Head coach George Allen Record 9–4–1 | Home field RFK Stadium Division place 2nd NFC East | |
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Playoff finish Lost in Divisional Playoffs (49ers) 24–20 | ||
The 1971 Washington Redskins was the team's 40th in the National Football League, and their 35th in Washington, D.C.. The 1971 was the first with the Redskins for coach George Allen, who had been the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams for the previous five seasons.
Contents
Coming into the 1971 season, the team had not made it to the post-season for 26 seasons. The Redskins had had only four winning seasons since their last playoff berth in 1945.
The Redskins went 9–4–1, good for second place in the NFC East, and a wild card berth, where they would ultimately fall to San Francisco, 24–20.
Standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Richard Nixon Play
Rumor has it 37th President Richard Nixon called a key play which caused the Redskins to lose to the 49ers. This was just a rumor. Though Nixon was friends with George Allen and actually attended a practice game once where he tried the same play to much better results.