1970 New York Jets season
Encyclopedia
The 1970
New York Jets
season was the 11th season for the team and the first in the National Football League
, following the AFL-NFL merger
. It began with the team trying to maintain or improve upon its 10–4 record from 1969 under head coach Weeb Ewbank. The Jets finished with a record of 4–10.
In the fifth game of the season, quarterback Joe Namath
was lost for the season when he broke his wrist vs. the Baltimore Colts
in Shea Stadium
, the first meeting between the teams since Namath guaranteed victory in Super Bowl III
. Namath's injury occurred when he hit his hand on the helmet of Colts defensive tackle Fred Miller
. With Namath on the sidleines, the Jets were forced to play untested Al Woodall
, who guided New York to upsets of NFC powerhouses Los Angeles and Minnesota, but only one other victory, over the lowly Boston Patriots
.
1970 NFL season
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
season was the 11th season for the team and the first in 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...
, following 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...
. It began with the team trying to maintain or improve upon its 10–4 record from 1969 under head coach Weeb Ewbank. The Jets finished with a record of 4–10.
In the fifth game of the season, quarterback Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
was lost for the season when he broke his wrist vs. 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 ....
in Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
, the first meeting between the teams since Namath guaranteed victory in Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
. Namath's injury occurred when he hit his hand on the helmet of Colts defensive tackle Fred Miller
Fred Miller (defensive lineman)
Fred David Miller was an American football defensive tackle in the National Football League from 1963 through 1972. During that span he appeared in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V for the Baltimore Colts. He played college football at Louisiana State University.Miller was born in Homer, Louisiana...
. With Namath on the sidleines, the Jets were forced to play untested Al Woodall
Al Woodall
Frank Alley Woodall was an American football player. Woodall played college football at Duke where he was an All American. Woodall played several seasons with the Jets in the AFL and NFL. He became an insurance agent in the New York area after his football days...
, who guided New York to upsets of NFC powerhouses Los Angeles and Minnesota, but only one other victory, over the lowly Boston Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Game site | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1970-09-21 | at 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... |
L 31–21 | Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football... |
|
| 2 | 1970-09-27 | at Boston Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
W 31–21 | Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Built in 1903, the stadium seats 30,323. The stadium seated up to 57,166 in the past, as permanent steel stands were installed in the north end of the stadium in 1929... |
|
| 3 | 1970-10-04 | at Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 34–31 | War Memorial Stadium War Memorial Stadium (Buffalo) War Memorial Stadium is the name of a stadium that formerly stood in Buffalo, New York. The stadium was on a rectangular block near the downtown area. Its main entrance was at Jefferson Avenue to the east and Best Street to the south... |
|
| 4 | 1970-10-10 | Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 20–6 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 5 | 1970-10-18 | 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 .... |
L 29–22 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 6 | 1970-10-25 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 10–6 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 7 | 1970-11-01 | New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 22–10 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 8 | 1970-11-08 | at 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... |
L 21–17 | Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to... |
|
| 9 | 1970-11-15 | at 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,... |
W 31–20 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park, that is home to the Pacific-12 Conference's University of Southern California Trojans football team... |
|
| 10 | 1970-11-22 | Boston Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
W 17–3 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 11 | 1970-11-29 | Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960... |
W 20–10 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 12 | 1970-12-06 | 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... |
L 14–13 | Shea Stadium Shea Stadium William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008... |
|
| 13 | 1970-12-13 | at Miami Dolphins Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 16–10 | Miami Orange Bowl Miami Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team... |
|
| 14 | 1970-12-19 | 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 .... |
L 35–20 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (Baltimore) Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road... |
|
Standings
| AFC East AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. There are four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots , and New York Jets... |
||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore 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... |
11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | 321 | 234 |
| Miami Dolphins 1970 Miami Dolphins season -NFL Draft:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:- Playoffs :-Notes and references:**... |
10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 297 | 228 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 255 | 286 |
| Buffalo Bills 1970 Buffalo Bills season The 1970 Buffalo Bills season was the 11th season for the club and their first in the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:- Standings :-References:* * *... |
3 | 10 | 1 | .231 | 204 | 337 |
| Boston Patriots 1970 Boston Patriots season The Boston Patriots finished the National Football League's 1970 season with a record of two wins and twelve losses, and finished last in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:... |
2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 149 | 361 |