1970 Philadelphia Eagles season

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 (in Franklin Field's swan song as an NFL venue). Another highlight was 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

Draft

1970 Philadelphia Eagles draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	6	Steve Zabel	TE	Oklahoma
2	34	Ray Jones	CB	Southern
3	59	Lee Bouggess	RB	Louisville
7	158	Terry Brennan Jr.	OT	Notre Dame	Pick from CHI
8	190	Ira Gordon	OT	Kansas State
9	215	David King	LB	Stephen F. Austin
10	240	Steve Jaggard	DB	Memphis State
11	268	Bill Walik	DB	Villanova
12	293	Robert Jones	DT	Grambling
13	318	Richard Stevens	OT	Baylor
14	346	Mark Moseley *	K	Stephen F. Austin
15	371	John Carlos	WR	San Jose State
16	396	Tuufuli Uperesa	OT	Montana
17	424	Mike Sizelove	TE	Idaho
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[2]

Roster

1970 Philadelphia Eagles roster

	Quarterbacks 11 Rick Arrington 16 Norm Snead Running backs 46 Lee Bouggess FB 23 Harry Jones 20 Leroy Keyes 22 Cyril Pinder 34 Larry Watkins FB 37 Tom Woodeshick Wide receivers 18 Ben Hawkins 86 Fred Hill 29 Harold Jackson 9 Billy Walik Tight ends 85 Gary Ballman 89 Steve Zabel		Offensive linemen 76 Joe Carollo T 64 Norman Davis G 59 Mike Evans C 71 Dick Hart G 54 Calvin Hunt C 72 Wade Key T 68 Mark Nordquist G 70 Jim Skaggs G Defensive linemen 80 Don Brumm DE 77 Ernie Calloway DE 62 Mike Dirks DT 83 Don Hultz DT 88 Gary Pettigrew DE 99 Mel Tom DE		Linebackers 56 Bill Hobbs 48 Jay Johnson 51 Ike Kelley 52 Dave Lloyd 45 Ron Medved 50 Ron Porter 82 Tim Rossovich 35 Adrian Young 89 Steve Zabel Defensive backs 28 Bill Bradley FS 21 Ray Jones CB 26 Al Nelson CB 33 Steve Preece S 24 Nate Ramsey S 49 Jim Thrower Special teams 3 Mark Moseley K		Reserve lists -- John Carlos WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad -- Tuufuli Uperesa T Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 20	Dallas Cowboys	L 7–17	0–1	Franklin Field	59,728
2	September 27	at Chicago Bears	L 16–20	0–2	Dyche Stadium	53,463
3	October 4	Washington Redskins	L 21–33	0–3	Franklin Field	60,658
4	October 11	at New York Giants	L 23–30	0–4	Yankee Stadium	62,820
5	October 18	St. Louis Cardinals	L 20–35	0–5	Franklin Field	59,002
6	October 25	at Green Bay Packers	L 17–30	0–6	Milwaukee County Stadium	48,022
7	November 1	at Dallas Cowboys	L 17–21	0–7	Cotton Bowl	55,736
8	November 8	Miami Dolphins	W 24–17	1–7	Franklin Field	58,171
9	November 15	Atlanta Falcons	T 13–13	1–7–1	Franklin Field	55,425
10	November 23	New York Giants	W 23–20	2–7–1	Franklin Field	59,117
11	November 29	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 14–23	2–8–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	46,581
12	December 6	at Baltimore Colts	L 10–29	2–9–1	Memorial Stadium	60,240
13	December 13	at Washington Redskins	L 6–24	2–10–1	RFK Stadium	50,415
14	December 20	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 30–20	3–10–1	Franklin Field	55,252

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game recaps

^[1]

Week 1 vs Cowboys

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Cowboys	Passing	Roger Staubach	11/15, 115 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Calvin Hill	25 rushes, 117 yards
	Receiving	Lance Rentzel	6 receptions, 100 yards, TD
Eagles	Passing	Norm Snead	10/23, 138 yards, TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Tom Woodeshick	15 rushes, 55 yards
	Receiving	Ben Hawkins	4 receptions, 57 yards, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP DAL PHI 1 Eagles Ben Hawkins 10-yard touchdown reception from Norm Snead, Mark Moseley kick good 0 7 2 Cowboys Walt Garrison 1-yard touchdown run, Mike Clark kick good 7 7 3 Cowboys Lance Rentzel 31-yard touchdown reception from Roger Staubach, Mike Clark kick good 14 7 4 Cowboys 13-yard field goal by Mike Clark 17 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 17 7

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 6 3 0 7 16 • Bears 7 10 0 3 20 Date: September 27 Location: Dyche Stadium • Evanston, Illinois Game start: 12:00 CST Referee: Fred Swearingen

Scoring summary 1 CHI Cecil Turner 96-yard kickoff return (Mac Percival kick) Bears 7–0 1 PHI Gary Ballman 7-yard pass from Norm Snead (kick failed) Bears 7–6 2 CHI Mac Percival 17-yard field goal Bears 10–6 2 PHI Mark Moseley 42-yard field goal Bears 10–9 2 CHI Dick Gordon 12-yard pass from Ronnie Bull (Mac Percival kick) Bears 17–9 4 PHI Lee Bouggess 10-yard run (Mark Moseley kick) Bears 17–16 4 CHI Mac Percival 36-yard field goal bears 20–16

The game got off to bad start when Chicago Bears kickoff returner Cecil Turner had a 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 meaning that they 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 2 3 4 Total Dolphins 0 0 0 17 17 • Eagles 0 17 7 0 24 Date: November 8 Location: Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Referee: Tommy Bell

Scoring summary 2 PHI Harold Jackson 31-yard pass from Norm Snead (Mark Moseley kick) Eagles 7–0 2 PHI Mark Moseley 23-yard field goal Eagles 10–0 2 PHI Harold Jackson 15-yard pass from Norm Snead (Mark Moseley kick) Eagles 17–0 3 PHI Steve Zabel 2-yard pass from Norm Snead (Mark Moseley kick) Eagles 24–0 4 MIA Garo Yepremian 24-yard field goal Eagles 24–3 4 MIA Paul Warfield 52-yard pass from John Stofa (Garo Yepremian kick) Eagles 24–10 4 MIA Willie Richardson 27-yard pass from John Stofa (Garo Yepremian kick) Eagles 24–17

In week 8 the Eagles marked their first 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 force the Miami quarterbacks (Bob Griese 3 and John Stofa 1) to throw 4 interceptions. Miami kick returner Mercury Morris would average over 26 yards on 4 kickoff returns.

Week 9

1 2 3 4 Total Falcons 7 3 0 3 13 Eagles 3 3 0 7 13 Date: November 15 Location: Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Referee: Bob Finley Television network: CBS

Scoring summary 1 PHI Mark Moseley 41-yard field goal Eagles 3–0 1 ATL Jim Mitchell 2-yard pass from Bob Berry (Ken Vinyard kick) Falcons 7–3 2 PHI Mark Moseley 17-yard field goal Falcons 7–6 2 ATL Ken Vinyard 15-yard field goal Falcons 10–6 3 ATL Ken Vinyard 32-yard field goal Falcons 13–6 4 PHI Steve Preece 21-yard fumble return (Mark Moseley kick) Tie 13–13

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 returned 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 2 3 4 Total Giants 3 10 7 0 20 • Eagles 0 9 7 7 23 Date: November 23 Location: Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 59,117 Game weather: 46 °F (8 °C) • Wind 16 mph (26 km/h) Referee: Jack Vest TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith

Scoring summary 1 NYG Pete Gogolak 29-yard field goal Giants 3–0 2 PHI Norm Snead 1-yard run (kick failed) Eagles 6–3 2 NYG Ron Johnson 2-yard run (Pete Gogolak kick) Giants 10–6 2 :36 NYG Pete Gogolak 25-yard field goal Giants 13–6 2 PHI Mark Moseley 29-yard field goal Giants 13–9 3 PHI Fred Hill 1-yard pass from Norm Snead (Mark Moseley kick) Eagles 16–13 3 NYG Fran Tarkenton 1-yard run (Pete Gogolak kick) Giants 20–16 4 PHI Norm Snead 1-yard run (Mark Moseley kick) Eagles 23–20

^[3]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 7 7 3 3 20 • Eagles 6 14 0 10 30 Date: December 20 Location: Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Referee: Bob Finley Television network: NBC

Scoring summary 1 PIT John Fuqua 72-yard run (Allan Watson kick) Steelers 7–0 1 PHI Ben Hawkins 21-yard pass from Norm Snead (kick failed) Steelers 7–6 2 PHI Mike Dirks recovered fumble in end zone (Mark Moseley kick) Eagles 13–7 2 PIT John Fuqua 85-yard run (Allan Watson kick) Steelers 14–13 2 PHI Gary Ballman 19-yard pass from Norm Snead (Mark Moseley kick) Eagles 20–14 3 PIT Allan Watson 21-yard field goal Eagles 20–17 4 PIT Allan Watson 17-yard field goal Tie 20–20 4 PHI Mark Moseley 18-yard field goal Eagles 23–20 4 PHI Larry Watkins 1-yard run (Mark Moseley kick) Eagles 30–20

In week 14 the Eagles played the cross state rival Pittsburgh Steelers in the final NFL game at Franklin Field. 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 the Eagles the 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
view talk edit	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.

References