1970 Buffalo Bills season
11th season in franchise history, first in the National Football League
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The 1970 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League, and eleventh overall. The team looked to improve on its 4–10 record from 1969 and make the playoffs for the first time since 1966. However, the Bills started out on the wrong foot, losing four of their first five games. After winning two consecutive road games against the Patriots and Jets and suffering a blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Bills and Colts played to a 17–17 draw in week 9, Buffalo's first tie since 1968. The Bills would then lose five straight to end the season and finished 3–10–1, for fourth place in the AFC East. Their Week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins would start an era of futility during which the Bills would lose twenty consecutive games against the Dolphins. The Bills would not defeat the Dolphins at any point during the 1970s and next beat Miami in 1980. This would become known as "The Streak".
| 1970 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| Head coach | John Rauch |
| Home stadium | War Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–10–1 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | WR Marlin Briscoe |
This would also mark the final season for Bills punter and linebacker Paul Maguire, as he retired after the season to go into broadcasting.
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1970 Buffalo Bills draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Al Cowlings | Defensive tackle | USC | |
| 2 | 30 | Dennis Shaw | Quarterback | San Diego State | |
| 3 | 57 | Jim Reilly | Guard | Notre Dame | |
| 3 | 67 | Glenn Alexander | Cornerback | Grambling | |
| 4 | 82 | Jerome Gantt | Defensive end | North Carolina Central | |
| 5 | 109 | Steve Starnes | Linebacker | Tampa | |
| 6 | 134 | Ken Edwards | Running back | Virginia Tech | |
| 6 | 135 | Grant Guthrie | Kicker | Florida State | |
| 7 | 161 | Wayne Fowler | Offensive tackle | Richmond | |
| 8 | 186 | Richard Cheek | Offensive tackle | Auburn | |
| 9 | 213 | Bill Bridges | Guard | Houston | |
| 10 | 238 | Willie Dixon | Defensive back | Albany State | |
| 11 | 265 | Terry Williams | Running back | Grambling | |
| 12 | 290 | Dave Simpson | Offensive tackle | Drake | |
| 13 | 317 | Steve Schroeder | Kicker | Pacific | |
| 14 | 342 | William Costen | Offensive tackle | Morris Brown | |
| 15 | 369 | Dave Farris | Tight end | Central Michigan | |
| 16 | 394 | Larry Davis | Wide receiver | Rice | |
| 17 | 421 | George Bevan | Defensive back | LSU | |
| Made roster | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Al Andrews | Linebacker | New Mexico State |
| Frank Blackwell, Jr | Wide receiver | Memphis State |
| Bill Crone | Tackle | Loyola of Los Angeles |
| Don DeSalle | Guard | Indiana |
| Fran Foreman | Tackle | Cincinnati |
| Jim Gill | Guard | McNeese State |
| Jack Morrison | Wide receiver | Pacific |
| Doug Watkins | Running back | Fisk |
Personnel
Coaches/Staff
| 1970 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches'
| ||||||
Final roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 20 | Denver Broncos | L 10–25 | 0–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 34,882 | |
| 2 | September 27 | Los Angeles Rams | L 0–19 | 0–2 | War Memorial Stadium | 46,206 | |
| 3 | October 4 | New York Jets | W 34–31 | 1–2 | War Memorial Stadium | 46,206 | |
| 4 | October 11 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–23 | 1–3 | Three Rivers Stadium | 42,140 | |
| 5 | October 18 | Miami Dolphins | L 14–33 | 1–4 | War Memorial Stadium | 41,312 | |
| 6 | October 25 | at New York Jets | W 10–6 | 2–4 | Shea Stadium | 62,712 | |
| 7 | November 1 | at Boston Patriots | W 45–10 | 3–4 | Harvard Stadium | 31,148 | |
| 8 | November 8 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 14–43 | 3–5 | War Memorial Stadium | 43,587 | |
| 9 | November 15 | at Baltimore Colts | T 17–17 | 3–5–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,240 | |
| 10 | November 22 | at Chicago Bears | L 13–31 | 3–6–1 | Wrigley Field | 41,015 | |
| 11 | November 29 | Boston Patriots | L 10–14 | 3–7–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 31,427 | |
| 12 | December 6 | at New York Giants | L 6–20 | 3–8–1 | Yankee Stadium | 62,870 | |
| 13 | December 13 | Baltimore Colts | L 14–20 | 3–9–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 34,346 | |
| 14 | December 20 | at Miami Dolphins | L 7–45 | 3–10–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 70,990 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Season summary
Week 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Broncos | 0 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 25 |
| Bills | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
- Date: September 20
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
Week 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Rams | 3 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 19 |
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Date: September 27
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 17 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| • Bills | 7 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 34 |
- Date: October 4
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
Week 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| • Steelers | 3 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 23 |
- Date: October 11
- Location: Three Rivers Stadium
Week 5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Dolphins | 10 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 33 |
| Bills | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
- Date: October 18
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
Week 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bills | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Jets | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
- Date: October 25
- Location: Shea Stadium
Week 7
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bills | 10 | 21 | 0 | 14 | 45 |
| Patriots | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
- Date: November 1
- Location: Harvard Stadium
Week 8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Bengals | 3 | 20 | 13 | 7 | 43 |
| Bills | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
- Date: November 8
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
Week 9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
| Colts | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
- Date: November 15
- Location: Memorial Stadium
Week 10
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 6 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| • Bears | 0 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
- Date: November 22
- Location: Wrigley Field
Week 11
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Patriots | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| Bills | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
- Date: November 29
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
Week 12
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • Giants | 0 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 20 |
- Date: December 6
- Location: Yankee Stadium
Week 13
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Colts | 10 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Bills | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
- Date: December 13
- Location: War Memorial Stadium
Week 14
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Dolphins | 21 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
- Date: December 20
- Location: Orange Bowl
Standings
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Baltimore Colts | 11 | 2 | 1 | .846 | 6–1–1 | 8–2–1 | 321 | 234 | W4 |
| Miami Dolphins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–3 | 297 | 228 | W6 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–6 | 2–9 | 255 | 286 | L3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 3 | 10 | 1 | .231 | 3–4–1 | 3–7–1 | 204 | 337 | L5 |
| Boston Patriots | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 2–6 | 2–9 | 149 | 361 | L3 |
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
