Owner John W. Mecom, Jr. Start date 1971 General manager Vic Schwenk | Record 4–8–2 Playoff finish did not qualify Head coach J. D. Roberts | |
 | ||
Similar 1970 New Orleans Saints se, 1971 New England Patriots s, 1971 Kansas City Chief, 1969 New Orleans Saints se, 1973 New Orleans Saints se | ||
The 1971 New Orleans Saints season was the Saints fifth season. The Saints drafted Archie Manning with their first round pick, the second overall.
Manning led the Saints to their first opening day victory in franchise history, scoring a touchdown run on a rollout on the final play of a 24–20 victory over the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans' first over Los Angeles following four consecutive losses, including the Saints' inaugural game in 1967. Four weeks later, Manning engineered a 24–14 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, who would return to Tulane Stadium in January and win Super Bowl VI over the Miami Dolphins.
Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
References
1971 New Orleans Saints season Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA