1970 Dallas Cowboys season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Dallas Cowboys 1970 10–4 1st NFC East Tom Landry Clint Murchison, Jr. Tex Schramm Cotton Bowl Won Divisional Playoffs(vs. Lions) 5–0Won NFC Championship(at 49ers) 17–10Lost Super Bowl V(vs. Colts) 13–16 Cowboys seasons 3 G John Niland DT Bob Lilly CB Mel Renfro LB Chuck Howley (1st team) thumb|right|The Cowboys playing against the Colts in Super Bowl V The 1970 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 11th in the National Football League (NFL). Dallas outscored their opponents 299–221, and finished first in their division for the fifth consecutive season. In 1970, the club made its debut on Monday Night Football on November 16, but were shut out 38–0 by the visiting St. Louis Cardinals. The Cowboys advanced to their first Super Bowl, but lost to the Baltimore Colts 16–13. Offseason NFL draft 1970 NFL draft 1970 Dallas Cowboys 1 23 Duane Thomas RB West Texas State yes 2 29 Bob Asher OT Vanderbilt yes 2 49 Margene Adkins WR Henderson County J.C. yes 3 66 Charlie Waters S Clemson yes yes 3 73 Steve Kiner LB Tennessee yes 3 75 Denton Fox CB Texas Tech no 4 101 John Fitzgerald C Boston College yes 6 153 Pat Toomay DE Vanderbilt yes 7 179 Don Abbey LB Penn State no 8 205 Jerry Dossey OG Arkansas no 9 231 Zenon Andrusyshyn K UCLA no 10 257 Pete Athas CB Tennessee no 11 283 Ivan Southerland OT Clemson no 12 309 Joe Williams RB Wyoming yes 13 335 Mark Washington CB Morgan State yes 14 361 Julian Martin WR North Carolina Central no 15 387 Ken DeLong TE Tennessee no 16 413 Seabern Hill CB Arizona State no 17 439 Glenn Patterson C Nebraska no Undrafted free agents + 1970 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeErnie BabcockDefensive tackleDartmouthJeff GuilloryRunning backIdahoCliff HarrisSafetyOuachita BaptistWalter HawkinsDefensive backUtahAaron HeardWide receiverSouthernTom Massey Defensive backStanfordBuzz MontsingerDefensive EndRichmondDoug MooersDefensive EndWhittierByron OlanderWide receiverSan Diego State Roster Dallas Cowboys 1970 roster Quarterbacks 14 Craig Morton 12 Roger Staubach Running backs 32 Walt Garrison 35 Calvin Hill 30 Dan Reeves 33 Duane Thomas 42 Claxton Welch Wide receivers 22 Bob Hayes 24 Dennis Homan 88 Reggie Rucker Tight ends 89 Mike Ditka 84 Pettis Norman Offensive linemen 78 Bob Asher T 72 Tony Liscio T 51 Dave Manders C 73 Ralph Neely T/G 76 John Niland G 61 Blaine Nye G 70 Rayfield Wright T Defensive linemen 66 George Andrie DE 63 Larry Cole DE 77 Ron East DE/DT 74 Bob Lilly DT 75 Jethro Pugh DT 67 Pat Toomay DELinebackers 52 Dave Edwards OLB 54 Chuck Howley OLB 55 Lee Roy Jordan MLB 60 Steve Kiner OLB 50 D. D. Lewis OLB 56 Tom Stincic MLB Defensive backs 26 Herb Adderley CB 45 Richmond Flowers FS 34 Cornell Green SS 43 Cliff Harris FS 20 Mel Renfro CB 46 Mark Washington CB 41 Charlie Waters FS Special teams 83 Mike Clark K 10 Ron Widby PReserve lists 23 Margene Adkins WR (IR) 10px 27 Mike Gaechter SS (IR) 10px 19 Lance Rentzel WR (LOA) Taxi squad 11 Bob Belden QB 62 John Fitzgerald T 64 Halvor Hagen G/C 71 Doug Mooers DE 36 Joe Williams RB Rookies in italics 40 active, 3 inactive, 5 practice squad Regular season The Cowboys had to overcome many obstacles during the regular season. Fullback Calvin Hill, the team's second leading rusher with 577 yards and 4 touchdowns, was lost for the year after suffering a leg injury late in the regular season. And wide receiver Bob Hayes was benched by head coach Tom Landry for poor performances on several occasions. Most significantly, the Cowboys had a quarterback controversy between Craig Morton and Roger Staubach. Morton and Staubach alternated as the starting quarterback during the regular season, but Landry eventually chose Morton to start Super Bowl V because he felt less confident that Staubach would follow his game plan (Landry called all of Morton's plays in Super Bowl V).Bill McGrane "A Mad, Mad, Mad Super Bowl," The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game 1990 Simon and Schuster 0-671-72798-2 Also, Morton had done extremely well in the regular season, throwing for 1,819 yards and 15 touchdowns, with seven interceptions, earning him a passer rating of 89.8. In contrast, Staubach, although a noted scrambler and able to salvage broken plays effectively, threw for 542 yards, and only two touchdowns with eight interceptions, giving him a 42.9 rating. Hayes was the main deep threat on the team, catching 34 passes for 889 yards (a 26.1 yards per catch average) and 10 touchdowns, while also rushing 4 times for 34 yards and another touchdown, and adding another 116 yards returning punts. On the other side of the field, wide receiver Lance Rentzel recorded 28 receptions for 556 yards and 5 touchdowns. However, the main strength on the Cowboys offense was their running game. Rookie running back Duane Thomas rushed 151 times for 803 yards (a 5.1 yards per carry average) and 5 touchdowns, while adding another 416 yards returning kickoffs. Fullback Walt Garrison, who replaced the injured Hill, provided Thomas with excellent blocking and rushed for 507 yards and 3 touchdowns himself. Garrison was also a good receiver out of the backfield, catching 21 passes for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns. Up front, Pro Bowl guard John Niland and future Hall of Famer tackle Rayfield Wright anchored the offensive line. The Cowboys had their lowest regular season (6–2 vs. Cleveland Browns) and playoff (5–0 vs. Detroit Lions) scoring games in franchise history. The playoff victory over Detroit on December 26 remains the lowest scoring postseason game in NFL history. Through the 2022 season, the Cowboys-Browns game is one of only two 6-2 games in league history; the other was a Packers-Bears game in 1931, and the Cowboys-Lions playoff is one of three 5-0 games, along with a 1927 game between the Providence Steam Roller and Buffalo Bisons, and a Bills-Bengals game in 1978. For the first time, the Cowboys defeated the Green Bay Packers; this year's game was on Thanksgiving on the new artificial turf of the Cotton Bowl.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MJtRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=KhEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7477%2C5765083 Milwaukee Sentinel Lea Bud Bud Lea Cowboys end Packer jinx, 16-3 November 27, 1970 1, part 2 Green Bay had won the first six contests, 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.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-9AVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tBEEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7348%2C110068 Milwaukee Sentinel Lea Bud Bud Lea Patched up Pack jolts Dallas October 2, 1972 1, part 2 Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance Recap 1 September 20 at Philadelphia Eagles W 17–7 1–0 Franklin Field 59,728 Recap 2 September 27 New York Giants W 28–10 2–0 Cotton Bowl 57,236 Recap 3 October 4 at St. Louis Cardinals L 7–20 2–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,780 Recap 4 October 11 Atlanta Falcons W 13–0 3–1 Cotton Bowl 53,611 Recap 5 October 18 at Minnesota Vikings L 13–54 3–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 Recap 6 October 25 at Kansas City Chiefs W 27–16 4–2 Municipal Stadium 51,158 Recap 7 November 1 Philadelphia Eagles W 21–17 5–2 Cotton Bowl 55,736 Recap 8 November 8 at New York Giants L 20–23 5–3 Yankee Stadium 62,938 Recap 9 November 16, 1970 St. Louis Cardinals L 0–38 5–4 Cotton Bowl 69,323 Recap 10 November 22 at Washington Redskins W 45–21 6–4 RFK Stadium 50,415 Recap 11 November 26 Green Bay Packers W 16–3 7–4 Cotton Bowl 67,182 Recap 12 December 6 Washington Redskins W 34–0 8–4 Cotton Bowl 57,936 Recap 13 December 12, 1970 at Cleveland Browns W 6–2 9–4 Cleveland Stadium 75,458 Recap 14 December 20 Houston Oilers W 52–10 10–4 Cotton Bowl 50,504 Recap Division opponents are in bold text Game summaries Week 1 at Eagles Cowboys–Eagles rivalry Dallas Cowboys 1970 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Dallas Cowboys (0–0) at Philadelphia Eagles (0–0) September 20, 1970 1:00 p.m. EDT Cowboys 0 7 7 3 Eagles 7 0 0 0 Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 59,728 67 F C John McDonough Box Score left Dallas Cowboys Cowboys Philadelphia Eagles Eagles Roger Staubach 11/15, 115 yards, TD, INT Calvin Hill 25 rushes, 117 yards Lance Rentzel 6 receptions, 100 yards, TD Norm Snead 10/23, 138 yards, TD, 3 INT Tom Woodeshick 15 rushes, 55 yards Ben Hawkins 4 receptions, 57 yards, TD DAL PHI collapsed 1 Eagles RecTD Ben Hawkins Norm Snead 10 good Mark Moseley run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 7 2 Cowboys RushTD Walt Garrison 1 good Mike Clark run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 7 3 Cowboys RecTD Lance Rentzel Roger Staubach 31 good Mike Clark run/pass good/failed/incomplete 14 7 4 Cowboys FG 13 Mike Clark 17 7 17 7 Week 2 Giants 3 7 0 0 Cowboys 0 0 14 14 September 27 Cotton Bowl 1:00 p.m. CST 57,236 61 F; wind 11 mph on Tommy Bell yes Q1 NYG Gogolak 20 yard field goal NYG 3–0 Q2 NYG Johnson 1 yard run (Gogolak kick) NYG 10–0 Q3 DAL Hill 3 yard run (Clark kick) NYG 10–7 Q3 DAL Garrison 18 yard run (Clark kick) DAL 14–10 Q4 DAL Hayes 58 yard pass from Rentzel (Clark kick) DAL 21–10 Q4 DAL Hayes 24 yard pass from Staubach (Clark kick) DAL 28–10 yes Bob Hayes 5 Rec, 112 Ydshttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197009270dal.htm New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys - September 27th, 1970 Pro-Football-Reference.com September 15, 2019 Week 3 Cowboys 0 0 0 7 Cardinals 3 3 7 7 October 4 Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium 1:00 p.m. CDT Fred Silva Week 4 Falcons 0 0 0 0 Cowboys 0 3 3 7 October 11 Cotton Bowl 1:00 p.m. CDT Fred Swearingen Week 5 Cowboys 3 3 0 7 Vikings 14 20 17 3 October 18 Metropolitan Stadium 3:00 p.m. CDT Bernie Ulman Frank Glieber and Frank Gifford CBS Week 6 Cowboys 3 10 14 0 Chiefs 7 3 0 6 October 25 Municipal Stadium 3:00 p.m. CST Pat Haggerty Ray Scott and Pat Summerall CBS Week 7 Eagles 0 0 10 7 Cowboys 0 14 7 0 November 1 Cotton Bowl 1:00 p.m. CST Ben Dreith CBS Week 8 Cowboys 10 7 3 0 Giants 3 6 7 7 November 8 Yankee Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST Bob Finley Jack Whitaker and Frank Gifford CBS Week 9 Cardinals 7 10 0 21 Cowboys 0 0 0 0 November 16 Cotton Bowl 8:05 p.m. CST Jim Tunney Keith Jackson, Don Meredith and Howard Cosell ABC Week 10 Cowboys 3 21 14 7 Redskins 7 0 14 0 November 22 RFK Stadium 1:00 p.m. EST Norm Schachter Week 11 Packers 3 0 0 0 Cowboys 0 3 0 13 November 26 Cotton Bowl 2:35 p.m. CST Fred Swearingen Ray Scott and Pat Summerall CBS Thanksgiving Day Week 12 Redskins 0 0 0 0 Cowboys 0 7 14 13 December 6 Cotton Bowl 3:00 p.m. CST Jack Reader Week 13 Cowboys 0 0 3 3 Browns 2 0 0 0 December 12 Cleveland Stadium 12:30 p.m. EST Jim Tunney Frank Glieber and Frank Gifford CBS The telecast was blacked out in Dallas/Fort Worth due to the NCAA College Division Pecan Bowl being played at Turnpike Stadium that day. Week 14 Oilers 3 0 0 7 Cowboys 17 7 14 14 December 20 Cotton Bowl 1:00 p.m. CST Pat Haggerty Jim Simpson and Al DeRogatis NBC The Cowboys clinched the NFC East by crushing their in-state rival, combined with the Rams' 31-3 rout of the Giants at Yankee Stadium.. Had the Giants won, they would have won the NFC East, and the Cowboys and Lions would have been forced into a coin toss for the wild card berth. This was scheduled to be the Cowboys' last game at the Cotton Bowl. However, they hosted a playoff game six days later, and due to construction delays at Texas Stadium, would play their first two home games of the next season there. Standings Postseason 1970–71 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance Recap Divisional December 26, 1970 F j, Y Detroit Lions W 5–0 Cotton Bowl 69,613 Recap NFC Championship January 3, 1971 at San Francisco 49ers W 17–10 Kezar Stadium 59,364 Recap Super Bowl January 17, 1971 vs Baltimore Colts L 13–16 Orange Bowl 79,204 Recap NFC Divisional Playoff Dallas Cowboys 5, Detroit Lions 0 text-align:center; Dallas Cowboys Lions 0 0 0 0 Cowboys 3 0 0 2 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST CBS Frank Glieber and Frank Gifford 69,613 Jim Tunney Scoring DAL – field goal Clark 26 DAL 3–0 DAL – Safety, Andrie tackled Landry in end zone DAL 5–0 The Cowboys shut down the Lions offense and took advantage of a first-quarter field goal to outlast the Lions in the lowest-scoring playoff game in NFL history. NFC Championship Game Dallas Cowboys 17, San Francisco 49ers 10 text-align:center; Dallas Cowboys Cowboys 0 3 14 0 49ers 3 0 7 0 Kezar Stadium, San Francisco 5:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. PST 48 °F °C, sunny CBS Ray Scott and Pat Summerall 59,364 Tommy Bell Scoring SF – field goal Gossett 16 SF 3–0 DAL – field goal Clark 21 3–3 DAL – Thomas 13 run (Clark kick) DAL 10–3 DAL – Garrison 15 pass from Morton (Clark kick) DAL 17–3 SF – Witcher 26 pass from Brodie (Gossett kick)DAL 17–10 Super Bowl V Dallas Cowboys 13, Baltimore Colts 16 text-align:center; Dallas Cowboys Colts (AFC) 0 6 0 10 Cowboys (NFC) 3 10 0 0 Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida January 17, 1971 NBC Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote Norm Schachter 79,204 Scoring DAL – field goal Clark 14 DAL 3–0 DAL – field goal Clark 30 DAL 6–0 BAL – Mackey 75 pass from Unitas (kick blocked) 6–6 DAL – Thomas 7 pass from Morton (Clark kick) DAL 13–6 BAL – Nowatzke 2 run (O'Brien kick) 13–13 BAL – field goal O'Brien 32 BAL 16–13 2:05 p.m. EST 70 °F °C, sunny Chuck Howley became the first defensive player, and only member of a losing team to be the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player. Awards and records Chuck Howley, Most Valuable Player, Super Bowl VDeArdo Bryan Cowboys legend, Hall of Fame linebacker and only losing Super Bowl MVP turns 88 CBS Sports June 28, 2024 https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/cowboys-legend-hall-of-fame-linebacker-and-only-losing-super-bowl-mvp-turns-88/ July 14, 2026 Mel Renfro, Pro Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player Publications The Football Encyclopedia 0-312-11435-4 Total Football 0-06-270170-3 Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes 0-446-51950-2 References 30em External links 1970 Dallas Cowboys Pro Football Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboys Official Site Dallas Category:Dallas Cowboys seasons Category:National Football Conference championship seasons Category:NFC East championship seasons Dallas Cowboys