – Charlie Evans 1-yard run (Pete Gogolak kick), 14:58. Giants 28–17. Drive: 8 plays, 84 yards, 4:04. NYG – Charlie Evans 1-yard run (Pete Gogolak kick), 0:55. Giants 35–17. Drive: 7 plays, 28 yards, 4:24. Top passers SDG – John Hadl – 16/31, 194 yards, TD, 2 INT NYG – Fran Tarkenton – 16/20, 83 yards, TD Top rushers SDG – Mike Garrett – 6 rushes, 45 yards NYG – Ron Johnson – 12 rushes, 67 yards, TD Top receivers SDG – Jeff Queen – 5 receptions, 85 yards NYG – Coleman Zeno – 4 receptions, 90 yards

Week 9: vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Week Nine: St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Chargers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	3	0	7	17
Chargers	0	3	7	10	20

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

• Date: November 15
• Game time: 6:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 57 °F (13.9 °C), relative humidity 66%, wind 9 mph
• Game attendance: 46,486
• Referee: John McDonough
• Box score

Game information

First quarter STL – Jim McFarland 3-yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick), 2:49. Cardinals 7–0. Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 4:36. Second quarter SDG – Dennis Partee 25-yard field goal, 13:36. Cardinals 7–3. Drive: 9 plays, 67 yards, 4:11. STL – Jim Bakken 13-yard field goal, 0:30. Cardinals 10–3. Drive: 14 plays, 72 yards, 4:28. Third quarter SDG – Jeff Queen 4-yard run (Dennis Partee kick), 5:32. Tied 10–10. Drive: 10 plays, 72 yards, 4:52. Fourth quarter SDG – Jeff Queen 4-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick), 3:16. Chargers 17–10. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 5:36. STL – Cid Edwards 1-yard run (Jim Bakken kick), 0:17. Tied 17–17. Drive: 5 plays, 33 yards, 1:08. SDG – Dennis Partee 45-yard field goal, 0:00. Chargers 20–17. Drive: 3 plays, 16 yards, 0:16. Top passers STL – Jim Hart – 17/35, 214 yards, TD, 3 INT SDG – John Hadl – 20/28, 216 yards, TD, INT Top rushers STL – MacArthur Lane – 18 rushes, 82 yards SDG – Mike Montgomery – 17 rushes, 98 yards Top receivers STL – John Gilliam – 5 receptions, 76 yards SDG – Mike Montgomery – 6 receptions, 77 yards

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Kansas City Chiefs	10	3	1	.769	4–1–1	8–2–1	302	208	W3
Oakland Raiders	8	4	2	.667	4–1–1	7–3–1	344	278	W1
San Diego Chargers	6	8	0	.429	2–4	4–7	311	341	L1
Denver Broncos	4	9	1	.308	1–5	3–6–1	203	275	L2

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