1970 Washington Redskins season

The 1970 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 39th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 34th in Washington, D.C. Vince Lombardi, who was hired the previous season, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in late June and died on September 3.^[1][2] In July, offensive line coach Bill Austin was named interim head coach.^[3]

1970 Washington Redskins season
Owner	Edward Bennett Williams
President	Edward Bennett Williams
General manager	Tim Temerario (de facto)
Head coach	Vince Lombardi (offseason) Bill Austin (interim)
Home stadium	RFK Stadium
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	4th NFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1969 Redskins seasons 1971 →

The Redskins finished at 6–8 in 1970, fourth in the NFC East, but with a five-game losing streak in the second half of the season. The last loss was a 34–0 shutout at rival Dallas on December 6, and Washington fell to a 4–8 record and four games behind the Cowboys.^[4]

It was the 25th consecutive season that the Redskins did not advance to the playoffs. Austin's contract was not renewed after the season.^[5][6]

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1970 NFL draft

1970 Washington Redskins draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
2	43	Bill Brundige	Defensive tackle	Colorado
4	103	Paul Laaveg	Tackle	Iowa
5	114	Manny Sistrunk	Defensive tackle	Arkansas AM&N
5	121	Danny Pierce	Running back	Memphis State
7	173	Roland Merritt	Wide receiver	Maryland
7	178	Jimmy Harris	Cornerback	Howard Payne
8	199	Paul Johnson	Defensive back	Penn State
9	225	Ralph Sonntag	Tackle	Maryland
11	277	Mack Alston	Tight end	Maryland State
12	303	James Kates	Linebacker	Penn State
13	329	Joe Patterson	Tackle	Lawrence
14	355	Tony Moro	Running back	Dayton
15	381	Vic Lewandowski	Center	Holy Cross
16	407	Steve Bushore	Wide receiver	Emporia State
17	433	Earl Maxfield	Defensive tackle	Baylor

Roster

1970 Washington Redskins roster

Quarterbacks (QB)  9 Sonny Jurgensen 13 Frank Ryan Running backs (RB) 43 Larry Brown 26 Bob Brunet 32 Henry Dyer 31 Charley Harraway 40 David Kopay 19 Danny Pierce Wide receivers (WR) 28 Jon Henderson 24 Bill Malinchak 47 Walter Roberts 42 Charley Taylor Tight ends (TE) 81 Mack Alston 88 Pat Richter 87 Jerry Smith

Offensive linemen (OL) 52 Gene Hamlin C 56 Len Hauss C 71 Terry Hermeling T 73 Paul Laaveg G 76 Walt Rock T 66 Roy Schmidt G 62 Ray Schoenke G 74 Jim Snowden T 75 Steve Wright T Defensive linemen (DL) 83 Bruce Anderson DE 71 Frank Bosch DE 77 Bill Brundige DT 89 Leo Carroll DE 85 John Hoffman DE 64 Manny Sistrunk DT 78 Floyd Peters DT

Linebackers (LB) 55 Chris Hanburger OLB 86 Marlin McKeever MLB 53 Harold McLinton OLB 54 Tom Roussel OLB 67 Rusty Tillman MLB Defensive backs (DB) 46 Rickie Harris FS 41 Mike Bass CB 37 Pat Fischer CB 26 Jimmy Harris CB 48 Jon Jaqua FS 23 Brig Owens SS 29 Ted Vactor CB Special teams (ST)  4 Mike Bragg P  5 Curt Knight K

Practice squad 16 Gary Beban WR -- Jim Ward QB Reserve 25 Roland Merritt WR (IR) 65 Vince Promuto G (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 20	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–26	0–1	Kezar Stadium	34,984	Recap
2	September 27	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 17–27	0–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	44,246	Recap
3	October 4	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 33–21	1–2	Franklin Field	60,658	Recap
4	October 11	Detroit Lions	W 31–10	2–2	RFK Stadium	50,414	Recap
5	October 19	at Oakland Raiders	L 20–34	2-3	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,471	Recap
6	October 25	Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–0	3–3	RFK Stadium	50,414	Recap
7	November 1	at Denver Broncos	W 19–3	4–3	Mile High Stadium	50,705	Recap
8	November 8	Minnesota Vikings	L 10–19	4–4	RFK Stadium	50,415	Recap
9	November 15	at New York Giants	L 33–35	4–5	Yankee Stadium	62,915	Recap
10	November 22	Dallas Cowboys	L 21–45	4–6	RFK Stadium	50,415	Recap
11	November 29	New York Giants	L 24–27	4–7	RFK Stadium	50,415	Recap
12	December 6	at Dallas Cowboys	L 0–34	4–8	Cotton Bowl	57,936	Recap
13	December 13	Philadelphia Eagles	W 24–6	5–8	RFK Stadium	50,415	Recap
14	December 20	St. Louis Cardinals	W 28–27	6–8	RFK Stadium	50,415	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

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.