1970 Green Bay Packers season
Head coachPhil Bengtson
Home fieldLambeau Field
Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record6–8
Division place3rd NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1970 Green Bay Packers season was their 52nd season overall and their 50th season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 6–8 record earning them a third consecutive third-place finish in the four-team NFC Central division. It was the third and final season for Phil Bengtson as head coach; he resigned shortly after the season ended.[1][2][3]

Offseason

The Packers' 1970 season began in a state of mourning. After a summer in and out of Georgetown Hospital, Vince Lombardi succumbed to cancer on September 3, at the age of 57. Over 3,500 people attended Lombardi's funeral in New York City, including pallbearers Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, and Willie Davis. Three days after his funeral, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced that the Super Bowl trophy would be renamed in Lombardi's honor.

NFL draft

In the 1970 NFL draft, the Packers used their two picks in the first-round to choose Mike McCoy and Rich McGeorge. The first pick was obtained from the Chicago Bears in a January trade that sent Lee Roy Caffey and Elijah Pitts to Chicago.[4][5] In total, the Packers selected 20 players in the draft, nine of those being in the first seven rounds.[6]

1970 Green Bay Packers draft
RoundSelectionPlayerPositionCollege
1 2 Mike McCoy DT Notre Dame
1 16 Rich McGeorge TE Elon
2 41 Al Matthews S Texas A&M
3 68 Jim Carter LB Minnesota
4 93 Ken Ellis CB Southern
4 96 Skip Butler K Texas-Arlington
5 120 Cecil Pryor DE Michigan
6 145 Ervin Hunt DB Fresno St.
7 172 Cleo Walker LB Louisville
13 328 Dave Smith RB Utah
15 380 Mike Carter WR Sacramento State
17 432 Larry Krause RB St. Norbert

[7]

Roster

Green Bay Packers 1970 roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists

Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

The Packers finished 6–8 in the regular season, failing to reach the playoffs for the third consecutive season.[8] The schedule had the Packers play their final five games on the road and they lost four of them. For the first time, the Packers lost to the Dallas Cowboys; this year's game was on Thanksgiving on the artificial turf of the Cotton Bowl.[9] Green Bay had won the first six meetings, 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.[10]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 20 Detroit Lions L 0–40 0–1 Lambeau Field 56,263
2 September 27 Atlanta Falcons W 27–24 1–1 Lambeau Field 56,263
3 October 4 Minnesota Vikings W 13–10 2–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 47,967
4 October 12 at San Diego Chargers W 22–20 3–1 San Diego Stadium 53,064
5 October 18 Los Angeles Rams L 21–31 3–2 Lambeau Field 56,263
6 October 25 Philadelphia Eagles W 30–17 4–2 Milwaukee County Stadium 48,022
7 November 1 at San Francisco 49ers L 10–26 4–3 Kezar Stadium 59,335
8 November 9 Baltimore Colts L 10–13 4–4 Milwaukee County Stadium 48,063
9 November 15 Chicago Bears W 20–19 5–4 Lambeau Field 56,263
10 November 22 at Minnesota Vikings L 3–10 5–5 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900
11 November 26 at Dallas Cowboys L 3–16 5–6 Cotton Bowl 67,182
12 December 6 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–12 6–6 Three Rivers Stadium 46,418
13 December 13 at Chicago Bears L 17–35 6–7 Wrigley Field 44,957
14 December 20 at Detroit Lions L 0–20 6–8 Tiger Stadium 57,387
Monday (October 12, November 9), Thursday (November 26)

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings 12 2 0 .857 5–1 10–1 335 143 W3
Detroit Lions 10 4 0 .714 4–2 7–4 347 202 W5
Green Bay Packers 6 8 0 .429 2–4 4–7 196 293 L2
Chicago Bears 6 8 0 .429 1–5 5–6 256 261 W2

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

Postseason

After a turbulent season filled with labor disputes, blowout losses, and the final merger of the AFL and NFL, the Packers had only their second losing season (1968) since 1958. Thoroughly frustrated, third-year head coach Phil Bengtson resigned two days after being shut out in the season finale against the Detroit Lions.[1][2][3] His overall record was 20–21–1 during three seasons as Lombardi's handpicked successor. Obviously the organization and the community craved the high standards of winning established a decade earlier; Lombardi's did not have a losing season but Bengston had two in three years and finished in third place in the four-team division each season.

The 1970 season was also the final season of Forrest Gregg as a Packer, a year later the Hall of Fame right tackle returned home to Texas to play for the Dallas Cowboys, where he joined his former teammates Herb Adderley and Lee Roy Caffey. The former Packer trio helped the Cowboys to win their 1st Super Bowl victory in franchise history.

Statistical leaders

The following players led the Packers in the following statistical categories in 1970.[11]

Passing
Leader Comp Att Yds Td Int
Bart Starr 144 255 1645 8 13
Rushing
Leader Att Yds YPA Tds
Donny Anderson 222 853 3.8 5
Travis Williams 74 276 3.7 1
Receiving
Leader Rec Yds YPC Tds
Carroll Dale 49 814 16.6 2
Donny Anderson 36 414 11.5 0
John Hilton 25 350 14.0 4

References

  1. 1 2 Bledsoe, Terry (December 22, 1970). "Bengtson quits, cites bad year". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, part 1.
  2. 1 2 Lea, Bud (December 23, 1970). "Packer board won't be rushed". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  3. 1 2 Greene, Bob (December 23, 1970). "First Lombardi, now Bengston; what's next for the Pack???". Owosso Argus-Press. Michigan. Associated Press. p. 11.
  4. ↑ Lea, Bud (January 22, 1970). "Packers get Bears' no. 1 pick". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  5. ↑ Pierson, Don (January 22, 1970). "Bears deal 2 – Mayes, No. 1 draft pick". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, part 3.
  6. ↑ "Draft History – Green Bay Packers". NFL.com. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  7. ↑ "1970 NFL draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  8. ↑ "1970 Green Bay Packer's Game Results". Pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2007.
  9. ↑ Lea, Bud (November 27, 1970). "Cowboys end Packer jinx, 16-3". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  10. ↑ Lea, Bud (October 2, 1972). "Patched up Pack jolts Dallas". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 2.
  11. ↑ "1970 Green Bay Packers Statistics and Players". Pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved January 6, 2007.
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