1970 Baltimore Colts season

Last updated

1970 Baltimore Colts season
Owner Carroll Rosenbloom
General manager Don Klosterman
Head coach Don McCafferty
Home field Memorial 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 Colts playing against the Cowboys in Super Bowl V 1986 Jeno's Pizza - 32 - Earl Morrall.jpg
The Colts playing against the Cowboys in Super Bowl V

The 1970 Baltimore Colts season was the 18th season for the team 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 third world championship (1958, 1959, and 1970). The Baltimore Colts did not return to any further championship games.

Contents

In February 1970, head coach Don Shula departed after seven seasons for the Miami Dolphins, [1] [2] now in the same division, and offensive backfield coach McCafferty was promoted in early April. [3] [4] [5]

NFL draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool/Club Team
118 Norm Bulaich Running Back TCU
244 Jim Bailey Defensive tackle Kansas
370 Jim O'Brien Wide Receiver / Kicker Cincinnati
374 Ara Person Tight End Morgan State
495 Steve Smear Linebacker Penn State
5122 Billy Newsome Defensive End Grambling State
6148 Ron Gardin Defensive Back Arizona
7174Gordon SladeQuarterback Davidson
8199Bob BouleyTackle Boston College
9226Barney HarrisDefensive Back Texas A&M

Personnel

Staff/Coaches

1970 Baltimore Colts staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Final roster

1970 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad


Rookies in italics

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1August 8at Oakland Raiders W 33–211–0 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,519 Recap
2August 14at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–32–0 Municipal Stadium 34,341 Recap
3August 22at Denver Broncos W 24–73–0 Mile High Stadium 42,499 Recap
4August 29at Miami Dolphins L 13–203–1 Miami Orange Bowl 73,533 Recap
5September 5vs. Detroit Lions W 20–144–1 Carter–Finley Stadium (Raleigh, NC)34,500 Recap
6September 12at Washington Redskins L 14–174–2 RFK Stadium 46,045 Recap

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 20at San Diego Chargers W 16–141–0 San Diego Stadium 47,782
2September 28 Kansas City Chiefs L 24–441–1 Memorial Stadium 53,911
3October 4at Boston Patriots W 14–62–1 Harvard Stadium 38,235
4October 11at Houston Oilers W 24–203–1 Astrodome 48,050
5October 18at New York Jets W 29–224–1 Shea Stadium 63,301
6October 25 Boston Patriots W 27–35–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
7November 1 Miami Dolphins W 35–06–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
8November 9at Green Bay Packers W 13–107–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 48,063
9November 15 Buffalo Bills T 17–177–1–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
10November 22at Miami Dolphins L 17–347–2–1 Miami Orange Bowl 67,699
11November 29 Chicago Bears W 21–208–2–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
12December 6 Philadelphia Eagles W 29–109–2–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
13December 13at Buffalo Bills W 20–1410–2–1 War Memorial Stadium 34,346
14December 19 New York Jets W 35–2011–2–1 Memorial Stadium 60,240
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

1234Total
Colts037616
Chargers007714

[6]

Week 2

1234Total
Chiefs102131044
Colts0731424

[7]

Week 3

1234Total
Colts070714
Patriots03036

[8]

Week 4

1234Total
Colts7100724
Oilers077620

[9]

Week 5

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.

1234Total
Colts1736329
Jets3214322

[10]

Week 6

1234Total
Patriots03003
Colts3143727
  • Date: October 25
  • Location: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore
  • Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
  • Referee: Bob Finley

[11]

Week 7

1234Total
Dolphins00000
Colts7714735

[12]

Week 8

1234Total
Colts076013
Packers300710

[13]

Week 11

1234Total
Bears1700320
Colts0140721

[14]

Week 12

1234Total
Eagles037010
Colts13103329

[15]

Week 13

1234Total
Colts1007320
Bills770014

[16]

The Colts clinched the division title with the win.

Week 14

1234Total
Jets773320
Colts01471435

[17]

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Baltimore Colts 1121.8466–1–18–2–1321234W4
Miami Dolphins 1040.7146–28–3297228W6
New York Jets 4100.2862–62–9255286L3
Buffalo Bills 3101.2313–4–13–7–1204337L5
Boston Patriots 2120.1432–62–9149361L3
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Postseason

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.

RoundDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
DivisionalDecember 26 Cincinnati Bengals W 17–01–0 Memorial Stadium 51,127
AFC Championship January 3, 1971 Oakland Raiders W 27–172–0 Memorial Stadium 56,368
Super Bowl V January 17, 1971 Dallas Cowboys W 16–133–0 Miami Orange Bowl 80,055

Divisional

1234Total
Bengals00000
Colts730717

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. [18]

Conference Championship

1234Total
Raiders037717
Colts3710727

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. [19]

Super Bowl

1234Total
Colts0601016
Cowboys3100013

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. [20]

See also

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References

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  2. "Dollar signs convince Shula to jump to Miami Dolphins". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 19, 1970. p. 4D.
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