1970 Baltimore Colts season

The 1970 Baltimore Colts season was the 18th season for the team in the National Football League. Led by first-year head coach Don McCafferty, the Colts finished the 1970 season with a regular season record of 11 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie to win the first AFC East title. The Colts completed the postseason in Miami with a victory over the Cowboys in Super Bowl V, their first Super Bowl title and third world championship (1958, 1959, and 1970). The Baltimore Colts would not return to a championship game again.

1970 Baltimore Colts season
OwnerCarroll Rosenbloom
Head coachDon McCafferty
General managerDon Klosterman
Home fieldMemorial Stadium
Results
Record11–2–1
Division place1st AFC East
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs (Bengals) 17–0
Won Conference Championship (Raiders) 27–17
Won Super Bowl V
(Cowboys) 16–13
The Colts playing against the Cowboys in Super Bowl V

In February 1970, head coach Don Shula departed after seven seasons for the Miami Dolphins,[1][2] now in the same division, and offensive backfield coach McCafferty was promoted in early April.[3][4][5]

NFL Draft
Main article: 1970 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team
1 18 Norm Bulaich Running Back TCU
2 44 Jim Bailey Defensive tackle Kansas
3 70 Jim O'Brien Wide Receiver Cincinnati
3 74 Ara Person Tight End Morgan State
4 95 Steve Smear Linebacker Penn State
5 122 Billy Newsome Defensive End Grambling State
6 148 Ron Gardin Defensive Back Arizona
7 174 Gordon Slade Quarterback Davidson
8 199 Bob Bouley Tackle Boston College
9 226 Barney Harris Defensive Back Texas A&M

Personnel

Staff/Coaches
1970 Baltimore Colts staff
Front Office

Coaching Staff

Offensive Coaches

 Defensive Coaches

Final roster
1970 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Regular season
Main article: 1970 NFL season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result TV Time(ET) TV Announcers Record Game Site Attendance
1 September 20 at San Diego Chargers W 16–14 NBC 4:00pm Ross Porter and Willie Davis 1–0 San Diego Stadium
47,782
2 September 28 Kansas City Chiefs L 24–44 ABC 9:00pm Keith Jackson, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell 1–1 Memorial Stadium
53,911
3 October 4 at Boston Patriots W 14–6 NBC 1:00pm Dave Martin and Willie Davis 2–1 Harvard Stadium
38,235
4 October 11 at Houston Oilers W 24–20 NBC 4:00pm Bill O'Donnell and George Ratterman 3–1 Astrodome
48,050
5 October 18 at New York Jets W 29–22 NBC 1:00pm Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote 4–1 Shea Stadium
63,301
6 October 25 Boston Patriots W 27–3 NBC 1:00pm Bill O'Donnell and Johnny Morris 5–1 Memorial Stadium
60,240
7 November 1 Miami Dolphins W 35–0 NBC 1:00pm Jim Simpson and Al DeRogatis 6–1 Memorial Stadium
60,240
8 November 9 at Green Bay Packers W 13–10 ABC 9:00pm Keith Jackson, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell 7–1 Milwaukee County Stadium
48,063
9 November 15 Buffalo Bills T 17–17 NBC 1:00pm Bill Enis and Dave Kocourek 7–1–1 Memorial Stadium
60,240
10 November 22 at Miami Dolphins L 17–34 NBC 1:00pm Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote 7–2–1 Orange Bowl
67,699
11 November 29 Chicago Bears W 21–20 CBS 1:00pm Lindsey Nelson and Don Perkins 8–2–1 Memorial Stadium
60,240
12 December 6 Philadelphia Eagles W 29–10 CBS 1:00pm Lindsey Nelson and Don Perkins 9–2–1 Memorial Stadium
60,240
13 December 13 at Buffalo Bills W 20–14 NBC 1:00pm Ross Porter and Willie Davis 10–2–1 War Memorial Stadium
34,346
14 December 19 New York Jets W 35–20 NBC 3:00pm Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote 11–2–1 Memorial Stadium
60,240

Week 1
1 234Total
• Colts 0 376 16
Chargers 0 077 14

[6]

Week 2
1 234Total
• Chiefs 10 21310 44
Colts 0 7314 24

[7]

Week 3
1 234Total
• Colts 0 707 14
Patriots 0 303 6
  • Date: October 4
  • Location: Harvard Stadium, Boston
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C); wind 17 mph (27 km/h)

[8]

Week 4
1 234Total
• Colts 7 1007 24
Oilers 0 776 20

[9]

Week 5

This was the Super Bowl III rematch and it was truly a rematch but this time it favors the Colts as they opened up a 19–0 lead and never looked back. The jets did mount a challenge led by Joe Namath's 392 yards passing, but he also had 6 interceptions as the Colts gain some revenge on this day.

1 234Total
• Colts 17 363 29
Jets 3 2143 22

[10]

Week 6
1 234Total
Patriots 0 300 3
• Colts 3 1437 27
  • Date: October 25
  • Location: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
  • Referee: Bob Finley

[11]

Week 7
1 234Total
Dolphins 0 000 0
• Colts 7 7147 35

[12]

Week 8
1 234Total
• Colts 0 760 13
Packers 3 007 10

[13]

Week 11
1 234Total
Bears 17 003 20
• Colts 0 1407 21

[14]

Week 12
1 234Total
Eagles 0 370 10
• Colts 13 1033 29

[15]

Week 13
1 234Total
• Colts 10 073 20
Bills 7 700 14

[16]

The Colts clinched the division title with the win.

Week 14
1 234Total
Jets 7 733 20
• Colts 0 14714 35

[17]

Standings
AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts 11 2 1 .846 6–1–1 8–2–1 321 234 W4
Miami Dolphins 10 4 0 .714 6–2 8–3 297 228 W6
New York Jets 4 10 0 .286 2–6 2–9 255 286 L3
Buffalo Bills 3 10 1 .231 3–4–1 3–7–1 204 337 L5
Boston Patriots 2 12 0 .143 2–6 2–9 149 361 L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Postseason
Main article: 1970–71 NFL playoffs

The team made it to the playoffs with the best record in the AFC. The Colts hosted both AFC playoff games that they played in. (It wasn't until the 1975 season that playoff teams were seeded by record; the fact that the Colts hosted both playoff games was just due to the rotation set up with the AFL–NFL merger.) The team won both AFC playoff games as well as Super Bowl V.

Playoff Round Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance
Divisional December 26, 1970 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–0 1–0 Memorial Stadium
51,127
AFC Championship January 2, 1971 Oakland Raiders W 27–17 2–0 Memorial Stadium
56,368
Super Bowl V January 17, 1971 Dallas Cowboys W 16–13 3–0 Orange Bowl
80,055

Divisional
1 234Total
Bengals 0 000 0
• Colts 7 307 17

The Colts hosted the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round. The Colts relied on their defense, which had carried them all season, to best the Bengals 17–0, holding Cincinnati to only 139 total yards.[18]

Conference Championship
1 234Total
Raiders 0 377 17
• Colts 3 7107 27

The Colts next hosted the Oakland Raiders for the AFC Championship Game. The Colts jumped out to an early lead over the Raiders, 10–3 at halftime. Oakland came back to tie it up early in the 3rd quarter. The Colts would respond with a Jim O'Brien field goal and a second Bulaich touchdown. Johnny Unitas extended the lead with a 68-yard touchdown pass to Ray Perkins that made the score 27–17. The Colts would seal the win with an interception in the end zone.[19]

Super Bowl
1 234Total
• Colts 0 6010 16
Cowboys 3 1000 13

The Colts made it to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history and played the Dallas Cowboys for the NFL championship. In the 2nd quarter, Johnny Unitas threw a pass that was tipped twice before John Mackey caught it for a 75-yard score. Later in the quarter Unitas was injured and Earl Morrall completed a sloppy and turnover-filled game: the Colts committed a total of 7 turnovers, the Cowboys 4. Following an interception by Mike Curtis, Jim O'Brien kicked the game-winning 32-yard field goal, giving Baltimore a 16–13 lead with 5 seconds left in the game, and the victory.[20]

References
  1. "Shula replaces Miami's Wilson". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. February 19, 1970. p. 1, part 2.
  2. "Dollar signs convince Shula to jump to Miami Dolphins". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 19, 1970. p. 4D.
  3. "Colts passed up 3 head coaches". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. April 7, 1970. p. 21.
  4. Riker, Dan (April 7, 1970). "Don McCafferty, ex-Kent State mentor, is named Baltimore head coach". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). UPI. p. 14.
  5. "McCafferty Colt coach". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. April 7, 1970. p. 1, part 2.
  6. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  7. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-28.
  8. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-28.
  9. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  10. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  11. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  12. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  13. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  14. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-01.
  15. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-03.
  16. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  17. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-04.
  18. "Cincinnati Bengals 0 at Baltimore Colts 17. Saturday, December 26, 1970". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-04.
  19. "Oakland Raiders 17 at Baltimore Colts 27, Sunday, January 3, 1971". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-04.
  20. "Baltimore Colts 16 vs. Dallas Cowboys 13, Sunday, January 17, 1971". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-04.

See also
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