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1970 Miami Dolphins season

5th season in franchise history; first in the National Football League

Field	Value
team	Miami Dolphins
year	1970
record	10–4
division_place	2nd AFC East
coach	Don Shula
stadium	Miami Orange Bowl
playoffs	Lost [Divisional Playoffs](1970-71-nfl-playoffs)
(at [Raiders](1970-oakland-raiders-season)) 14–21
pro bowlers	3
QB Bob Griese
WR Paul Warfield
FB Larry Csonka
shortnavlink	Dolphins seasons

(at Raiders) 14–21 QB Bob Griese WR Paul Warfield FB Larry Csonka The 1970 Miami Dolphins season was the team's fifth, and first in the National Football League (NFL). It was the team's first winning season, first playoff appearance, and first of 26 seasons under head coach Don Shula. The team improved on their 3–10–1 record from 1969, and finished the regular season at 10–4, second in the newly aligned AFC East to only the Baltimore Colts, the eventual Super Bowl champion. During this season, the Dolphins defeated the New York Jets and the Oakland Raiders for the first time in franchise history.

The Dolphins got off to a fresh start at 4–1, lost three straight to even their record at 4–4, then won six straight to end the season to clinch their first-ever winning season and playoff berth, as the wild card team. They met the Oakland Raiders in the opening divisional round, whom they had defeated in Miami in early October, but lost 21–14 on the road in the sun and mud.

Shula had moved over to the Dolphins on February 18, after seven seasons as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, now in the same division.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1970 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

President – Joe Robbie
Vice president – Don Shula
Director of player personnel – Joe Thomas
Head coach – Don Shula
Offense/receivers – Howard Schnellenberger
Offensive backs – Carl Taseff
Offensive line – Monte Clark
Defense/linebackers – Bill Arnsparger
Defensive line – Mike Scarry
Defensive backs – Tom Keane

Roster

Regular season

Main article: 1970 NFL season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record
September 20	at [Boston Patriots](1970-boston-patriots-season)	L 14–27	0–1	32,607
September 27	at [Houston Oilers](1970-houston-oilers-season)	W 20–10	1–1	39,840
	[Oakland Raiders](1970-oakland-raiders-season)	W 20–13	2–1	57,140
	at [New York Jets](1970-new-york-jets-season)	W 20–6	3–1	62,712
October 18	at [Buffalo Bills](1970-buffalo-bills-season)	W 33–14	4–1	41,312
October 25	[Cleveland Browns](1970-cleveland-browns-season)	L 0–28	4–2	75,313
November 1	at [Baltimore Colts](1970-baltimore-colts-season)	L 0–35	4–3	60,240
November 8	at [Philadelphia Eagles](1970-philadelphia-eagles-season)	L 17–24	4–4	58,171
November 15	[New Orleans Saints](1970-new-orleans-saints-season)	W 21–10	5–4	52,866
November 22	Baltimore Colts	W 34–17	6–4	67,699
	at [Atlanta Falcons](1970-atlanta-falcons-season)	W 20–7	7–4	54,036
December 6	Boston Patriots	W 37–20	8–4	51,032
December 13	New York Jets	W 16–10	9–4	75,099
December 20	Buffalo Bills	W 45–7	10–4	70,990

:Saturday (October 3, 10), Monday (November 30) Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Postseason

Main article: 1970–71 NFL playoffs

Miami Dolphins	year=1970	border=2}}"	Round	Miami Dolphins	year=1970	border=2}}"	Date	Miami Dolphins	year=1970	border=2}}"	Opponent	Miami Dolphins	year=1970	border=2}}"	Result	Miami Dolphins	year=1970	border=2}}"	Record	Miami Dolphins	year=1970	border=2}}"	Venue	Miami Dolphins	year=1970	border=2}}"	Attendance	Divisional
December 27	at [Oakland Raiders](1970-oakland-raiders-season)	L 14–21	0–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,401

References

100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.26
(October 5, 1970). "Raiders still seek first win after loss to Miami". Lodi News-Sentinel.
(December 28, 1970). "Lamonica's 'bomb' wins for Raiders". Milwaukee Sentinel.
(December 28, 1970). "Oakland slips, slides past Dolphin defense". Lodi News-Sentinel.
Maule, Tex. (January 4, 1971). "Rushing to stake a claim".
(February 19, 1970). "Money entices Shula to sign with Dolphins". Toledo Blade.
100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.24
(February 19, 1970). "Shula replaces Miami's Wilson". Milwaukee Sentinel.
(February 19, 1970). "Dollar signs convince Shula to jump to Miami Dolphins". Eugene Register-Guard.
"1970 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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