1970 Denver Broncos season
| 1970 Denver Broncos season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Gerald Phipps |
| General manager | Lou Saban |
| Head coach | Lou Saban |
| Home field | Mile High Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–8–1 |
| Division place | 4th AFC West |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The 1970 Denver Broncos season was the team's 11th season in professional football and first in the National Football League (NFL) after the merger. Led by fourth-year head coach and general manager Lou Saban, the Broncos posted a record of five wins, eight losses, and one tie, the same as the previous season, and were last in the new four-team AFC West division.
Denver won four of its first five games,[1] but then had only one win and one tie in the final nine games. Running back Floyd Little became the first player to lead his conference in rushing for a last place team.[2]
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1970 Denver Broncos draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Bobby Anderson | RB | Colorado | |
| 2 | 37 | Alden Roche | DE | Southern | |
| 3 | 63 | John Kohler | OT | South Dakota | |
| 4 | 89 | Jerry Hendren | WR | Idaho | |
| 5 | 115 | Bill McKoy | LB | Purdue | |
| 6 | 141 | John Mosier | TE | Kansas | |
| 7 | 167 | Randy Montgomery | CB | Weber State | |
| 8 | 208 | Louis Porter | RB | Southern | |
| 9 | 219 | Dave Washington * | LB | Alcorn State | |
| 10 | 245 | Maurice Fullerton | DT | Tuskegee | |
| 11 | 271 | Cleve Bryant | QB | Ohio | |
| 12 | 297 | Greg Jones | RB | Wisconsin-Whitewater | |
| 13 | 323 | Jim McKoy | DB | Parsons | |
| 14 | 349 | Jeff Slipp | LB | BYU | |
| 15 | 375 | Maher Barakat | K | South Dakota Tech | |
| 16 | 401 | Bob Stewart | QB | Northern Arizona | |
| 17 | 427 | Frank Kalfoss | K | Montana State | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
|
Roster
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
|
Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
|
Practice squad
Reserve
|
- Source:
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 20 | at Buffalo Bills | W 25–10 | 1–0 | War Memorial Stadium | 34,882 | Recap |
| 2 | September 27 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 16–13 | 2–0 | Mile High Stadium | 50,705 | Recap |
| 3 | October 4 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 26–13 | 3–0 | Mile High Stadium | 50,705 | Recap |
| 4 | October 11 | at Oakland Raiders | L 23–35 | 3–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 54,436 | Recap |
| 5 | October 18 | Atlanta Falcons | W 24–10 | 4–1 | Mile High Stadium | 50,705 | Recap |
| 6 | October 25 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 14–19 | 4–2 | Kezar Stadium | 39,515 | Recap |
| 7 | November 1 | Washington Redskins | L 3–19 | 4–3 | Mile High Stadium | 50,705 | Recap |
| 8 | November 8 | at San Diego Chargers | L 21–24 | 4–4 | San Diego Stadium | 48,327 | Recap |
| 9 | November 15 | Oakland Raiders | L 19–24 | 4–5 | Mile High Stadium | 50,959 | Recap |
| 10 | November 22 | at New Orleans Saints | W 31–6 | 5–5 | Tulane Stadium | 66,837 | Recap |
| 11 | November 29 | at Houston Oilers | L 21–31 | 5–6 | Astrodome | 35,733 | Recap |
| 12 | December 6 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 0–16 | 5–7 | Municipal Stadium | 50,454 | Recap |
| 13 | December 13 | San Diego Chargers | T 17–17 | 5–7–1 | Mile High Stadium | 50,959 | Recap |
| 14 | December 20 | Cleveland Browns | L 13–27 | 5–8–1 | Mile High Stadium | 51,001 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Game summaries
Week 6 (Sunday, October 25, 1970): at San Francisco 49ers
Week 6: Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos (4–2) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| 49ers (4–1–1) | 3 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 19 |
at Kezar Stadium • San Francisco, California
- Date: October 25
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. MST
- Game attendance: 39,515
- Referee: Jack Reader
- TV announcers (NBC): Jay Randolph (play–by–play) and Gordie Soltau (color commentator)
- [3]
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEN | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving | |||
| SF | Passing | ||
| Rushing | |||
| Receiving |
| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
- Point spread: Broncos +6½
- Time of Game: 2 hours, 46 minutes
| Broncos | Game Statistics | 49ers |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | First downs | 16 |
| 33–162 | Rushes–yards | 34–128 |
| 134 | Passing yards | 234 |
| 12–27–3 | Passes | 16–35–0 |
| 2–13 | Sacked–yards | 0–0 |
| 121 | Net passing yards | 234 |
| 283 | Total yards | 362 |
| 88 | Return yards | 71 |
| 8–40.6 | Punts | 7–39.3 |
| 0–0 | Fumbles–lost | 1–0 |
| 5–50 | Penalties–yards | 9–87 |
| Time of possession |
Individual stats
Standings
| AFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Oakland Raiders | 8 | 4 | 2 | .667 | 4–0–2 | 7–2–2 | 300 | 293 | L1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 2–3–1 | 7–3–1 | 272 | 244 | L2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 5 | 6 | 3 | .455 | 2–2–2 | 4–4–3 | 282 | 278 | W1 |
| Denver Broncos | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 1–4–1 | 3–6–1 | 253 | 264 | L1 |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Awards and honors
- Floyd Little, AFC Rushing champion
References
- ^ "Broncs kick Falcons by 24 to 10". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. October 19, 1970. p. 29.
- ^ Sports Illustrated, July 26, 2010, The Unexpected Hero by Gary Smith, p.60, Published by Time Inc.
- ^ Pro Football Reference; Denver Broncos at San Francisco 49ers – October 25, 1970
External links
- Denver Broncos – 1970 media guide
- 1970 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com