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).
| 1970 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Joe Schmidt |
| Home field | Tiger Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–4 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Cowboys) 0–5 |
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
| 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 |
Roster
| 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
Schedule
| 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
Week 3
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Standings
| 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
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Cowboys | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
- Date: December 26, 1970
- 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 |
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