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1970 Baltimore Colts season

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1970 Baltimore Colts season
OwnerCarroll Rosenbloom
General managerDon Klosterman
Head coachDon McCafferty
Home fieldMemorial Stadium
Results
Record11–2–1
Division place1st AFC East
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Bengals) 17–0
Won AFC Championship
(vs. Raiders) 27–17
Won Super Bowl V
(vs. Cowboys) 16–13
The Baltimore Colts playing against the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V

The 1970 Baltimore Colts season was the 18th season of the second Colts franchise in the National Football League (NFL). Led by first-year head coach Don McCafferty, the Colts finished the 1970 season with a regular season record of 11 wins, 2 losses, and 1 tie to win the first AFC East title. The Colts completed the postseason in Miami with a victory over the Cowboys in Super Bowl V, their first Super Bowl title and fourth NFL championship (1958, 1959, 1968, and 1970).

Behind a offense constructed around short, ball-control throws, the 1970 Colts were the first team in NFL history to win a championship after gaining more yards passing than running over the course of the year.[1]

Season history

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In February 1970, head coach Don Shula departed after seven seasons for the Miami Dolphins,[2][3] now in the same division, and offensive backfield coach McCafferty was promoted in early April.[4][5][6]

NFL draft

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Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team
1 18 Norm Bulaich Running Back TCU
2 44 Jim Bailey Defensive tackle Kansas
3 70 Jim O'Brien Wide Receiver / Kicker Cincinnati
3 74 Ara Person Tight End Morgan State
4 95 Steve Smear Linebacker Penn State
5 122 Billy Newsome Defensive End Grambling State
6 148 Ron Gardin Defensive Back Arizona
7 174 Gordon Slade Quarterback Davidson
8 199 Bob Bouley Tackle Boston College
9 226 Barney Harris Defensive Back Texas A&M

Personnel

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Staff/Coaches

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1970 Baltimore Colts staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Final roster

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1970 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Preseason

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 August 8 at Oakland Raiders W 33–21 1–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,519 Recap
2 August 14 at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–3 2–0 Municipal Stadium 34,341 Recap
3 August 22 at Denver Broncos W 24–7 3–0 Mile High Stadium 42,499 Recap
4 August 29 at Miami Dolphins L 13–20 3–1 Miami Orange Bowl 73,533 Recap
5 September 5 vs. Detroit Lions W 20–14 4–1 Carter–Finley Stadium (Raleigh, NC) 34,500 Recap
6 September 12 at Washington Redskins L 14–17 4–2 RFK Stadium 46,045 Recap

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 20 at San Diego Chargers W 16–14 1–0 San Diego Stadium 47,782
2 September 28 Kansas City Chiefs L 24–44 1–1 Memorial Stadium 53,911
3 October 4 at Boston Patriots W 14–6 2–1 Harvard Stadium 38,235
4 October 11 at Houston Oilers W 24–20 3–1 Astrodome 48,050
5 October 18 at New York Jets W 29–22 4–1 Shea Stadium 63,301
6 October 25 Boston Patriots W 27–3 5–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
7 November 1 Miami Dolphins W 35–0 6–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
8 November 9 at Green Bay Packers W 13–10 7–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 48,063
9 November 15 Buffalo Bills T 17–17 7–1–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
10 November 22 at Miami Dolphins L 17–34 7–2–1 Miami Orange Bowl 67,699
11 November 29 Chicago Bears W 21–20 8–2–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
12 December 6 Philadelphia Eagles W 29–10 9–2–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
13 December 13 at Buffalo Bills W 20–14 10–2–1 War Memorial Stadium 34,346
14 December 19 New York Jets W 35–20 11–2–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 1

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1 234Total
Colts 0 376 16
Chargers 0 077 14

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Week 2

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1 234Total
• Chiefs 10 21310 44
Colts 0 7314 24

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Week 3

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1 234Total
• Colts 0 707 14
Patriots 0 303 6

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Week 4

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1 234Total
• Colts 7 1007 24
Oilers 0 776 20
  • Date: October 11
  • Location: Houston Astrodome, Houston
  • Game start: 3:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game attendance: 48,050
  • Game weather: Indoors (dome)
  • Referee: George Rennix

[10]

Week 5

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1 234Total
• Colts 17 363 29
Jets 3 2143 22

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This was the Super Bowl III rematch and it was truly a rematch but this time it favors the Colts as they opened up a 19–0 lead and never looked back. The Jets did mount a challenge led by Joe Namath's 392 yards passing, but he also had 6 interceptions as the Colts gain some revenge on this day.

Week 6

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1 234Total
Patriots 0 300 3
• Colts 3 1437 27
  • Date: October 25
  • Location: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 60,240
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
  • Referee: Bob Finley

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Week 7

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1 234Total
Dolphins 0 000 0
• Colts 7 7147 35

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Week 8

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1 234Total
• Colts 0 760 13
Packers 3 007 10

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Week 11

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1 234Total
Bears 17 003 20
• Colts 0 1407 21

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Week 12

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1 234Total
Eagles 0 370 10
• Colts 13 1033 29

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Week 13

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1 234Total
Colts 10 073 20
Bills 7 700 14
  • Date: December 13
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 34,346
  • Game weather: Snow • 28 °F (−2 °C) • Wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Referee: Bob Finley

[17]

The Colts clinched the division title with the win.

Week 14

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1 234Total
Jets 7 733 20
• Colts 0 14714 35

[18]

Standings

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AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts 11 2 1 .846 6–1–1 8–2–1 321 234 W4
Miami Dolphins 10 4 0 .714 6–2 8–3 297 228 W6
New York Jets 4 10 0 .286 2–6 2–9 255 286 L3
Buffalo Bills 3 10 1 .231 3–4–1 3–7–1 204 337 L5
Boston Patriots 2 12 0 .143 2–6 2–9 149 361 L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cincinnati Bengals 8 6 0 .571 3–3 7–4 312 255 W7
Cleveland Browns 7 7 0 .500 4–2 7–4 286 265 W1
Pittsburgh Steelers 5 9 0 .357 3–3 5–6 210 272 L3
Houston Oilers 3 10 1 .231 2–4 3–7–1 217 352 L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
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.

Postseason

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The team made it to the playoffs with the best record in the AFC. The Colts hosted both AFC playoff games that they played in. (It wasn't until the 1975 season that playoff teams were seeded by record; the fact that the Colts hosted both playoff games was just due to the rotation set up with the AFL–NFL merger.) The team won both AFC playoff games as well as Super Bowl V.

Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Divisional December 26 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–0 1–0 Memorial Stadium 51,127
AFC Championship January 3, 1971 Oakland Raiders W 27–17 2–0 Memorial Stadium 56,368
Super Bowl V January 17, 1971 Dallas Cowboys W 16–13 3–0 Miami Orange Bowl 80,055

Divisional

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1 234Total
Bengals 0 000 0
• Colts 7 307 17

The Colts hosted the Cincinnati Bengals in the divisional round. The Colts relied on their defense, which had carried them all season, to best the Bengals 17–0, holding Cincinnati to only 139 total yards.[19]

Conference Championship

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1 234Total
Raiders 0 377 17
• Colts 3 7107 27

The Colts next hosted the Oakland Raiders for the AFC Championship game. The Colts jumped out to an early lead over the Raiders, 10–3 at halftime. Oakland came back to tie it up early in the 3rd quarter. The Colts would respond with a Jim O'Brien field goal and a second Bulaich touchdown. Johnny Unitas extended the lead with a 68-yard touchdown pass to Ray Perkins that made the score 27–17. The Colts would seal the win with an interception in the end zone.[20]

Super Bowl

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1 234Total
• Colts 0 6010 16
Cowboys 3 1000 13

The Colts made it to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history and played the Dallas Cowboys for the NFL championship. In the 2nd quarter, Johnny Unitas threw a pass that was tipped twice before John Mackey caught it for a 75-yard score. Later in the quarter Unitas was injured and Earl Morrall completed a sloppy and turnover-filled game: the Colts committed a total of 7 turnovers, the Cowboys 4. Following an interception by Mike Curtis, Jim O'Brien kicked the game-winning 32-yard field goal, giving Baltimore a 16–13 lead with 5 seconds left in the game, and the victory.[21]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Johnny Unitas Was Unique," in Spencer Murray (ed.), Petersen's Pro Football: 1976 Annual. Los Angeles: Petersen Publishing Co. 1976; p. 84.
  2. ^ "Shula replaces Miami's Wilson". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. February 19, 1970. p. 1, part 2.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Dollar signs convince Shula to jump to Miami Dolphins". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 19, 1970. p. 4D.
  4. ^ "Colts passed up 3 head coaches". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. April 7, 1970. p. 21.
  5. ^ Riker, Dan (April 7, 1970). "Don McCafferty, ex-Kent State mentor, is named Baltimore head coach". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). UPI. p. 14.
  6. ^ "McCafferty Colt coach". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. April 7, 1970. p. 1, part 2.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  8. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-28.
  9. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-28.
  10. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  11. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  12. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  13. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  14. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-29.
  15. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-01.
  16. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-03.
  17. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  18. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-04.
  19. ^ "Cincinnati Bengals 0 at Baltimore Colts 17. Saturday, December 26, 1970". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-04.
  20. ^ "Oakland Raiders 17 at Baltimore Colts 27, Sunday, January 3, 1971". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-04.
  21. ^ "Baltimore Colts 16 vs. Dallas Cowboys 13, Sunday, January 17, 1971". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-04.
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