Tags: National Football League Season.
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. 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.