1970 Cincinnati Bengals season

1970 Cincinnati Bengals season
1970 Cincinnati Bengals season
General manager	Paul Brown
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home field	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	8–6
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs; (at Colts) 0–17
	← 1969; Bengals seasons; 1971 →;

The 1970 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League (NFL), and the third overall. The NFL-AFL merger took place before the season and the Bengals, who were placed in the same division as the "old-guard NFL" Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, were not expected to be playoff contenders. Nevertheless, the Bengals made their first NFL campaign a memorable one. After winning their first ever game as a member of the NFL, their inaugural game in the brand new Riverfront Stadium, they would lose six games in a row.

After the 1–6 start, the Bengals would win the rest of their games, rallying to an 8–6 finish and champions of the newly formed AFC Central division. In their first playoff game, the Bengals lost 17–0, to the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Colts. Cincinnati quarterback Greg Cook was forced to the Injured Reserve list in training camp with a shoulder injury that would ultimately end his career; Virgil Carter took over as the starter. In just their third season, the 1970 Bengals set a league mark by being the first NFL expansion team to qualify for the playoffs within their first three seasons of existence.^[1] The team is one of only four teams since the 1970 merger to start the season 1–5 or worse and qualify for the playoffs, the others being the 2015 Kansas City Chiefs,^[2] the 2018 Indianapolis Colts, and the 2020 Washington Football Team.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1970 Cincinnati Bengals draft
1	7	Mike Reid *	Defensive tackle	Penn State
2	32	Ron Carpenter	Defensive tackle	North Carolina State
3	60	Chip Bennett	Linebacker	Abilene Christian
4	85	Joe Stephen	Guard	Jackson State
4	104	Billie Hayes	Defensive back	San Diego State
6	138	Sandy Durko	Defensive back	USC
7	163	Lemar Parrish *	Defensive back	Lincoln (MO)
8	188	Bill Trout	Defensive tackle	Miami (FL)
9	216	Bill Bolden	Running back	UCLA
10	241	Nick Roman	Linebacker	Ohio State
11	266	Samuel Wallace	Offensive tackle	Grambling State
12	294	Thomas Truesdell	Defensive end	Ohio Wesleyan
13	319	Paul Dunn	Wide receiver	U.S. International
14	344	Joe Johnson	Wide receiver	Johnson C. Smith
15	372	Marvin Weeks	Defensive back	Alcorn State
16	397	Larry Ely	Linebacker	Iowa
17	422	Richard Smith	Running back	Washington State
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[3]

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

**1970 Cincinnati Bengals staff**
	Front office Owner/General Manager - Paul Brown President – John Sawyer Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown Head coaches Head Coach/General Manager – Paul Brown Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – Jack Donaldson Receivers – Bill Walsh Offensive Line – Bill Johnson			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backfield – Chuck Weber Defensive Line – Chuck Studley Linebackers – Vince Costello

Final roster

**1970 Cincinnati Bengals roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Virgil Carter 14 Sam Wyche Running backs (RB) 44 Doug Dressler 21 Paul Dunn 19 Essex Johnson 40 Ron Lamb 30 Jess Phillips 18 Paul Robinson Wide receivers (WR) 10 Eric Crabtree 25 Chip Myers 17 Speedy Thomas Tight ends (TE) 88 Bruce Coslet 87 Mike Kelly 84 Bob Trumpy		Offensive linemen (OL) 63 Guy Dennis G 72 Howard Fest T 54 Bob Johnson C 73 Pat Matson G 71 Rufus Mayes G 67 Mike Wilson T 75 Ernie Wright T Defensive linemen (DL) 89 Marty Amsler 85 Martin Baccaglio DE 82 Royce Berry DE 70 Ron Carpenter DE 79 Steve Chomyszak DT 76 Frank Cornish 78 Willie Jones DT 74 Mike Reid DT		Linebackers (LB) 51 Ken Avery OLB 58 Al Beauchamp OLB 66 Bill Bergey MLB 59 Larry Ely 65 Wayne McClure 53 Bill Peterson OLB Defensive backs (DB) 23 Al Coleman 29 Sandy Durko 27 Ken Dyer S 33 Kenny Graham 28 John Guillory 20 Lemar Parrish CB 13 Ken Riley CB 31 Fletcher Smith S Special teams 15 Dave Lewis P 16 Horst Muhlmann K				Practice squad 80 Ken Johnson DE/DT -- Bob Wells T Reserve -- Chip Bennett LB (IR) 12 Greg Cook QB (IR) 81 Nick Roman DE (IR) Rookies in italics

^[4]

Regular season

The Bengals set a league record for most points in a game scored by the special teams, with 31 in a 43–14 victory at Buffalo on November 8, 1970. Cornerback Lemar Parrish scored two special teams touchdowns: one on a 95-yard kickoff return, and another on an 83-yard return of a blocked field goal attempt. Parrish is the only Bengals player ever to score two touchdowns in a game on returns and/or recoveries — and he did it three times. Kicker Horst Muhlmann added 15 points on five field goals, and four extra points by Muhlmann completed the special teams onslaught. The offense scored only one touchdown, a one-yard run by running back Jess Phillips. The defense scored a touchdown on an eight-yard fumble return by defensive end Royce Berry.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 20	Oakland Raiders	W 31–21	1–0	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
2	September 27	at Detroit Lions	L 3–38	1–1	Tiger Stadium	Recap
3	October 4	Houston Oilers	L 13–20	1–2	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
4	October 11	at Cleveland Browns	L 27–30	1–3	Cleveland Stadium	Recap
5	October 18	Kansas City Chiefs	L 19–27	1–4	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
6	October 25	at Washington Redskins	L 0–20	1–5	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	Recap
7	November 2	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 10–21	1–6	Three Rivers Stadium	Recap
8	November 8	at Buffalo Bills	W 43–14	2–6	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
9	November 15	Cleveland Browns	W 14–10	3–6	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
10	November 22	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–7	4–6	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
11	November 29	New Orleans Saints	W 26–6	5–6	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
12	December 6	at San Diego Chargers	W 17–14	6–6	San Diego Stadium	Recap
13	December 13	at Houston Oilers	W 30–20	7–6	Astrodome	Recap
14	December 20	Boston Patriots	W 45–7	8–6	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cincinnati Bengals	8	6	0	.571	3–3	7–4	312	255	W7
Cleveland Browns	7	7	0	.500	4–2	7–4	286	265	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	9	0	.357	3–3	5–6	210	272	L3
Houston Oilers	3	10	1	.231	2–4	3–7–1	217	352	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

^[5]

Season summary

Week 1 vs Raiders

Week One: Oakland Raiders (0–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	7	0	14	0	21
Bengals	7	7	14	3	31

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Date: September 20, 1970
Game time: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C)
Game attendance: 56,616
Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter

CIN – Sam Wyche 5-yard run (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 7–0. Drive:
OAK – Fred Biletnikoff 20-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick). Tie 7–7. Drive:

Second quarter

CIN – Essex Johnson 51-yard pass from Sam Wyche (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 14–7. Drive:

Third quarter

CIN – Paul Robinson 3-yard run (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 21–7. Drive:
OAK – Fred Biletnikoff 18-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick). Bengals 21–14. Drive:
OAK – Alvin Wyatt 63-yard punt return (George Blanda kick). Tie 21–21.
CIN – Jess Phillips 76-yard run (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 28–21. Drive:

Fourth quarter

CIN – Horst Muhlmann 38-yard field goal. Bengals 31–21. Drive:

Top passers

OAK – Daryle Lamonica – 17/36, 265 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
CIN – Sam Wyche – 8/18, 147 yards, TD

Top rushers

OAK – Charlie Smith – 8 rushes, 29 yards
CIN – Jess Phillips – 15 rushes, 130 yards, TD

Top receivers

OAK – Fred Biletnikoff – 6 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TD
CIN – Bob Trumpy – 4 receptions, 67 yards

Team stats

1970 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATS	Bengals	Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS	210	236
Rushing	100	87
Passing	97	131
Penalty	13	18
TOTAL NET YARDS	3927	4178
Avg Per Game	280.5	298.4
Total Plays	831	874
Avg. Per Play	4.7	4.8
NET YARDS RUSHING	2057	1543
Avg. Per Game	146.9	110.2
Total Rushes	461	418
NET YARDS PASSING	1870	2635
Avg. Per Game	133.6	188.2
Sacked Yards Lost	31–227	28–250
Gross Yards	2097	2885
Att. Completions	339–172	428–209
Completion Pct.	50.7	48.8
Intercepted	11	23
PUNTS-AVERAGE	79–46.2	80–43.8
PENALTIES-YARDS	71–831	81–784
FUMBLES-BALL LOST	22–12	28–16
TOUCHDOWNS	34	31
Rushing	16	11
Passing	12	18
Returns	6	2

Score by Periods	1	2	3	4	Tot
Bengals	56	111	85	60	312
Opponents	49	82	52	72	255

Team leaders

Passing: Virgil Carter (278 Att, 143 Comp, 1647 Yds, 51.4 Pct, 9 TD, 9 Int, 66.9 Rating)
Rushing: Jess Phillips (163 Att, 648 Yds, 4.0 Avg, 76 Long, 4 TD)
Receiving: Chip Myers (32 Rec, 542 Yds, 16.9 Avg, 56 Long, 1 TD)
Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 108 points (25 FG; 33 PAT)

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Divisional	December 26	at Baltimore Colts	L 0–17	0–1	Memorial Stadium	Recap

Awards and records

Pro Bowl selections

CB Lemar Parrish
TE Bob Trumpy

References

^ The record stood until being eclipsed in 1996 by both the Carolina Panthers and Jacksonville Jaguars, who each made the playoffs in their second seasons.
^ "Chiefs clinch playoffs on nailbiter, win ninth straight after 1-5 start". Sports.Yahoo.com.
^ "1970 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
^ "1970 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 296