1970 Houston Oilers season

NFL team season November 2013 March 2026 Houston Oilers 1970 3–10–1 4th AFC Central Wally Lemm Bud Adams Houston Astrodome Did not qualify Oilers seasons The 1970 Houston Oilers season was the 11th season overall and its first as part of the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous season's 6–6–2 record, winning only three games.1970 Houston Oilers The Oilers started the season winning two of its first three games, both road wins against the Steelers and Bengals. The Oilers struggled the rest of the season, as they went 0–6–1 following the 2-1 start. In week five versus the Steelers in the Astrodome, starting quarterback Charley Johnson suffered a broken clavicle when he was clipped by Pittsburgh defensive tackle Chuck Hinton on an interception return. Johnson returned after missing four games but was nowhere near as effective than before the injury. The Oilers won only one of their last 11 games, a 31–21 win over the Denver Broncos, before losing their final 3 games of the season, including a 52–10 rout by in-state rival Dallas in the finale, to finish the season 3–10–1. They missed the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, and for the first of eight consecutive seasons. Offseason NFL draft 1970 NFL draft 1970 Houston Oilers 1 14 Doug Wilkerson Guard North Carolina Central yes yes 2 31 Leo Brooks Defensive tackle Texas from Boston yes yes 2 40 Bill Dusenbery Running back Johnson C. Smith no 4 92 Spike Jones Punter Georgia yes 5 110 Ron Saul Guard Michigan State from Cincinnati via N. Y. Jets yes 5 118 Ed Duley Defensive tackle Northern Arizona no 6 144 Benny Johnson Cornerback Johnson C. Smith yes 7 170 Charles Olson Defensive back Concordia (Moorhead) no 8 196 Mike McClish Tackle Wisconsin no 9 222 Charlie Blossom Defensive end Texas Southern no 10 249 Joe Dawkins Running back Wisconsin yes 11 274 Robert Morris Center Duke no 12 300 Richard Dawkins Tight end Johnson C. Smith no 13 326 Jess Lewis Linebacker Oregon State yes 14 352 Claire Rasmussen Guard Wisconsin–Oshkosh no 15 378 David Sharp Tackle Stanford no no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/oti/1970_draft.htm 1970 Houston Oilers draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com November 12, 2014 Roster 1970 Houston Oilers 40 6 4 14 Bob Naponic 17 Jerry Rhome 34 Joe Dawkins y 36 Roy Hopkins American football 24 Mike Richardson running back, born 1946 39 Tom Smiley 81 Jim Beirne 84 Mac Haik 18 Charlie Joiner 23 Jerry LeVias 84 Donnie Davis American football end 89 Alvin Reed 61 Hank Autry C 75 Elbert Drungo G 62 Ken Gray American football G 78 Glen Ray Hines T 50 Bobby Maples C 64 Ron Saul y G 69 Terry Stoepel T 76 Walter Suggs T 63 Doug Wilkerson G y 65 Elvin Bethea DE 73 Leo Brooks American football y DT 71 Tom Domres DT 79 Pat Holmes DE 77 Spain Musgrove DE 74 Willie Parker defensive tackle DT 52 Garland Boyette MLB 37 Jess Lewis y OLB 58 Ron Pritchard OLB 56 Olen Underwood OLB 53 Loyd Wainscott MLB 48 Bob Atkins American football CB/S 29 Ken Houston SS 33 Benny Johnson American football y CB 41 Leroy Mitchell CB 22 Zeke Moore American football CB 44 Johnny Peacock American football FS  3 Roy Gerela K 11 Spike Jones American football y P 35 Woody Campbell American football RB IR 21 John Douglas defensive back CB IR 32 Hoyle Granger RB IR 12 Charley Johnson QB IR 60 Tom Regner G IR 90 George Webster American football LB IR 82 Charley Blossom no y DE 88 Claude Harvey y LB 57 Ken Mendenhall y C 87 Paul Zaeske WR Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 20 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 19–7 1–0 Three Rivers Stadium 45,538 Recap 2 September 27 Miami Dolphins L 10–20 1–1 Houston Astrodome 39,840 Recap 3 October 4 at Cincinnati Bengals W 20–13 2–1 Riverfront Stadium 55,094 Recap 4 October 11 Baltimore Colts L 20–24 2–2 Houston Astrodome 48,050 Recap 5 October 18 Pittsburgh Steelers L 3–7 2–3 Houston Astrodome 42,799 Recap 6 October 25 at San Diego Chargers T 31–31 2–3–1 San Diego Stadium 41,427 Recap 7 November 1 at St. Louis Cardinals L 0–44 2–4–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,911 Recap 8 November 8 at Kansas City Chiefs L 9–24 2–5–1 Municipal Stadium 49,810 Recap 9 November 15 San Francisco 49ers L 20–30 2–6–1 Houston Astrodome 43,040 Recap 10 November 22 at Cleveland Browns L 14–28 2–7–1 Cleveland Stadium 74,723 Recap 11 November 29 Denver Broncos W 31–21 3–7–1 Houston Astrodome 35,733 Recap 12 December 7 Cleveland Browns L 10–21 3–8–1 Houston Astrodome 50,582 Recap 13 December 13 Cincinnati Bengals L 20–30 3–9–1 Houston Astrodome 34,435 Recap 14 December 20 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–52 3–10–1 Cotton Bowl 50,504 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings References 1970 Houston Oilers Houston Category:Long stubs with short prose