1970 Buffalo Bills season

The 1970 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 1st season in the National Football League, and the 11th 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 4 of its first 5 games. After winning 2 straight 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 5 straight to end the season and finish the season 3-10-1, in fourth place in the AFC East. Their week 5 game against the Miami Dolphins would start a stage of futility in which the Bills would lose 20 straight games to the Dolphins. The Bills would not beat the Dolphins at any point during the 70s and would not beat Miami again until 1980. This would become known as "The Streak".

1970 Buffalo Bills season
Head coachJohn Rauch
OwnerRalph Wilson
Home fieldWar Memorial Stadium
Results
Record3–10–1
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1970 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team
15Al CowlingsDefensive EndUSC
230Dennis ShawQuarterbackSan Diego State
357Jim ReillyGuardNotre Dame
367Glenn AlexanderDefensive backGrambling
482Jerome GanttDefensive endNorth Carolina Central
5109Steve StarnesLinebackerTampa
6134Ken EdwardsRunning backVirginia Tech
6135Grant GuthrieKickerFlorida State
7161Wayne FowlerTackleRichmond
8186Richard CheekTackleAuburn
9213Bill BridgesGuardHouston
10238Willie DixonDefensive backAlbany State
11265Terry WilliamsRunning backGrambling
12290Dave SimpsonTackleDrake
13317Steve SchroederKickerPacific
14342William CostenTackleMorris Brown
15369Dave FarrisTight endCentral Michigan
16394Larry DavisWide receiverRice
17421George BevanDefensive backLouisiana State

[1]

Personnel

Coaches/Staff
1970 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches'

  • Defensive Line – Ray Malavsi
  • Linebackers – Ralph Hawkins
  • Defensive Backfield – Bobby Hunt
  • Kickers - Bugsy Engelberg

Final roster
1970 Buffalo Bills 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 Attendance
1 September 20, 1970 Denver Broncos L 25–10
34,882
2 September 27, 1970 Los Angeles Rams L 19–0
46,206
3 October 4, 1970 New York Jets W 34–31
46,206
4 October 11, 1970 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 23–10
42,140
5 October 18, 1970 Miami Dolphins L 33–14
41,312
6 October 25, 1970 at New York Jets W 10–6
62,712
7 November 1, 1970 at Boston Patriots W 45–10
31,148
8 November 8, 1970 Cincinnati Bengals L 43–14
43,587
9 November 15, 1970 at Baltimore Colts T 17–17
60,240
10 November 22, 1970 at Chicago Bears L 31–13
41,015
11 November 29, 1970 Boston Patriots L 14–10
31,427
12 December 6, 1970 at New York Giants L 20–6
62,870
13 December 13, 1970 Baltimore Colts L 20–14
34,346
14 December 20, 1970 at Miami Dolphins L 45–7
70,990

Season summary

Week 1
1 234Total
• Broncos 0 5713 25
Bills 7 300 10
  • Date: September 20
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium

Week 2
1 234Total
• Rams 3 1303 19
Bills 0 000 0
  • Date: September 27
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium

Week 3
1 234Total
Jets 17 770 31
• Bills 7 6714 34
  • Date: October 4
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium

Week 4
1 234Total
Bills 3 070 10
• Steelers 3 7310 23

Week 5
1 234Total
• Dolphins 10 3713 33
Bills 0 770 14
  • Date: October 18
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium

Week 6
1 234Total
• Bills 0 307 10
Jets 0 060 6

Week 7
1 234Total
• Bills 10 21014 45
Patriots 0 037 10

Week 8
1 234Total
• Bengals 3 20137 43
Bills 7 700 14
  • Date: November 8
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium

Week 9
1 234Total
Bills 7 703 17
Colts 0 773 17

Week 10
1 234Total
Bills 6 007 13
• Bears 0 14710 31

Week 11
1 234Total
• Patriots 0 770 14
Bills 0 307 10
  • Date: November 29
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium

Week 12
1 234Total
Bills 0 600 6
• Giants 0 3314 20

Week 13
1 234Total
• Colts 10 073 20
Bills 7 700 14
  • Date: December 13
  • Location: War Memorial Stadium

Week 14
1 234Total
Bills 0 007 7
• Dolphins 21 1077 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.

Awards and honors

References
  1. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1970.htm


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