1970 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season

1970 Detroit Lions season

Head coach| Joe Schmidt
Home field| Tiger Stadium
Results
Record| 10–4
Division place| 2nd NFC Central
Playoff finish| Lost Divisional Playoffs
(at Cowboys) 0–5

* <- 1969
* Lions seasons
* 1971 ->

The 1970 Detroit Lions season was the 41st season in franchise history. With a record of 10–4, their best in eight years, the Lions finished in second place in the NFC Central and qualified for the playoffs as the NFC's first ever Wildcard team. Detroit made the postseason for the first time since their championship season in 1957 (they played in three post-season runner-up games (Playoff Bowl) in 1960, 1961, and 1962 and won all three).

One unusual loss during the regular season was at New Orleans in Week 8. The Lions led by a point with only two seconds left, but Saints kicker Tom Dempsey booted a then-record 63-yard field goal as time expired to give the Saints a 19–17 win.[1][2][3]

In the divisional round of the playoffs at the Cotton Bowl, the Lions fell 5–0 to the Dallas Cowboys in the lowest scoring game in NFL playoff history, and the first without a touchdown in twenty years.[4][5]

## NFL Draft[edit]

Round | Pick | Player | Position | Team

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1 | 19 | Steve Owens | Running back | Oklahoma
2 | 45 | Ray Parson | Tackle | Minnesota
3 | 71 | Jim H. Mitchell | Defensive end | Virginia State
5 | 123 | Bob Parker | Guard | Memphis
6 | 149 | Tony Terry | Defensive tackle | Southern California
7 | 175 | Ken Geddes | Linebacker | Nebraska
9 | 227 | Herman Weaver | Punter | Tennessee
10 | 253 | Bruce Maxwell | Running back | Arkansas
11 | 279 | Roger Laird | Defensive back | Kentucky State
12 | 305 | Emanuel Murrell | Defensive back | California Polytechnic State
13 | 331 | Dave Haverdick | Defensive tackle | Morehead State
14 | 357 | Charlie K. Brown | Wide receiver | Northern Arizona
15 | 383 | Bob Haney | Tackle | Idaho
16 | 409 | Jerry Todd | Defensive back | Memphis
17 | 435 | Jesse Marshall | Defensive tackle | Centenary

[6]

## Roster[edit]

Detroit Lions roster

Quarterbacks

* 14 Greg Barton
* 11 Greg Landry
* 19 Bill Munson

Running backs

* 40 Nick Eddy
* 24 Mel Farr
* 46 Bruce Maxwell
* 36 Steve Owens
* 42 Altie Taylor
* 38 Bill Triplett

Wide receivers

* 81 Charlie Brown
* 85 Chuck Hughes
* 25 Earl McCullouch
* 49 Larry Walton
* 23 Phil Odle

Tight ends

* 87 Craig Cotton
* 88 Charlie Sanders

| Offensive linemen

* 52 Bill Cottrell C
* 54 Ed Flanagan C
* 76 Rocky Freitas T
* 68 Frank Gallagher G
* 66 Bob Kowalkowski G
* 67 Rocky Rasley G
* 73 Roger Shoals T
* 71 Chuck Walton G
* 75 Jim Yarbrough T

Defensive linemen

* 72 Dan Goich DT
* 74 Larry Hand DE
* 80 Dave Haverdick DT
* 71 Alex Karras DT
* 83 Jim Mitchell DE
* 84 Joe Robb DE
* 82 Jerry Rush DT

| Linebackers

* 53 Mike Lucci
* 57 Terry Miller
* 62 Ed Mooney
* 50 Paul Naumoff
* 58 Bill Saul
* 55 Wayne Walker

Defensive backs

* 20 Lem Barney CB
* 44 Dick LeBeau CB
* 47 Wayne Rasmussen FS
* 48 Tom Vaughn FS
* 28 Mike Weger SS
* 45 Bobby Williams

Special teams

* 12 Errol Mann K
* 18 Herman Weaver P

|  | Reserve lists

* \-- George Hoey DB (Reserve/Military)
* \-- Bob Bergum DE (Reserve/Military)
* \-- Tony Terry DT (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
* 89 John Wright WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)

Practice squad

* 79 Ray Parson T

rookies in italics

## Regular season[edit]

### Schedule[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance  | Recap

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1  | September 20  | at Green Bay Packers | W 40–0  | 1–0  | Lambeau Field | 56,263  | Recap
2  | September 27  | Cincinnati Bengals | W 38–3  | 2–0  | Tiger Stadium | 58,202  | Recap
3  | October 5 | Chicago Bears | W 28–14  | 3–0  | Tiger Stadium  | 58,210  | Recap
4  | October 11  | at Washington Redskins | L 10–31  | 3–1  | RFK Stadium | 50,414  | Recap
5  | October 18  | at Cleveland Browns | W 41–24  | 4–1  | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 83,577  | Recap
6  | October 25  | at Chicago Bears | W 16–10  | 5–1  | Wrigley Field | 45,632  | Recap
7  | November 1  | Minnesota Vikings | L 17–30  | 5–2  | Tiger Stadium  | 58,210  | Recap
8  | November 8  | at New Orleans Saints | L 17–19  | 5–3  | Tulane Stadium | 66,910  | Recap
9  | November 15  | at Minnesota Vikings | L 20–24  | 5–4  | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,900  | Recap
10  | November 22  | San Francisco 49ers | W 28–7  | 6–4  | Tiger Stadium  | 56,232  | Recap
11  | November 26 | Oakland Raiders | W 28–14  | 7–4  | Tiger Stadium  | 56,597  | Recap
12  | December 6  | St. Louis Cardinals | W 16–3  | 8–4  | Tiger Stadium  | 56,362  | Recap
13  | December 14 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 28–23  | 9–4  | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 79,441  | Recap
14  | December 20  | Green Bay Packers | W 20–0  | 10–4  | Tiger Stadium  | 57,387  | Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Season summary[edit]

#### Week 3[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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Bears | 7 | 0| 0| 7 | 14
• Lions | 0 | 0| 21| 7 | 28

* Date: October 5
* Location: Tiger Stadium • Detroit, Michigan
* Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C) • Wind 13 mph (21 km/h)
* Referee: Jack Vest
* TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell & Don Meredith

| Scoring summary

1| | CHI| Dick Gordon 20-yard pass from Jack Concannon (Mac Percival kick)| Bears 7–0
3| | DET| Mel Farr 3-yard run (Errol Mann kick)| Tie 7–7
3| | DET| Altie Taylor 7-yard run (Errol Mann kick)| Lions 14–7
3| | DET| Larry Walton 13-yard pass from Bill Munson (Errol Mann kick)| Lions 21–7
3| | CHI| Dick Gordon 60-yard pass from Jack Concannon (Mac Percival kick)| Lions 21–14
4| | DET| Mel Farr 20-yard run (Errol Mann kick)| Lions 28–14

[7]

### Standings[edit]

NFC Central

* view
* talk
* edit

| 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.

## Playoffs[edit]

NFC Playoff, Dallas Cowboys 5, Detroit Lions 0

Period | 1 | 2 | 3| 4| Total

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Lions | 0 | 0 | 0| 0| 0
Cowboys | 3 | 0 | 0| 2| 5

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

* Date: December 26, 1970
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
* Game attendance: 69,613
* Referee: Jim Tunney
* TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Frank Gifford

Game information

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

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Detroit Lions (1934-Present)". www.sportsecyclopedia.com.
2. ^ "Saints upset Lions, 19-17 on Dempsey's 63-yard FG". Ludington Daily News. (Michigan). UPI. November 9, 1970. p. 5.
3. ^ Rappaport, Ken (November 9, 1970). "Still plenty of foot in football". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 22.
4. ^ "Colts, Cowboys advance in playoffs". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. December 27, 1970. p. 65.
5. ^ "Detroit looking ahead to 1971". Ludington Daily News. (Michigan). UPI. December 28, 1970.
6. ^ "1970 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
7. ^ "Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions - October 5th, 1970 - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

* Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference
* Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com
* Detroit Lions on The Football Database

* v
* t
* e

Detroit Lions

* Founded in 1928
* Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1928–1933)
* Based in Detroit, Michigan
* Headquartered in Allen Park, Michigan

Franchise|

* Ownership:
* William Clay
* Martha Firestone Ford
* Sheila Ford Hamp
* Franchise overview
* Team history
* in Portsmouth, Ohio

Records|

* Coaches
* Draft history
* First-round draft picks
* Picks from 1936 to 1969
* Picks from 1970 to present
* Players
* Pride of the Lions
* Pro Bowlers
* Pro Football Hall of Famers
* Retired numbers
* 7
* 20
* 20
* 20
* 22
* 37
* 56
* 85
* Seasons
* Starting quarterbacks

Stadiums|

* Universal Stadium
* University of Detroit Stadium
* Tiger Stadium
* Pontiac Silverdome
* Ford Field

Culture|

* NFL on Thanksgiving Day
* Paper Lion (film)
* "What's Going On" (Marvin Gaye song)
* Home Improvement
* Beverly Hills Cop
* Cheerleaders

Lore|

* 1932 NFL Playoff Game
* Curse of Bobby Layne
* 0–16
* Miracle in Motown

Rivalries|

* Chicago Bears
* Green Bay Packers
* Minnesota Vikings

Division championships (9)|

* 1935
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1957
* 1983
* 1991
* 1993
* 2023

League championships (4)|

* 1935
* 1952
* 1953
* 1957

Media|

* Broadcasters
* Radio: Radio network
* Dan Miller
* Lomas Brown
* WXYT-FM
* TV: Television network
* WJBK
* Bally Sports Detroit

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1930–present)
* Conference: National Football Conference (1970–present)
* Division: North Division (2002–present)

* v
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Detroit Lions seasons

Formerly the Portsmouth Spartans (1930–1933)

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Bold indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory
Italics indicates NFL Championship (1920–69) or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

* v
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1970 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

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Baltimore | Cincinnati| Denver| Dallas| Chicago| Atlanta
Boston | Cleveland| Kansas City| NY Giants| Detroit| Los Angeles
Buffalo | Houston| Oakland| Philadelphia| Green Bay| New Orleans
Miami | Pittsburgh| San Diego| St. Louis| Minnesota| San Francisco
NY Jets | | | Washington| |

* 1970 NFL Draft
* 1970 NFL strike
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl V

*[IR]: Injured reserve
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template