1970 Houston Oilers season

The 1970 Houston Oilers season was the 11th season overall and its first as part of the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous season's output of 6–6–2, winning only three games.[1] The Oilers would start out the season winning 2 of its first 3 games, both road wins against the Steelers and Bengals.

1970 Houston Oilers season
OwnerBud Adams
Head coachWally Lemm
General managerBob Brodhead
Home fieldHouston Astrodome
Results
Record3–10–1
Division place4th AFC Central
Playoff finishdid not qualify

However, the Oilers would struggle the rest of the season, as they would go 0-6-1 following the 2-1 start. A crushing blow came in week five vs. the Steelers in the Astrodome when starting quarterback Charley Johnson suffered a broken clavicle when he was clipped by Pittsburgh defensive tackle Chuck Hinton on an interception return. Johnson incredibly returned after missing four games, but was nowhere near as effective than before the injury.

The Oilers won only one of their last 11 games, a 31-21 win over the Denver Broncos, before losing their final 3 games of the season, including a 52-10 rout by in-state rival Dallas in the finale, to finish the season 3-10-1. They missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, and for the first of eight consecutive campaigns.

Offseason

NFL draft
Main article: 1970 NFL draft
1970 Houston Oilers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 14 Doug Wilkerson *  Guard North Carolina Central
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[2]

Roster
Houston Oilers roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

 Offensive Linemen
  • 62 Ken Gary G

Defensive Linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

 Reserve Lists

Practice Squad

Rookies in italics

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 19–7 1–0 Three Rivers Stadium 45,538 Recap
2 September 27 Miami Dolphins L 10–20 1–1 Houston Astrodome 39,840 Recap
3 October 4 at Cincinnati Bengals W 20–13 2–1 Riverfront Stadium 55,094 Recap
4 October 11 Baltimore Colts L 20–24 2–2 Houston Astrodome 48,050 Recap
5 October 18 Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–7 2–3 Houston Astrodome 42,799 Recap
6 October 25 at San Diego Chargers T 31–31 2–3–1 San Diego Stadium 41,427 Recap
7 November 1 at St. Louis Cardinals L 0–44 2–4–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,911 Recap
8 November 8 at Kansas City Chiefs L 9–24 2–5–1 Municipal Stadium 49,810 Recap
9 November 15 San Francisco 49ers L 20–30 2–6–1 Houston Astrodome 43,040 Recap
10 November 22 at Cleveland Browns L 14–28 2–7–1 Cleveland Stadium 74,723 Recap
11 November 29 Denver Broncos W 31–21 3–7–1 Houston Astrodome 35,733 Recap
12 December 7 Cleveland Browns L 10–21 3–8–1 Houston Astrodome 50,582 Recap
13 December 13 Cincinnati Bengals L 20–30 3–9–1 Houston Astrodome 34,435 Recap
14 December 20 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–52 3–10–1 Cotton Bowl 50,504 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings
AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cincinnati Bengals 8 6 0 .571 3–3 7–4 312 255 W7
Cleveland Browns 7 7 0 .500 4–2 7–4 286 265 W1
Pittsburgh Steelers 5 9 0 .357 3–3 5–6 210 272 L3
Houston Oilers 3 10 1 .231 2–4 3–7–1 217 352 L3

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

References
  1. 1970 Houston Oilers
  2. "1970 Houston Oilers draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
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