1970 Detroit Lions season

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1970 Detroit Lions season
Head coachJoe Schmidt
Home fieldTiger Stadium
Results
Record10–4
Division place2nd NFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Cowboys) 0–5

The 1970 Detroit Lions season was the 41st season in franchise history. With a record of 10–4, their best in eight years, the Lions finished in second place in the NFC Central and qualified for the playoffs as the NFC's first ever Wildcard team. Detroit made the postseason for the first time since their championship season in 1957 (they played in three post-season runner-up games (Playoff Bowl) in 1960, 1961, and 1962 and won all three).

One unusual loss during the regular season was at New Orleans in Week 8. The Lions led by a point with only two seconds left, but Saints kicker Tom Dempsey booted a then-record 63-yard field goal as time expired to give the Saints a 19–17 win.[1][2][3]

In the divisional round of the playoffs at the Cotton Bowl, the Lions fell 5–0 to the Dallas Cowboys in the lowest scoring game in NFL playoff history, and the first without a touchdown in twenty years.[4][5]

NFL Draft[edit]

Round Pick Player Position Team
1 19 Steve Owens Running back Oklahoma
2 45 Ray Parson Tackle Minnesota
3 71 Jim H. Mitchell Defensive end Virginia State
5 123 Bob Parker Guard Memphis
6 149 Tony Terry Defensive tackle Southern California
7 175 Ken Geddes Linebacker Nebraska
9 227 Herman Weaver Punter Tennessee
10 253 Bruce Maxwell Running back Arkansas
11 279 Roger Laird Defensive back Kentucky State
12 305 Emanuel Murrell Defensive back California Polytechnic State
13 331 Dave Haverdick Defensive tackle Morehead State
14 357 Charlie K. Brown Wide receiver Northern Arizona
15 383 Bob Haney Tackle Idaho
16 409 Jerry Todd Defensive back Memphis
17 435 Jesse Marshall Defensive tackle Centenary

[6]

Roster[edit]

Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad

rookies in italics

Regular season[edit]

Schedule[edit]

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 20 at Green Bay Packers W 40–0 1–0 Lambeau Field 56,263 Recap
2 September 27 Cincinnati Bengals W 38–3 2–0 Tiger Stadium 58,202 Recap
3 October 5 Chicago Bears W 28–14 3–0 Tiger Stadium 58,210 Recap
4 October 11 at Washington Redskins L 10–31 3–1 RFK Stadium 50,414 Recap
5 October 18 at Cleveland Browns W 41–24 4–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 83,577 Recap
6 October 25 at Chicago Bears W 16–10 5–1 Wrigley Field 45,632 Recap
7 November 1 Minnesota Vikings L 17–30 5–2 Tiger Stadium 58,210 Recap
8 November 8 at New Orleans Saints L 17–19 5–3 Tulane Stadium 66,910 Recap
9 November 15 at Minnesota Vikings L 20–24 5–4 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 Recap
10 November 22 San Francisco 49ers W 28–7 6–4 Tiger Stadium 56,232 Recap
11 November 26 Oakland Raiders W 28–14 7–4 Tiger Stadium 56,597 Recap
12 December 6 St. Louis Cardinals W 16–3 8–4 Tiger Stadium 56,362 Recap
13 December 14 at Los Angeles Rams W 28–23 9–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 79,441 Recap
14 December 20 Green Bay Packers W 20–0 10–4 Tiger Stadium 57,387 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary[edit]

Week 3[edit]

1 234Total
Bears 7 007 14
• Lions 0 0217 28
Scoring summary
1CHIDick Gordon 20-yard pass from Jack Concannon (Mac Percival kick)Bears 7–0
3DETMel Farr 3-yard run (Errol Mann kick)Tie 7–7
3DETAltie Taylor 7-yard run (Errol Mann kick)Lions 14–7
3DETLarry Walton 13-yard pass from Bill Munson (Errol Mann kick)Lions 21–7
3CHIDick Gordon 60-yard pass from Jack Concannon (Mac Percival kick)Lions 21–14
4DETMel Farr 20-yard run (Errol Mann kick)Lions 28–14

[7]

Standings[edit]

NFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings 12 2 0 .857 5–1 10–1 335 143 W3
Detroit Lions 10 4 0 .714 4–2 7–4 347 202 W5
Green Bay Packers 6 8 0 .429 2–4 4–7 196 293 L2
Chicago Bears 6 8 0 .429 1–5 5–6 256 261 W2

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

Playoffs[edit]

NFC Playoff, Dallas Cowboys 5, Detroit Lions 0
Period 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 0 000
Cowboys 3 0 025

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

Game information
  • Scoring
    • DAL – field goal Clark 26 DAL 3–0
    • DAL – Safety, Andrie tackled Landry in end zone DAL 5–0

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Detroit Lions (1934-Present)". www.sportsecyclopedia.com.
  2. ^ "Saints upset Lions, 19-17 on Dempsey's 63-yard FG". Ludington Daily News. (Michigan). UPI. November 9, 1970. p. 5.
  3. ^ Rappaport, Ken (November 9, 1970). "Still plenty of foot in football". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. p. 22.
  4. ^ "Colts, Cowboys advance in playoffs". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. December 27, 1970. p. 65.
  5. ^ "Detroit looking ahead to 1971". Ludington Daily News. (Michigan). UPI. December 28, 1970.
  6. ^ "1970 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2018.
  7. ^ "Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions - October 5th, 1970 - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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