1971 NFL season

[1] The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins 24–3 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

With the first pick, the New England Patriots selected quarterback Jim Plunkett, the Heisman Trophy winner from Stanford University.

More tiebreakers were provided in 1971 because, in 1970, reversing just one game’s outcome would have led to a coin toss between Dallas and Detroit for the NFC wild card berth.

He was then hired by ABC to serve as play-by-play announcer for MNF, while Keith Jackson returned to call college football for the network.

Jack Whitaker and Pat Summerall replaced Gifford as hosts on The NFL Today, which was still a pre-recorded pregame show.