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

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

Dallas outscored their opponents 299–221, and finished first in their division for the fifth consecutive season. In 1970, the club made its debut on Monday Night Football on November 16, but were shut out 38–0 by the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. The Cowboys advanced to their first Super Bowl, but lost to the Baltimore Colts.

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 2022 season, the Cowboys-Browns game is one of only two 6-2 games in league history; the other was a Packers-Bears game in 1931, and the Cowboys-Lions playoff is one of three 5-0 games, along with a 1927 game between the Providence Steam Roller and Buffalo Bisons, and a Bills-Bengals game in 1978.

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

Game summaries

Week 1 at Eagles

Week One: Dallas Cowboys (0–0) at Philadelphia Eagles (0–0)
Period 1 2 34Total
Cowboys 0 7 7317
Eagles 7 0 007

at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: September 20, 1970
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C)
  • Game attendance: 59,728
  • Referee: John McDonough
  • Box Score
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Cowboys PassingRoger Staubach11/15, 115 yards, TD, INT
RushingCalvin Hill25 rushes, 117 yards
ReceivingLance Rentzel6 receptions, 100 yards, TD
Eagles PassingNorm Snead10/23, 138 yards, TD, 3 INT
RushingTom Woodeshick15 rushes, 55 yards
ReceivingBen Hawkins4 receptions, 57 yards, TD

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 (16 °C); wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Referee: Tommy Bell
Scoring summary
Q1NYGGogolak 20 yard field goalNYG 3–0
Q2NYGJohnson 1 yard run (Gogolak kick)NYG 10–0
Q3DALHill 3 yard run (Clark kick)NYG 10–7
Q3DALGarrison 18 yard run (Clark kick)DAL 14–10
Q4DALHayes 58 yard pass from Rentzel (Clark kick)DAL 21–10
Q4DALHayes 24 yard pass from Staubach (Clark kick)DAL 28–10

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
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • Television network: CBS

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

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
Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 0 000
Cowboys 3 0 025

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Game information
  • Scoring
    • DAL – field goal Clark 26 DAL 3–0
    • DAL – Safety, Andrie tackled Landry in end zone DAL 5–0

The Cowboys shut down the Lions offense and took advantage of a first-quarter field goal to outlast the Lions in the lowest-scoring playoff game in NFL history.

NFC Championship Game

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

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco

Game information
  • 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

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

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Game information
  • 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

Practice squad

Rookies in italics
43 active, 2 inactive, 1 practice squad

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. ↑ "New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys - September 27th, 1970". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
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