1970 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1970 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 11th in the National Football League.

1970 Dallas Cowboys season
OwnerClint Murchison, Jr.
Head coachTom Landry
Home fieldCotton Bowl
Results
Record10–4
Division place1st NFC East
Playoff finishWon Divisional playoffs (Lions) 5–0
Won NFC Championship (at 49ers) 17–10
Lost Super Bowl V (vs. Colts) 16–13
The Cowboys playing against the Colts in Super Bowl V

The Cowboys scored 299 points and allowed 221 points. For the fifth consecutive season, the Cowboys finished first in their division. In 1970, the club made its debut on Monday Night Football. The Cowboys lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 38–0. The Cowboys made it to their first Super Bowl and lost to the Baltimore Colts.

NFL Draft
Main article: 1970 NFL draft
1970 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 23 Duane Thomas  RB West Texas State
2 29 Bob Asher  OT Vanderbilt
2 49 Margene Adkins  WR Henderson County J.C.
3 66 Charlie Waters *  S Clemson
3 73 Steve Kiner  LB Tennessee
3 75 Denton Fox  DB Texas Tech
4 101 John Fitzgerald  C Boston College
6 153 Pat Toomay  DE Vanderbilt
7 179 Don Abbey  LB Penn State
8 205 Jerry Dossey  OG Arkansas
9 231 Zenon Andrusyshyn  K UCLA
10 257 Pete Athas  CB Tennessee
11 283 Ivan Southerland  OT Clemson
12 309 Joe Williams  RB Wyoming
13 335 Mark Washington  CB Morgan State
14 361 Julian Martin  WR North Carolina Central
15 387 Ken DeLong  TE Tennessee
16 413 Seabern Hill  DB Arizona State
17 439 Glenn Patterson  C Nebraska
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Regular season

The Cowboys had to overcome many obstacles during the regular season. Fullback Calvin Hill, the team's second leading rusher with 577 yards and 4 touchdowns, was lost for the year after suffering a leg injury late in the regular season. And wide receiver Bob Hayes was benched by head coach Tom Landry for poor performances on several occasions.

Most significantly, the Cowboys had a quarterback controversy between Craig Morton and Roger Staubach. Morton and Staubach alternated as the starting quarterback during the regular season, but Landry eventually chose Morton to start Super Bowl V because he felt less confident that Staubach would follow his game plan (Landry called all of Morton's plays in Super Bowl V).[1] Also, Morton had done extremely well in the regular season, throwing for 1,819 yards and 15 touchdowns, with seven interceptions, earning him a passer rating of 89.8. In contrast, Staubach, although a noted scrambler and able to salvage broken plays effectively, threw for 542 yards, and only two touchdowns with eight interceptions, giving him a 42.9 rating.

Hayes was the main deep threat on the team, catching 34 passes for 889 yards (a 26.1 yards per catch average) and 10 touchdowns, while also rushing 4 times for 34 yards and another touchdown, and adding another 116 yards returning punts. On the other side of the field, wide receiver Lance Rentzel recorded 28 receptions for 556 yards and 5 touchdowns.

However, the main strength on the Cowboys offense was their running game. Rookie running back Duane Thomas rushed 151 times for 803 yards (a 5.1 yards per carry average) and 5 touchdowns, while adding another 416 yards returning kickoffs. Fullback Walt Garrison, who replaced the injured Hill, provided Thomas with excellent blocking and rushed for 507 yards and 3 touchdowns himself. Garrison was also a good receiver out of the backfield, catching 21 passes for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns. Up front, Pro Bowl guard John Niland and future Hall of Famer tackle Rayfield Wright anchored the offensive line.

The Cowboys had their lowest regular season (6–2 vs. Cleveland Browns) and playoff (5–0 vs. Detroit Lions) scoring games in franchise history. The playoff victory over Detroit on December 26 remains the lowest scoring postseason game in NFL history. Through the 2018 season, they are the only games to finish with those scores.

For the first time, the Cowboys defeated the Green Bay Packers; this year's game was on Thanksgiving on the new artificial turf of the Cotton Bowl.[2] Green Bay had won the first six contests, four in the regular season (1960, 1964, 1965, 1968) and two in NFL championship games (1966, 1967). The Packers won the next meeting in Green Bay in 1972.[3]

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap
1 September 20 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–7 1–0 Franklin Field 59,728 Recap
2 September 27 New York Giants W 28–10 2–0 Cotton Bowl 57,236 Recap
3 October 4 at St. Louis Cardinals L 7–20 2–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,780 Recap
4 October 11 Atlanta Falcons W 13–0 3–1 Cotton Bowl 53,611 Recap
5 October 18 at Minnesota Vikings L 13–54 3–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 Recap
6 October 25 at Kansas City Chiefs W 27–16 4–2 Municipal Stadium 51,158 Recap
7 November 1 Philadelphia Eagles W 21–17 5–2 Cotton Bowl 55,736 Recap
8 November 8 at New York Giants L 20–23 5–3 Yankee Stadium 62,938 Recap
9 November 16 St. Louis Cardinals L 0–38 5–4 Cotton Bowl 69,323 Recap
10 November 22 at Washington Redskins W 45–21 6–4 RFK Stadium 50,415 Recap
11 November 26 Green Bay Packers W 16–3 7–4 Cotton Bowl 67,182 Recap
12 December 6 Washington Redskins W 34–0 8–4 Cotton Bowl 57,936 Recap
13 December 12 at Cleveland Browns W 6–2 9–4 Cleveland Stadium 75,458 Recap
14 December 20 Houston Oilers W 52–10 10–4 Cotton Bowl 50,504 Recap

Division opponents are in bold text

Week 1
1 234Total
• Cowboys 0 773 17
Eagles 7 000 7
  • Date: September 20
  • Location: Franklin Field
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 67°F • Wind 7
  • Referee: John McDonough

[4]

Week 2
1 234Total
Giants 3 700 10
• Cowboys 0 01414 28
  • Date: September 27
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Game attendance: 57,236
  • Game weather: 61°F; wind 11
  • Referee: Tommy Bell

Week 3
1 234Total
Cowboys 0 007 7
• Cardinals 3 377 20

Week 4
1 234Total
Falcons 0 000 0
• Cowboys 0 337 13

Week 5
1 234Total
Cowboys 3 307 13
• Vikings 14 20173 54

Week 6
1 234Total
• Cowboys 3 10140 27
Chiefs 7 306 16

Week 7
1 234Total
Eagles 0 0107 17
• Cowboys 0 1470 21
  • Date: November 1
  • Location: Cotton Bowl

Week 8
1 234Total
Cowboys 10 730 20
• Giants 3 677 23

Week 9
1 234Total
• Cardinals 7 10021 38
Cowboys 0 000 0

Week 10
1 234Total
• Cowboys 3 21147 45
Redskins 7 0140 21

Week 11
1 234Total
Packers 3 000 3
• Cowboys 0 3013 16

Thanksgiving Day

Week 12
1 234Total
Redskins 0 000 0
• Cowboys 0 71413 34
  • Date: December 6
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game start: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Referee: Jack Reader

Week 13
1 234Total
• Cowboys 0 033 6
Browns 2 000 2

Week 14
1 234Total
Oilers 3 007 10
• Cowboys 17 71414 52
  • Date: December 20
  • Location: Cotton Bowl
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty

Standings
NFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys 10 4 0 .714 5–3 7–4 299 221 W5
New York Giants 9 5 0 .643 6–2 6–5 301 270 L1
St. Louis Cardinals 8 5 1 .615 5–3 6–5 325 228 L3
Washington Redskins 6 8 0 .429 3–5 4–7 297 314 W2
Philadelphia Eagles 3 10 1 .231 1–7 1–9–1 241 332 W1

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

Postseason
Main article: 1970–71 NFL playoffs
Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap
Divisional December 26, 1970 Detroit Lions W 5–0 Cotton Bowl 69,613 Recap
NFC Championship January 3, 1971 at San Francisco 49ers W 17–10 Kezar Stadium 59,364 Recap
Super Bowl January 17, 1971 vs Baltimore Colts L 13–16 Orange Bowl 79,204 Recap

NFC Divisional Playoff
Dallas Cowboys 5, Detroit Lions 0
1 2 34Total
Lions 0 0 000
Cowboys 3 0 025

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

NFC Championship Game
Dallas Cowboys 17, San Francisco 49ers 10
1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 3 14017
49ers 3 0 7010

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco

Super Bowl V
Dallas Cowboys 13, Baltimore Colts 16
1 2 34Total
Colts (AFC) 0 6 01016
Cowboys (NFC) 3 10 0013

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Chuck Howley became the first defensive player, and only member of a losing team to be the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.

Roster
Dallas Cowboys 1970 roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

 Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

 Reserve Lists

Rookies in italics
43 Active, 2 Inactive

Awards and records
  • Chuck Howley, Most Valuable Player, Super Bowl V
  • Mel Renfro, Pro Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player

Publications

The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2

References
  1. Bill McGrane (1990). "A Mad, Mad, Mad Super Bowl," The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0-671-72798-2.
  2. Lea, Bud (November 27, 1970). "Cowboys end Packer jinx, 16-3". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  3. Lea, Bud (October 2, 1972). "Patched up Pack jolts Dallas". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  4. "Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles - September 20th, 1970". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  5. "New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys - September 27th, 1970". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
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