1970 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1970 Dallas Cowboys season was the team's 11th in the National Football League (NFL).

1970 Dallas Cowboys season
Owner	Clint Murchison, Jr.
Head coach	Tom Landry
Home stadium	Cotton Bowl
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	1st NFC East
Playoffs	Won Divisional Playoffs (vs. Lions) 5–0 Won NFC Championship (at 49ers) 17–10 Lost Super Bowl V (vs. Colts) 13–16
← 1969 Cowboys seasons 1971 →

The Cowboys playing against the Colts in Super Bowl V

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.

NFL draft

Main article: 1970 NFL draft

1970 Dallas Cowboys draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	23	Duane Thomas	RB	West Texas State
2	29	Bob Asher	OT	Vanderbilt
2	49	Margene Adkins	WR	Henderson County J.C.
3	66	Charlie Waters *	S	Clemson
3	73	Steve Kiner	LB	Tennessee
3	75	Denton Fox	DB	Texas Tech
4	101	John Fitzgerald	C	Boston College
6	153	Pat Toomay	DE	Vanderbilt
7	179	Don Abbey	LB	Penn State
8	205	Jerry Dossey	OG	Arkansas
9	231	Zenon Andrusyshyn	K	UCLA
10	257	Pete Athas	CB	Tennessee
11	283	Ivan Southerland	OT	Clemson
12	309	Joe Williams	RB	Wyoming
13	335	Mark Washington	CB	Morgan State
14	361	Julian Martin	WR	North Carolina Central
15	387	Ken DeLong	TE	Tennessee
16	413	Seabern Hill	DB	Arizona State
17	439	Glenn Patterson	C	Nebraska
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

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).^[1] 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.^[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.^[3]

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	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	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

See also: Cowboys–Eagles rivalry

Week One: Dallas Cowboys (0–0) at Philadelphia Eagles (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	7	7	3	17
Eagles	7	0	0	0	7

at Franklin Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: September 20, 1970
• Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C)
• Game attendance: 59,728
• Referee: John McDonough
• Box Score

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Cowboys	Passing	Roger Staubach	11/15, 115 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Calvin Hill	25 rushes, 117 yards
	Receiving	Lance Rentzel	6 receptions, 100 yards, TD
Eagles	Passing	Norm Snead	10/23, 138 yards, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Tom Woodeshick	15 rushes, 55 yards
	Receiving	Ben Hawkins	4 receptions, 57 yards, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP DAL PHI 1 Eagles Ben Hawkins 10-yard touchdown reception from Norm Snead, Mark Moseley kick good 0 7 2 Cowboys Walt Garrison 1-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 7 7 3 Cowboys Lance Rentzel 31-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Mike Clark kick good 14 7 4 Cowboys 13-yard field goal by Mike Clark 17 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 7

Week 2

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	3	7	0	0	10
• Cowboys	0	0	14	14	28

• Date: September 27
• Location: Cotton Bowl
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Game attendance: 57,236
• Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
• Referee: Tommy Bell

Scoring summary

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

• Bob Hayes 5 Rec, 112 Yds^[4]

Week 3

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	0	0	7	7
• Cardinals	3	3	7	7	20

• Date: October 4
• Location: Civic Center Busch Memorial Stadium
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. CDT
• Referee: Fred Silva

Week 4

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	0	0	0	0
• Cowboys	0	3	3	7	13

• Date: October 11
• Location: Cotton Bowl
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. CDT
• Referee: Fred Swearingen

Week 5

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	3	3	0	7	13
• Vikings	14	20	17	3	54

• Date: October 18
• Location: Metropolitan Stadium
• Game start: 3:00 p.m. CDT
• Referee: Bernie Ulman
• TV announcers (CBS): Ray Scott and Pat Summerall

Week 6

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Cowboys	3	10	14	0	27
Chiefs	7	3	0	6	16

• Date: October 25
• Location: Municipal Stadium
• Game start: 3:00 p.m. CST
• Referee: Pat Haggerty

Week 7

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	10	7	17
• Cowboys	0	14	7	0	21

• Date: November 1
• Location: Cotton Bowl
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• Television network: CBS

Week 8

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	10	7	3	0	20
• Giants	3	6	7	7	23

• Date: November 8
• Location: Yankee Stadium
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Referee: Bob Finley
• TV announcers (CBS): Jack Whitaker and Frank Gifford

Week 9

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Cardinals	7	10	0	21	38
Cowboys	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: November 16
• Location: Cotton Bowl
• Game start: 8:05 p.m. CST
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Don Meredith and Howard Cosell

Week 10

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Cowboys	3	21	14	7	45
Redskins	7	0	14	0	21

• Date: November 22
• Location: RFK Stadium
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Referee: Norm Schachter

Week 11

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	3	0	0	0	3
• Cowboys	0	3	0	13	16

• Date: November 26
• Location: Cotton Bowl
• Game start: 2:35 p.m. CST
• Referee: Fred Swearingen
• TV announcers (CBS): Ray Scott and Pat Summerall

Thanksgiving Day

Week 12

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Redskins	0	0	0	0	0
• Cowboys	0	7	14	13	34

• Date: December 6
• Location: Cotton Bowl
• Game start: 3:00 p.m. CST
• Referee: Jack Reader

Week 13

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Cowboys	0	0	3	3	6
Browns	2	0	0	0	2

• Date: December 12
• Location: Cleveland Stadium
• Game start: 12:30 p.m. EST
• Referee: Jim Tunney

Week 14

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	3	0	0	7	10
• Cowboys	17	7	14	14	52

• Date: December 20
• Location: Cotton Bowl
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
• Referee: Pat Haggerty

Standings

NFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	10	4	0	.714	5–3	7–4	299	221	W5
New York Giants	9	5	0	.643	6–2	6–5	301	270	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	8	5	1	.615	5–3	6–5	325	228	L3
Washington Redskins	6	8	0	.429	3–5	4–7	297	314	W2
Philadelphia Eagles	3	10	1	.231	1–7	1–9–1	241	332	W1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Postseason

Main article: 1970–71 NFL playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Game Site	Attendance	Recap
Divisional	December 26, 1970	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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	0	0	0
Cowboys	3	0	0	2	5

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

• Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/3:00 p.m. CST
• Game attendance: 69,613
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber and Frank Gifford

Game information
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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	3	14	0	17
49ers	3	0	7	0	10

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco

• Game time: 5:00 p.m. EST/2:00 p.m. PST
• Game weather: 48 °F (9 °C), sunny
• Game attendance: 59,364
• Referee: Tommy Bell
• TV announcers (CBS): Ray Scott and Pat Summerall

Game information
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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Colts (AFC)	0	6	0	10	16
Cowboys (NFC)	3	10	0	0	13

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

• Date: January 17, 1971
• Game attendance: 79,204
• Referee: Norm Schachter
• TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Kyle Rote

Game information
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

Chuck Howley became the first defensive player, and only member of a losing team to be the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.

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 DE		Linebackers 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 P		Reserve lists 23 Margene Adkins WR (IR) 27 Mike Gaechter SS (IR) 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

Awards and records

• Chuck Howley, Most Valuable Player, Super Bowl V
• Mel Renfro, Pro Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player

Publications

The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4
Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3
Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2