1971 Detroit Lions season

The 1971 Detroit Lions season was their 42nd in the league. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 10–4, winning only seven games.

Mired in adversity, the 1971 season turned especially tragic for the Lions and the NFL when, during their week 6 hosting of the Chicago Bears, Lions wide receiver Chuck Hughes collapsed on the playing field. Unresponsive, Hughes was pronounced dead later that day of heart failure. Since 1971, no Detroit player has worn Hughes' #85 jersey save on special permission of the Hughes family.

Offseason

NFL draft

Notes

• Detroit traded QB Greg Barton to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' second-round selection (30th) and second- and third-round selections in 1972.
• Detroit traded DE Denis Moore to Philadelphia in exchange for the Eagles' sixth-round selection (150th).
• Detroit traded its tenth-round selection (256th) to Philadelphia in exchange for DB Len Persin.

Schedule

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance
1	Template:Dow tooltip	Minnesota Vikings	L 13–16	0–1	Tiger Stadium	54,418
2	September 26	at New England Patriots	W 34–7	1–1	Schaefer Stadium	61,057
3	October 3	Atlanta Falcons	W 41–38	2–1	Tiger Stadium	54,418
4	October 10	Green Bay Packers	W 31–28	3–1	Tiger Stadium	54,418
5	October 17	at Houston Oilers	W 31–7	4–1	Astrodome	45,885
6	October 24	Chicago Bears	L 23–28	4–2	Tiger Stadium	54,418
7	Template:Dow tooltip	at Green Bay Packers	T 14–14	4–2–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	47,961
8	November 7	at Denver Broncos	W 24–20	5–2–1	Mile High Stadium	51,200
9	November 14	Los Angeles Rams	L 13–21	5–3–1	Tiger Stadium	54,418
10	November 21	at Chicago Bears	W 28–3	6–3–1	Soldier Field	55,049
11	November 25	Kansas City Chiefs	W 32–21	7–3–1	Tiger Stadium	54,418
12	December 5	Philadelphia Eagles	L 20–23	7–4–1	Tiger Stadium	54,418
13	Template:Dow tooltip	at Minnesota Vikings	L 10–29	7–5–1	Metropolitan Stadium	49,784
14	December 19	at San Francisco 49ers	L 27–31	7–6–1	Candlestick Park	45,580

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 6

Week Six: Chicago Bears (3–2) at Detroit Lions (4–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	14	0	7	28
Lions	6	14	3	0	23

at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan

• Date: October 24, 1971
• Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 54,418
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter DET – Errol Mann 28-yard field goal. Lions 3–0. Drive: CHI – Don Shy 21-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 7–3. Drive: DET – Errol Mann 49-yard field goal. Bears 7–6. Drive: Second quarter CHI – George Farmer 54-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 14–6. Drive: DET – Ron Jessie 102-yard kickoff return (Errol Mann kick). Bears 14–13. DET – Larry Walton 16-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Lions 20–14. Drive: CHI – Bob Wallace 15-yard pass from Bobby Douglass (Mac Percival kick). Bears 21–20. Drive: Third quarter DET – Errol Mann 29-yard field goal. Lions 23–21. Drive: Fourth quarter CHI – Bobby Douglass 1-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Bears 28–23. Drive: Top passers CHI – Bobby Douglass – 15/21, 160 yards, 2 TD DET – Greg Landry – 11/26, 173 yards, TD, 2 INT Top rushers CHI – Don Shy – 18 rushes, 99 yards, TD DET – Steve Owens – 16 rushes, 81 yards Top receivers CHI – George Farmer – 6 receptions, 95 yards, TD DET – Altie Taylor – 4 receptions, 41 yards

Chuck Hughes became the first NFL player to die on the field during a game.