1970 Philadelphia Eagles season

1970 Philadelphia Eagles season
Head coach Jerry Williams
Owner Leonard Tose
Home field Franklin Field
Results
Record 3–10–1
Division place 5th NFC East
Playoff finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
< 1969 1971 >

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.[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season.

The Eagles did have victories over the playoff-bound Dolphins and the cross-state rival Steelers, as well as a 23–20 victory on Monday Night Football over the Giants, ending New York's six-game winning streak and helping deny Big Blue a playoff berth.

Offseason

NFL Draft

In the 1970 NFL Draft, the Eagles made 14 choices, starting with Steve Zabel, a linebacker from Oklahoma.

Player selections

The table[2] shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.

= Pro Bowler [3] = Hall of Famer
Rd PICK PLAYER POS COLLEGE
16Steve ZabelLinebacker/Tight EndOklahoma
234Ray Jones Cornerback Southern
359Lee BouggessRunning backLouisville
4 84 Pick Acquired by
Atlanta Falcons
5 112 Pick Acquired by
Atlanta Falcons
6 137 Pick Acquired by St. Louis Cardinals
via Trade with Chicago Bears
7 158 Terry Brennan Jr.
Pick Acquired from Chicago Bears
TackleNotre Dame
7 162 Pick Acquired by
Los Angeles Rams
8 190 Ira GordonTackleKansas State
9 215 David KingLinebackerStephen F. Austin
10 240 Steve JaggardDefensive backMemphis State
11 268 Bill WalikDefensive backVillanova
12 293 Robert JonesDefensive tackleGrambling
13 318 Richard StevensTackleBaylor
14 346 Mark MoseleyKickerStephen F. Austin
15371 John CarlosWide receiverSan Jose State
16396Tuufuli UperesaTackleMontana
17424Mike SizeloveTight endIdaho

Regular Season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 20, 1970 Dallas Cowboys L 17–7
59,728
2 September 27, 1970 at Chicago Bears L 20–16
53,463
3 October 4, 1970 Washington Redskins L 33–21
60,658
4 October 11, 1970 at New York Giants L 30–23
62,820
5 October 18, 1970 St. Louis Cardinals L 35–20
59,002
6 October 25, 1970 at Green Bay Packers L 30–17
48,022
7 November 1, 1970 at Dallas Cowboys L 21–17
55,736
8 November 8, 1970 Miami Dolphins W 24–17
58,171
9 November 15, 1970 Atlanta Falcons T 13–13
55,425
10 November 23, 1970 New York Giants W 23–20
59,117
11 November 29, 1970 at St. Louis Cardinals L 23–14
46,581
12 December 6, 1970 at Baltimore Colts L 29–10
60,240
13 December 13, 1970 at Washington Redskins L 24–6
50,415
14 December 20, 1970 Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–20
55,252

Game Recaps

[4]

Week 1

1 234Total
Cowboys 0 773 17
Eagles 7 000 7
  • Date: September 20
  • Location: Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST


Week 2

1 234Total
Eagles 6 307 16
Bears 7 1003 20

The game got off to bad start when the Chicago Bears Kick off returner, Cecil Turner had 96 yard game opening kickoff return for a touchdown. Mark Moseley would miss the extra point when the Eagles answered with a touchdown of their own later in the 1st quarter making it that they only were not losing the game only from the opening kickoff to the time it took Turner to return it. Three times during the game the Bears would lead the Eagles by one point.

Week 8

1 234Total
Dolphins 0 0017 17
Eagles 0 1770 24
  • Date: November 8
  • Location: Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST

In week 8 the Eagles mark their 1st time playing a former AFL team in the regular season by winning 24–17 for their 1st win of the 1970 season. The defense of Philadelphia would have the Miami quarterbacks (Bob Greise 3 and John Stofa 1) throw 4 interceptions. Miami kick returner, Mercury Morris would avg over 26 yrds on 4 kickoff returns


Week 9

1 234Total
Falcons 7 303 13
Eagles 3 307 13
  • Date: November 15
  • Location: Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Referee: Bob Finley
  • Television network: CBS

The Eagles did not score an offensive touchdown, but an aggressive defense harassed Atlanta quarterback Bob Berry for most of the game and scored a touchdown of its own when Steve Preece returend a fumble 21 yards after Gary Pettigrew blindsided Harmon Wages on an attempted halfback option pass. Philadelphia had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds, but Mark Moseley blew a chip shot field goal attempt.

Week 10

1 234Total
Giants 3 1070 20
Eagles 0 977 23
  • Date: November 23
  • Location: Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 59,117
  • Game weather: 46°F • Wind 16
  • Referee: Jack Vest
  • TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith

[5]


Week 14

1 234Total
Steelers 7 733 20
Eagles 6 14010 30
  • Date: December 20
  • Location: Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Referee: Bob Finley
  • Television network: NBC

In week 14 the Eagles play cross state rival Pittsburgh Steelers. Frenchy Fuqua had two long runs for touchdowns. One for 72 yards and another for 85 yards, both in the first half. Mark Moseley would miss his 3rd extra point of the year. His 14th field goal of the year, out of 25 attempted, in the 4th quarter gave then lead for good. He would be cut during the 1971 training camp, play for the Houston Oilers for 13 games over two years, then settle in Washington for 10 years becoming the last straight on kicking style kicker left in the NFL. He won the Most Valuable Player Award during the strike-shortened 1982 season. He is the only placekicker to win the award.

Standings

NFC East
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.

Playoffs

The Eagles failed to make the playoffs for the 1970 season.

1970 Roster

= 1970 Pro Bowl [6] = Hall of Famer
NO. Player AGE POS GP GS WT HT YRS College
Jerry Williams 42 Head Coach 3Washington State
11Rick Arrington23QB612006–2RookieGeorgia
Tulsa
85Gary Ballman30FL-TE-SE-WR1482156–18Michigan State
46Lee Bouggess22RB1402106–2RookieLouisville
28Bill Bradley23DB1201905–111 Texas
80Don Brumm29DE702456–37Purdue
77Ernie Calloway22DT-DE1402556–61Texas Southern
76Joe Carollo30T1402656–28Notre Dame
64Norman Davis25G1402456–2 3Grambling State
62Mike Dirks24DT-G1202466–22Wyoming
59Mike Evans24C1402506–52Boston College
69Carl Gersbach23LB602306–1RookieDuke
West Chester
71Dick Hart27G1402536–23none
41Richard Harvey25DB401906–2RookieJackson State
18Ben Hawkins26WR-SE-FL1401806–14 Arizona State
47Ed Hayes24DB401856–1RookieMorgan State
86Fred Hill27TE-SE-WR1402156–25USC
56Bill Hobbs24LB1202186–01Texas A&M
83Don Hultz30DE-DT1202416–37Southern Miss
54 Calvin Hunt23C702456–3RookieBaylor
29Harold Jackson24WR14141755–102Jackson State
48Jay Johnson25LB502306–31Texas A&M-Commerce
23Harry Jones25RB202056–23Arkansas
21Ray Jones23DB1201875–11RookieSouthern
51Ike Kelley26LB1102255–114Ohio State
72Wade Key24G-T1402456–5RookieTexas
Texas State
20Leroy Keyes23DB-RB302086–31 Purdue
52Dave Lloyd34LB-C1252476–3 11 Georgia
Texas Tech
45Ron Medved 26DB-LB12 02106–14Washington
74Denis Moore26DT-DE 2 025536–5USC
3Mark Moseley22 K 14 02025–11Rookie Stephen F. Austin
Texas A&M
26Al Nelson27DB1301865–115Cincinnati
68Mark Nordquist25G-C1402466–42Pacific
88Gary Pettigrew26DT-DE1402556–54Stanford
22Cyril Pinder24RB1402106–22Illinois
50Ron Porter25LB1402326–33Idaho
33Steve Preece23DB1401956–11Oregon State
24Nate Ramsey29DB1102006–17Indiana State
82Tim Rossovich24LB-DE1482406–42USC
70Jim Skaggs30G-T1402506–37Washington
16Norm Snead31QB14132156–49Wake Forest
73Dick Stevens22T1402406–4RookieBaylor
49Jim Thrower23DB501956–2RookieTexas A&M-Commerce
99Mel Tom29DE1402496–43Hawaii
San Jose State
9Billy Walik23WR-DB1401805–11RookieVillanova
34Larry Watkins24RB1102306–21Alcorn State
41Harry Wilson26RB102045–113Nebraska
37Tom Woodeshick29RB602256–07West Virginia
35Adrian Young24LB1402326–12USC
89Steve Zabel22LB-TE1462356–4RookieOklahoma
49 Players
Team Average
25.4 14 222.2 6–2.0 2.8

References

  1. 1970 Philadelphia Eagles
  2. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1970.htm
  3. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
  4. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/1970.htm
  5. Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. Players are identified as a 1970 Pro Bowl selelection.