1970 Oakland Raiders season

Last updated

1970 Oakland Raiders season
Oakland Raiders wordmark 1960-1979.gif
Owner F. Wayne Valley
General manager Al Davis
Head coach John Madden
Home field Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record8–4–2
Division place1st AFC West
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Dolphins) 21–14
Lost AFC Championship
(at Colts) 17–27

The 1970 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 11th season in Oakland. It was also their first season as members of the NFL. The Raiders would ultimately win their fourth consecutive division title (as well as their first AFC West title). They advanced to the AFC Championship Game, where they lost to the Baltimore Colts.

Contents

The Raiders' 1970 season is best remembered for a series of clutch performances by veteran placekicker/quarterback George Blanda. Blanda, despite being cut during the 1970 preseason, eventually re-joined the Raiders' roster. His ensuing season (the twenty-first of his professional career) ranked as one of the more dramatic comebacks in sports history. Over a span of five consecutive games, Blanda came off the bench to spark a series of dramatic rallies. The Raiders went an impressive 4–0–1 over this span.

Blanda's five-game "streak" began on October 25, 1970. In a home game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Blanda threw for two touchdowns in relief of an injured Daryle Lamonica. One week later, his 48-yard field goal (with three seconds remaining on the clock) salvaged a 17–17 tie with the defending Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. One week later, on November 8, Blanda came off the bench against the Cleveland Browns. His late touchdown pass (with 1:34 remaining in the game) tied the game at 20–20. He ultimately kicked a 53-yard field goal, as time expired, to give the Raiders a stunning 23–20 victory. The following week, against the Denver Broncos, Blanda again replaced Lamonica in the fourth quarter. His touchdown pass to Fred Biletnikoff, with 2:28 left in the game, gave the Raiders an unlikely 24–19 win. The incredible streak concluded one week later against the San Diego Chargers. The Raiders managed to drive deep into Chargers territory in the game's final seconds. Blanda's last-minute 16-yard field goal sealed a dramatic 20–17 triumph.

Blanda's streak played a huge role in the Raiders' 1970 division title, as the team went a mediocre 4–4–1 in "non-streak" games. Indeed, their final record of 8–4–2 (itself a four-win drop from a 12–1–1 finish in 1969) placed them only one game ahead of the Chiefs at season's end.

The Raiders ultimately advanced to the 1970 AFC Championship Game, where they met the heavily favored 11–2–1 Baltimore Colts. During this game, Blanda again came off the bench in relief of an injured Lamonica. Blanda's solid play (17 of 32 passes for 217 yards, two touchdowns, and a 48-yard field goal) kept the Raiders in the game until the final quarter, when he was intercepted twice. At age 43, Blanda became the oldest quarterback to ever play in a championship game.

Blanda's eye-opening achievements resulted in his winning the Bert Bell Award. Chiefs' owner Lamar Hunt quipped that "...this George Blanda is as good as his father, who used to play for Houston." While he never again played a major role at quarterback, Blanda served as the Raiders' kicker for five more seasons.

Offseason

Draft

1970 Oakland Raiders draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
124 Raymond Chester  *  TE Morgan State
250 Ted Koy  TE Texas
      Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Roster

1970 Oakland Raiders 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


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 20at Cincinnati Bengals L 21–310–1 Riverfront Stadium 56,616 Recap
2September 27at San Diego Chargers T 27–270–1–1 San Diego Stadium 42,109 Recap
3October 3at Miami Dolphins L 13–200–2–1 Miami Orange Bowl 57,140 Recap
4October 11 Denver Broncos W 35–231–2–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 54,436 Recap
5October 19 Washington Redskins W 34–202–2–1Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum54,471 Recap
6October 25 Pittsburgh Steelers W 31–143–2–1Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum54,423 Recap
7November 1at Kansas City Chiefs T 17–173–2–2 Municipal Stadium 51,334 Recap
8November 8 Cleveland Browns W 23–204–2–2Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum54,463 Recap
9November 15at Denver BroncosW 24–195–2–2 Mile High Stadium 50,959 Recap
10November 22San Diego ChargersW 20–176–2–2Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum54,594 Recap
11 November 26 at Detroit Lions L 14–286–3–2 Tiger Stadium 56,597 Recap
12December 6at New York Jets W 14–137–3–2 Shea Stadium 62,905 Recap
13December 12Kansas City ChiefsW 20–68–3–2Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum54,596 Recap
14December 20 San Francisco 49ers L 7–388–4–2Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum54,535 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 at Bengals

Week One: Oakland Raiders (0–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0–0)
Quarter1234Total
Raiders 7014021
Bengals 7714331

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Game information

Week 2 at Chargers

Week 3 at Dolphins

Week 4 vs Broncos

Week Four: Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
Quarter1234Total
Broncos1076023
Raiders71401435

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: October 11
  • Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C)
  • Referee: John McDonough
  • Box Score
Game information

Week 5

1234Total
Redskins3100720
• Raiders14614034
Scoring summary
Q1OAK Dixon 39 yard run (Blanda kick)OAK 7–0
Q1OAK Wells 28 yard pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)OAK 14–0
Q1WSH Knight 14 yard field goalOAK 14–3
Q2OAKBlanda 35 yard field goalOAK 17–3
Q2WSHKnight 34 yard field goalOAK 17–6
Q2WSH Taylor 39 yard pass from Jurgensen (Knight kick)OAK 17–13
Q2OAKBlanda 21 yard field goalOAK 20–13
Q3OAKWells 24 yard pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)OAK 27–13
Q3OAK Smith 16 yard pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)OAK 34–13
Q4WSH Smith 23 yard pass from Jurgensen (Knight kick)OAK 34–20

[2]

Week 6

1234Total
Steelers077014
•Raiders7177031
Scoring summary
1OAK Raymond Chester 37-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)Raiders 7–0
2PIT Preston Pearson 2-yard run (Gene Mingo kick)Tie 7–7
2OAK Warren Wells 44-yard pass from George Blanda (George Blanda kick)Raiders 14–7
2OAKGeorge Blanda 27-yard field goalRaiders 17–7
2OAKRaymond Chester 19-yard pass from George Blanda (George Blanda kick)Raiders 24–7
3PIT Dennis Hughes 12-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Gene Mingo kick)Raiders 24–14
3OAKRaymond Chester 34-yard pass from George Blanda (George Blanda kick)Raiders 31–14

[3]

Week 7 at Chiefs

Week Seven: Oakland Raiders (3–2–1) at Kansas City Chiefs (3–3)
Quarter1234Total
Raiders077317
Chiefs073717

at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: November 1
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C)
  • Game attendance: 51,334
  • Referee: Bob Finley
  • Box Score
Game information

Ben Davidson speared Len Dawson causing a massive brawl between the two teams.

Week 8

1234Total
Browns0107320
•Raiders31001023
Scoring summary
1OAK George Blanda 43-yard field goalRaiders 3–0
2OAK Charlie Smith 27-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)Raiders 10–0
2OAKGeorge Blanda 9-yard field goalRaiders 13–0
2CLE Leroy Kelly 10-yard pass from Bill Nelsen (Don Cockroft kick)Raiders 13–7
2CLEDon Cockroft 42-yard field goalRaiders 13–10
3CLE Bo Scott 63-yard run (Don Cockroft kick)Browns 17–13
4CLEDon Cockroft 32-yard field goalBrowns 20–13
4OAK Warren Wells 14-yard pass from George Blanda (George Blanda kick)Tie 20–20
4OAKGeorge Blanda 52-yard field goalRaiders 23–20

[4]

Standings

AFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Oakland Raiders 842.6674–0–27–2–2300293L1
Kansas City Chiefs 752.5832–3–17–3–1272244L2
San Diego Chargers 563.4552–2–24–4–3282278W1
Denver Broncos 581.3851–4–13–6–1253264L1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Playoffs

AFC Divisional Playoffs

Quarter1234Total
Dolphins070714
Raiders077721

at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: December 27
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 45 F, wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 52,594
  • Referee: John McDonough
  • TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote
  • Box Score
Game information

AFC Championship Game

Quarter1234Total
Raiders037717
Colts3710727

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Game information

Awards and honors

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References

  1. ↑ 1970 NFL Draft on databaseFootball.com Archived March 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine "1970 NFL Draft on databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on March 27, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jul-28.
  3. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  4. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  5. ↑ Associated Press Athlete of the Year (male)
  6. ↑ "Maxwell Football Club - Bert Bell Award Past Recipients". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2010.
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