1970 New York Jets season

The 1970 New York Jets season was the 11th season for the team and the first in the National Football League, following the AFL–NFL merger. It began with the team trying to maintain or improve upon its 10–4 record from 1969 under head coach Weeb Ewbank. The Jets finished with a record of 4–10. One of the highlights of the season was the Jets' first game when they appeared on the first ever Monday Night Football game vs. the Cleveland Browns. The Jets lost the game 31–21. In the fifth game of the season, quarterback Joe Namath was lost for the season when he broke his wrist vs. the Baltimore Colts in Shea Stadium, the first meeting between the teams since Namath guaranteed victory in Super Bowl III. Namath's injury occurred when he hit his hand on the helmet of Colts defensive tackle Fred Miller. With Namath on the sidelines, the Jets were forced to play untested Al Woodall, who guided New York to upsets of NFC powerhouses Los Angeles and Minnesota, but only one other victory, over the lowly Boston Patriots.

1970 New York Jets season
Owner	Leon Hess
Head coach	Weeb Ewbank
Home field	Shea Stadium
Results
Record	4–10
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
← 1969 Jets seasons 1971 →

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1970 NFL draft

1970 New York Jets draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	20	Steve Tannen	Defensive back	Florida
2	46	Rich Caster *	Wide receiver	Jackson State
3	72	Dennis Onkotz	Linebacker	Penn State
4	98	John Ebersole	Linebacker	Penn State
5	108	Cliff McClain	Running back	South Carolina State
5	124	Gary Arthur	Tight end	Miami (OH)
6	150	Terry Stewart	Defensive back	Arkansas
7	176	James Williams	Defensive back	Virginia State
8	187	Jack Porter	Guard	Oklahoma
8	202	Mark Lomas	Defensive end	Northern Arizona
9	228	Eddie Bell	Wide receiver	Idaho State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

1970 New York Jets roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Bob Davis 18 Al Woodall Running backs (RB) 32 Emerson Boozer 30 Chuck Mercein 42 Cliff McClain 37 George Nock 34 Lee White Wide receivers (WR) 7 Eddie Bell 88 Rich Caster 13 Don Maynard 83 George Sauer, Jr. Tight ends (TE) 82 Gary Arthur 87 Pete Lammons 89 Wayne Stewart

Offensive linemen (OL) 70 Dave Foley T 67 Dave Herman G 75 Winston Hill T 68 Dave Middendorf G 64 Pete Perreault T 66 Randy Rasmussen G 52 John Schmitt C Defensive linemen (DL) 77 Tom Bayless DT 86 Verlon Biggs DE 80 John Elliott DT 65 Jimmie Jones DE 57 John Little DT 84 Mark Lomas DE 81 Gerry Philbin DE 85 Steve Thompson

Linebackers (LB) 62 Al Atkinson 51 Ralph Baker 56 Paul Crane 55 John Ebersole 60 Larry Grantham 35 Dennis Onkotz Defensive backs (DB) 40 Mike Battle 43 John Dockery 33 W. K. Hicks FS 48 Gus Hollomon SS 22 Jim Hudson 28 Cecil Leonard 21 Steve Tannen CB 45 Earlie Thomas CB Special teams 20 Steve O'Neal P 11 Jim Turner K

Practice squad Currently vacant Reserve 61 Roger Finnie T (IR) 12 Joe Namath QB (IR) 41 Matt Snell RB (IR) Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 21	at Cleveland Browns	L 21–31	0–1	Cleveland Stadium	85,703	Recap
2	September 27	at Boston Patriots	W 31–21	1–1	Harvard Stadium	36,040	Recap
3	October 4	at Buffalo Bills	L 31–34	1–2	War Memorial Stadium	46,206	Recap
4	October 10	Miami Dolphins	L 6–20	1–3	Shea Stadium	62,712	Recap
5	October 18	Baltimore Colts	L 22–29	1–4	Shea Stadium	63,301	Recap
6	October 25	Buffalo Bills	L 6–10	1–5	Shea Stadium	62,712	Recap
7	November 1	New York Giants	L 10–22	1–6	Shea Stadium	63,903	Recap
8	November 8	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–21	1–7	Three Rivers Stadium	50,028	Recap
9	November 15	at Los Angeles Rams	W 31–20	2–7	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	76,378	Recap
10	November 22	Boston Patriots	W 17–3	3–7	Shea Stadium	61,822	Recap
11	November 29	Minnesota Vikings	W 20–10	4–7	Shea Stadium	62,333	Recap
12	December 6	Oakland Raiders	L 13–14	4–8	Shea Stadium	62,905	Recap
13	December 13	at Miami Dolphins	L 10–16	4–9	Miami Orange Bowl	75,099	Recap
14	December 19	at Baltimore Colts	L 20–35	4–10	Memorial Stadium	60,240	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	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.

External links

• 1970 statistics