1970 NFL season
Encyclopedia
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger
AFL-NFL Merger
The AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...

.

The merger forced a realignment
Realignment (sports)
In North American sports, realignment occurs in sports when a league decides to change which teams are in which divisions, usually by creating new divisions. In all of the four major North American sports leagues, all of the teams are grouped into one of two conferences, while each...

 between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new conferences at 13 teams each. The Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

, Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, and the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

 agreed to join all ten AFL teams to form the American Football Conference
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....

 (AFC). The remaining NFL teams formed the National Football Conference
National Football Conference
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...

 (NFC). Replacing the old Eastern and Western conferences (although divisions from those conferences are still existed but renamed to suit the realignment), the new conferences, AFC and NFC, function similar to Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

's American
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 and National
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 leagues, and each of those two were divided into three divisions: East, Central, and West. The two Eastern divisions had five teams; the other four divisions had four teams each. The realignment discussions were so contentious that at one point team names were pulled out of a glass jar.

The format agreed on was as follows:

NFC East: Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, Giants, Cardinals

NFC Central: Packers, Bears, Vikings, Lions

NFC West: Rams, 49ers, Saints, Falcons

AFC East: Patriots, Jets, Colts, Bills, Dolphins

AFC Central: Steelers, Browns, Bengals, Oilers

AFC West: Broncos, Raiders, Chargers, Chiefs

This arrangement would keep most of the pre-merger NFL teams in the NFC conference and the AFL teams in the AFC. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Baltimore were placed in the AFC in order to balance it out, while the NFC equalizes the competitive strength of its East and West divisions rather than sorting out teams just geographically. The NFL had originally consisted of an Eastern Conference (consisted of Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Dallas, and Cleveland) and a Western Conference (Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and San Francisco). In 1967, this was changed to Capitol (Philadelphia, Washington, Dallas, and newly-added New Orleans), Central (Green Bay, Minnesota, Detroit, and Chicago), Century (Cleveland, New York Giants, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis), and Coastal (San Francisco, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Baltimore) divisions. Meanwhile, the AFL for its 10-year existence had an Eastern Division (New York Jets, Boston, Buffalo, Houston and later Miami) and a Western Division (Kansas City, Oakland, Denver, San Diego, and later Cincinnati). Division alignment in 1970 was largely intended to preserve the pre-merger setups, keeping traditional rivals in the same division. Plans were also made to add two expansion teams, but this would not take place until 1976, seven years after the merger.

The 26-team league began to use an eight-team playoff
NFL playoffs
The National Football League playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held at the end of the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Six teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs based on regular season records, and a tie-breaking procedure exists in the...

 format, four from each conference, that included the three division winners and a wild card team, the second-place team with the best record. The season concluded with the Colts
1970 Baltimore Colts season
The 1970 Baltimore Colts season was the 18th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1970 season with a record of 11 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. They won the AFC East...

 defeating the Dallas Cowboys
1970 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1970 Dallas Cowboys season was their 11th in the NFL. The club scored 299 points and allowed 221 points. For the fifth consecutive season, the Cowboys finished first in their division. In 1970, the club made its debut on Monday Night Football. The Cowboys lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 38–0...

 16–13 in Super Bowl V
Super Bowl V
Super Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1970 regular season...

, the first Super Bowl played for the NFL Championship. The game was held at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and was the first Super Bowl played on artificial turf
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...

.

To televise their games, the combined league retained the services of CBS
NFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...

 and NBC
NFL on NBC
NFL on NBC is the brand given to NBC Sports coverage of National Football League games until 1998, when NBC lost the NFL American Football Conference rights to CBS...

, who were previously the primary broadcasters of the NFL and the AFL, respectively. It was then decided that CBS would televise all NFC teams (including playoff games) while NBC all AFC teams. For interconference games, CBS would broadcast them if the visiting team
Home team
In team sports, the term home advantage describes the advantage–usually a psychological advantage–that the home team is said to have over the visiting team as a result of playing in familiar facilities and in front of supportive fans...

 was from the NFC and NBC would carry them when the visitors were from the AFC. The two networks also divided up the Super Bowl on a yearly rotation.

Meanwhile, with the debut of Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...

on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 September 21, 1970, the league became the first professional sports
Professional sports
Professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, are sports in which athletes receive payment for their performance. Professional athleticism has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larger audiences, so that sports organizations...

 league in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 to have a regular series of nationally-televised games in prime-time.

The Chicago Bears
1970 Chicago Bears season
The 1970 Chicago Bears season was their 51st regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 6-8 record, another below .500 showing, but an improvement over their 1-13 record of the previous season.-Regular season:...

' first home game of the season against the Philadelphia Eagles
1970 Philadelphia Eagles season
The 1970 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 38th in the league. They failed to improve on their previous output of 4–9–1, winning only three games...

 was played at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

's Dyche Stadium as part of an experiment. Before the season, the league demanded that the Bears find a new home field because the seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...

 of their then-current home, Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, United States that has served as the home ballpark of the Chicago Cubs since 1916. It was built in 1914 as Weeghman Park for the Chicago Federal League baseball team, the Chicago Whales...

, was too small (after the merger, all stadiums were required to seat at least 50,000). Ultimately, a deal to make Dyche Stadium as the Bears' new home fell through and the team moved to Soldier Field
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is located on Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois, United States, in the Near South Side. It is home to the NFL's Chicago Bears...

 in 1971
1971 NFL season
The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins...

 where they remain to the present day.

On November 8, New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....

 placekicker Tom Dempsey
Tom Dempsey
Thomas Dempsey is a former American football placekicker in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints , Philadelphia Eagles , Los Angeles Rams , Houston Oilers and Buffalo Bills . He attended high school at San Dieguito High School and played college football at Palomar College...

 kicked a 63-yard field goal (still the NFL record as of the 2011 NFL Season
2011 NFL season
The 2011 NFL season, the 92nd regular season of the National Football League, began on Thursday, September 8, 2011 with the Super Bowl XLV champion Green Bay Packers defeating the New Orleans Saints 42–34 at Lambeau Field and will end with Super Bowl XLVI, the league's championship game, on...

) as the Saints beat the Detroit Lions 19–17. The record is now shared with Jason Elam
Jason Elam
Jason Elam is a retired American football placekicker. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the third round of the 1993 NFL Draft. He played college football at Hawaii....

 (Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

) who tied it in 1998, and Sebastian Janikowski
Sebastian Janikowski
Sebastian Janikowski is a left-footed Polish placekicker who plays for the National Football League's Oakland Raiders. He is nicknamed The Polish Cannon because he is considered to have one of the strongest kicking legs in the league, and leads the NFL in kickoffs for touchbacks. He lives in...

 (Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

) who tied it in 2011.

The Denver Broncos
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

, and Los Angeles Rams
St. Louis Rams
The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

 all started 3–0 but lost in Week Four. Only the Lions would go on to the playoffs after the 3–0 start.

Major rule changes

  • The NFL rules become the standardized rules for the merged league, which included dropping the AFL's two-point conversion. This would not be reinstated until 1994.
  • The official game clock is the stadium's scoreboard clock, an AFL innovation.
  • Rules are added to place last names on the back of players' jerseys. The AFL had had names on jerseys, the pre-merger NFL teams did not.

Division races

Starting in 1970, and until 2002
2002 NFL season
The 2002 NFL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Football League.The league went back to an even number of teams, expanding to 32 teams with the addition of the Houston Texans. The clubs were then realigned into eight divisions, four teams in each...

, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth "wild card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents records, and conference play.

The New York Giants lost their last regular-season game. Had they won that game, they would have tied for first place in the NFC East division and taken the division championship on a tie-breaker; then, the tie-breakers would have led to a coin toss between Dallas and Detroit for the NFC wild card.

National Football Conference
Week Eastern Central Western Wild Card
1 DALLAS 1–0–0 3 teams 1–0–0 3 teams 1–0–0 4 teams 1–0–0
2 DALLAS 2–0–0 3 teams 2–0–0 2 teams 2–0–0 3 teams 2–0–0
3 ST. LOUIS* 2–1–0 DETROIT 3–0–0 LOS ANGELES 3–0–0 6 teams 2–1–0
4 ST. LOUIS* 3–1–0 DETROIT* 3–1–0 SAN FRANCISCO* 3–1–0 4 teams 3–1–0
5 ST. LOUIS 4–1–0 DETROIT* 4–1–0 LOS ANGELES 4–1–0 MINNESOTA 4–1–0
6 ST. LOUIS* 4–2–0 DETROIT* 5–1–0 SAN FRANCISCO 4–1–1 MINNESOTA 5–1–0
7 ST. LOUIS* 5–2–0 MINNESOTA 6–1–0 SAN FRANCISCO 5–1–1 3 teams 5–2–0
8 ST. LOUIS 6–2–0 MINNESOTA 7–1–0 SAN FRANCISCO 6–1–1 LOS ANGELES 5–2–1
9 ST. LOUIS 7–2–0 MINNESOTA 8–1–0 SAN FRANCISCO 7–1–1 N.Y. GIANTS 6–3–0
10 ST. LOUIS 7–2–1 MINNESOTA 9–1–0 SAN FRANCISCO 7–2–1 LOS ANGELES 6–3–1
11 ST. LOUIS 8–2–1 MINNESOTA 9–2–0 LOS ANGELES* 7–3–1 SAN FRANCISCO 7–3–1
12 ST. LOUIS 8–3–1 MINNESOTA 10–2–0 LOS ANGELES* 8–3–1 SAN FRANCISCO 8–3–1
13 N.Y. GIANTS* 9–4–0 MINNESOTA 11–2–0 SAN FRANCISCO 9–3–1 DALLAS* 9–4–0
14 DALLAS 10–4–0 MINNESOTA 12–2–0 SAN FRANCISCO 10–3–1 DETROIT 10–4–0


American Football Conference
Week Eastern Central Western Wild Card
1 2 teams 1–0–0 3 teams 1–0–0 DENVER 1–0–0 3 teams 1–0–0
2 4 teams 1–1–0 3 teams 1–1–0 DENVER 2–0–0 6 teams 1–1–0
3 BALTIMORE* 2–1–0 2 teams 2–1–0 DENVER 3–0–0 2 teams 2–1–0
4 BALTIMORE* 3–1–0 CLEVELAND 3–1–0 DENVER 3–1–0 MIAMI 3–1–0
5 BALTIMORE* 4–1–0 CLEVELAND 3–2–0 DENVER 4–1–0 MIAMI 4–1–0
6 BALTIMORE 5–1–0 CLEVELAND 4–2–0 DENVER 4–2–0 MIAMI 4–2–0
7 BALTIMORE 6–1–0 CLEVELAND 4–3–0 OAKLAND 3–2–2 DENVER 4–3–0
8 BALTIMORE 7–1–0 CLEVELAND* 4–4–0 OAKLAND 4–2–2 KANSAS CITY 4–3–1
9 BALTIMORE 7–1–1 CLEVELAND* 4–5–0 OAKLAND 5–2–2 KANSAS CITY 5–3–1
10 BALTIMORE 7–2–1 CLEVELAND 5–5–0 OAKLAND 6–2–2 KANSAS CITY 5–3–2
11 BALTIMORE 8–2–1 CLEVELAND* 5–6–0 OAKLAND* 6–3–2 KANSAS CITY 6–3–2
12 BALTIMORE 9–2–1 CLEVELAND* 6–6–0 OAKLAND* 7–3–2 KANSAS CITY 7–3–2
13 BALTIMORE 10–2–1 CINCINNATI 7–6–0 OAKLAND 6–3–2 MIAMI 9–4–0
14 BALTIMORE 11–2–1 CINCINNATI 8–6–0 OAKLAND 8–4–2 MIAMI 10–4–0

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

– clinched wild card
Wild card (sports)
The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

 berth, – clinched division title


Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings



Tiebreakers

  • Green Bay finished ahead of Chicago in the NFC Central based on better division record (2–4 to Bears' 1–5).

Playoffs

Note: Prior to the 1975 season
1975 NFL season
The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:...

, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.


Awards

Most Valuable Player
NFL Most Valuable Player Award
The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP...

John Brodie
John Brodie
John Riley Brodie is a former professional American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, and had a second career as a Senior PGA Tour professional golfer.-Early years and education:...

, Quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

, San Francisco
Coach of the Year
NFL Coach of the Year Award
The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...

Dick Nolan
Dick Nolan
Richard Nolan is a Minnesota politician.Richard Nolan may also refer to*Dick Nolan , American football player, father of Mike Nolan, former head coach of San Francisco 49ers...

, San Francisco
Offensive Rookie of the Year Dennis Shaw
Dennis Shaw
Dennis Wendell Shaw is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Buffalo Bills, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and the Kansas City Chiefs.-College career:...

, Quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

, Buffalo
Defensive Rookie of the Year Bruce Taylor
Bruce Taylor (American football)
Bruce Lawrence Taylor is a former professional American football player who was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1st round of the 1970 NFL Draft. A 6'0", 184 lbs. cornerback from Boston University, Taylor played in eight NFL seasons and spent his entire career with the 49ers from...

, Cornerback
Cornerback
A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position...

, San Francisco
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