1970 Oakland Raiders season

The 1970 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 11th season in Oakland. It was also their first season as members of the NFL. The Raiders would ultimately win their fourth consecutive division title (as well as their first AFC West title). They advanced to the AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Baltimore Colts.

1970 Oakland Raiders season
OwnerF. Wayne Valley
Head coachJohn Madden
General managerAl Davis
Home fieldOakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record8–4–2
Division place1st AFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional playoffs (Dolphins) 21–14
Lost AFC Championship Game (Colts) 17–27

The Raiders' 1970 season is best remembered for a series of clutch performances by veteran placekicker/quarterback George Blanda. Blanda, despite being cut during the 1970 preseason, eventually re-joined the Raiders' roster. His ensuing season (the twenty-first of his professional career) would rank as one of the more dramatic comebacks in sports history. Over a span of five consecutive games, Blanda would come off the bench to spark a series of dramatic rallies. The Raiders went an impressive 4–0–1 over this span.

Blanda's five-game "streak" began on October 25, 1970. In a home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Blanda threw for two touchdowns in relief of an injured Daryle Lamonica. One week later, his 48-yard field goal (with three seconds remaining on the clock) salvaged a 17–17 tie with the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. One week later, on November 8, Blanda would come off the bench against the Cleveland Browns. His late touchdown pass (with 1:34 remaining in the game) tied the game at 20–20. He would ultimately kick a 53-yard field goal, as time expired, to give the Raiders a stunning 23–20 victory. The following week, against the Denver Broncos, Blanda again replaced Lamonica in the fourth quarter. His touchdown pass to Fred Biletnikoff, with 2:28 left in the game, gave the Raiders an unlikely 24–19 win. The incredible streak concluded one week later against the San Diego Chargers. The Raiders managed to drive deep into Chargers territory in the game's final seconds. Blanda's last-minute 16-yard field goal would seal a dramatic 20–17 triumph.

Blanda's streak played a huge role in the Raiders' 1970 division title, as the team went a mediocre 4–4–1 in "non-streak" games. Indeed, their final record of 8–4–2 (itself a four-win drop from a 12–1–1 finish in 1969) placed them only one game ahead of the Chiefs at season's end.

The Raiders would ultimately advance to the 1970 AFC Championship Game, where they met the heavily favored 11–2–1 Baltimore Colts. During this game, Blanda again came off the bench in relief of an injured Lamonica. Blanda's solid play (17 of 32 passes for 217 yards, two touchdowns, and a 48-yard field goal) kept the Raiders in the game until the final quarter, when he was intercepted twice. At age 43, Blanda became the oldest quarterback to ever play in a championship game.

Blanda's eye-opening achievements resulted in his winning the Bert Bell Award. Chiefs' owner Lamar Hunt quipped that "...this George Blanda is as good as his father, who used to play for Houston." While he never again played a major role at quarterback, Blanda would serve as the Raiders' kicker for five more seasons.

Offseason

Draft
Main article: 1970 NFL Draft
1970 Oakland Raiders draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 24 Raymond Chester *  TE Morgan State
2 50 Ted Koy  TE Texas
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Roster
1970 Oakland Raiders 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

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 20 at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–31 0–1 Riverfront Stadium
56,616
 Recap
2 September 27 at San Diego Chargers T 27–27 0–1–1 San Diego Stadium
42,109
 Recap
3 October 3 at Miami Dolphins L 13–20 0–2–1 Miami Orange Bowl
57,140
 Recap
4 October 11 Denver Broncos W 35–23 1–2–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
54,436
 Recap
5 October 19 Washington Redskins W 34–20 2–2–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
54,471
 Recap
6 October 25 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–14 3–2–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
54,423
 Recap
7 November 1 at Kansas City Chiefs T 17–17 3–2–2 Municipal Stadium
51,334
 Recap
8 November 8 Cleveland Browns W 23–20 4–2–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
54,463
 Recap
9 November 15 at Denver Broncos W 24–19 5–2–2 Mile High Stadium
50,959
 Recap
10 November 22 San Diego Chargers W 20–17 6–2–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
54,594
 Recap
11 November 26 at Detroit Lions L 14–28 6–3–2 Tiger Stadium
56,597
 Recap
12 December 6 at New York Jets W 14–13 7–3–2 Shea Stadium
62,905
 Recap
13 December 12 Kansas City Chiefs W 20–6 8–3–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
54,596
 Recap
14 December 20 San Francisco 49ers L 7–38 8–4–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
54,535
 Recap

Week 1 at Bengals
See also: 1970 Cincinnati Bengals season
Week One: Oakland Raiders (0–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0–0)
1 2 34Total
Raiders 7 0 14021
Bengals 7 7 14331

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Week 4 vs Broncos
Week Four: Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
1 2 34Total
Broncos 10 7 6023
Raiders 7 14 01435

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: October 11
  • Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
  • Referee: John McDonough
  • Box Score

Week 5
1 234Total
Redskins 3 1007 20
• Raiders 14 6140 34

[2]

Week 6
1 234Total
Steelers 0 770 14
• Raiders 7 1770 31

[3]

Week 7 at Chiefs
See also: 1970 Kansas City Chiefs season
Week Seven: Oakland Raiders (3–2–1) at Kansas City Chiefs (3–3)
1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 7 7317
Chiefs 0 7 3717

at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 1
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C)
  • Game attendance: 51,334
  • Referee: Bob Finley
  • Box Score

Ben Davidson speared Len Dawson causing a massive brawl between the two teams.

Week 8
1 234Total
Browns 0 1073 20
• Raiders 3 10010 23

[4]

Standings
AFC West
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Oakland Raiders 8 4 2 .667 4–0–2 7–2–2 300 293 L1
Kansas City Chiefs 7 5 2 .583 2–3–1 7–3–1 272 244 L2
San Diego Chargers 5 6 3 .455 2–2–2 4–4–3 282 278 W1
Denver Broncos 5 8 1 .385 1–4–1 3–6–1 253 264 L1

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

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoffs
1 2 34Total
Dolphins 0 7 0714
Raiders 0 7 7721

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: December 27
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 45 F, wind 8 mph
  • Game attendance: 52,594
  • Referee: John McDonough
  • TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote
  • Box Score

AFC Championship Game
See also: 1970 Baltimore Colts season
1 2 34Total
Raiders 0 3 7717
Colts 3 7 10727

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Awards and honors

References
  1. 1970 NFL Draft on databaseFootball.com Archived March 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080327013832/http://www.databasefootball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1970&lg=NFL |date=March 27, 2008
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jul-28.
  3. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  5. Associated Press Athlete of the Year (male)
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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