The 1970 Dallas Cowboys season was their 11th in the NFL. The club 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.
| 1970 Dallas Cowboys season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Tom Landry |
| Home Field | Cotton Bowl |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–4 |
| Place | 1st NFC East |
| Playoff Finish | Lost Super Bowl V (Baltimore) |
| Timeline | |
| Previous Season | Next Season |
| 1969 | 1971 |
NFL Draft[]
| Pick # | NFL Team | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | Dallas Cowboys | Duane Thomas | Running Back | West Texas State |
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 only 7 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 2 touchdowns compared to 8 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.
Schedule[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Game site | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1970-09-20 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 17–7 | Franklin Field | |
| 2 | 1970-09-27 | New York Giants | W 28–10 | Cotton Bowl | |
| 3 | 1970-10-04 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 20–7 | Busch Memorial Stadium | |
| 4 | 1970-10-11 | Atlanta Falcons | W 13–0 | Cotton Bowl | |
| 5 | 1970-10-18 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 54–13 | Metropolitan Stadium | |
| 6 | 1970-10-25 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–16 | Municipal Stadium | |
| 7 | 1970-11-01 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–17 | Cotton Bowl | |
| 8 | 1970-11-08 | at New York Giants | L 23–20 | Yankee Stadium | |
| 9 | 1970-11-16 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 38–0 | Cotton Bowl | |
| 10 | 1970-11-22 | at Washington Redskins | W 45–21 | RFK Stadium | |
| 11 | 1970-11-26 | Green Bay Packers | W 16–3 | Cotton Bowl | |
| 12 | 1970-12-06 | Washington Redskins | W 34–0 | Cotton Bowl | |
| 13 | 1970-12-12 | at Cleveland Browns | W 6–2 | Cleveland Stadium | |
| 14 | 1970-12-20 | Houston Oilers | W 52–10 | Cotton Bowl |
Playoffs[]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1970-12-26 | Detroit Lions | W 5–0 |
| 2 | 1971-01-03 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 17–10 |
| 3 | 1971-01-17 | Baltimore Colts | L 16–13 |
Standings[]
| NFC East | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 299 | 221 | W-5 |
| New York Giants | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 301 | 270 | L-1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 325 | 228 | L-3 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 297 | 314 | W-2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 10 | 1 | .231 | 241 | 332 | W-1 |
Postseason[]
NFC Divisional Playoff[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cowboys | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
- stadium=Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
- time=3:00 p.m. CST
- TV=CBS
- TVAnnouncers=Frank Glieber and Frank Gifford
- attendance= 69,613
- referee=Jim Tunney
- Scoring
- DAL - field goal Clark 26 DAL 3-0
- DAL - Safety, Andrie tackled Landry in end zone DAL 5-0
NFC Championship Game[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| 49ers | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
- stadium=Kezar Stadium, San Francisco
- time=2:00 p.m. PST
- weather= 48°F, sunny
- TV=CBS
- TVAnnouncers=Ray Scott and Pat Summerall
- attendance= 59,364
- referee=Tommy Bell
- Scoring
- SF - field goal Gossett 16 SF 3-0
- DAL - field goal Clark 21 3-3
- DAL - Thomas 13 run (Clark kick) DAL 10-3
- DAL - Garrison 15 pass from Morton (Clark kick) DAL 17-3
- SF - Witcher 26 pass from Brodie (Gossett kick)DAL 17-10
}}
Super Bowl V[]
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts (AFC) | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 16 |
| Cowboys (NFC) | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
- stadium=Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- date=January 17, 1971
- TV=NBC
- TVAnnouncers=Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote
- referee=Norm Schachter
- attendance=79,204
- Scoring
- DAL – field goal Clark 14 DAL 3–0
- DAL – field goal Clark 30 DAL 6–0
- BAL – Mackey 75 pass from Unitas (kick blocked) 6–6
- DAL – Thomas 7 pass from Morton (Clark kick) DAL 13–6
- BAL - Nowatzke 2 run (O'Brien kick) 13–13
- BAL – field goal O'Brien 32 BAL 16–13
}}
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
Vacant Rookies in italics | |||
Awards and records[]
- Chuck Howley, Most Valuable Player, Super Bowl V
- Mel Renfro, Pro Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player
References[]
- ↑ Bill McGrane, "A Mad, Mad, Mad Super Bowl," The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game. Simon and Schuster, 1990 ISBN 0-671-72798-2
External links[]
- 1970 Dallas Cowboys season article at Wikipedia
- 1970 Dallas Cowboys at Pro Football Reference
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- Dallas Cowboys Official Site
