The 1970 New Orleans Saints season was the team's fourth as a member of the National Football League. After spending their first three seasons in the NFL's Eastern Conference, the Saints moved in 1970 to the West Division of the new National Football Conference. They failed to improve on their previous season's output winning only two games,1970 New Orleans Saints and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.
Following a 1–5–1 start, head coach Tom Fears was fired by owner John W. Mecom Jr. and replaced by J.D. Roberts, whose first game was a victory over the Detroit Lions at Tulane Stadium in which Tom Dempsey set an NFL record with a 63-yard field goal on the final play; it broke the record held by Bert Rechichar of the Baltimore Colts by seven yards, set seventeen years Dempsey's record was tied by three: Jason Elam (Denver Broncos, ), Sebastian Janikowski (Oakland Raiders, ), and David Akers (San Francisco 49ers, ). broken by Matt Prater of the Broncos in , at 64 yards at elevation in Colorado (Prater's record was broken in by Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens, who kicked a 66-yard game winner vs. the Lions).
The victory over the Lions was last of the season for the Saints, but both victories came over teams in the thick of the NFC playoff race. The other, a triumph over the New York Giants in week three, cost the Giants the NFC East division championship. The Lions qualified for the playoffs as the wild card from the NFC, but were nearly forced into a coin toss with the Dallas Cowboys, a situation which was only averted when the Giants lost their season finale to the Los Angeles Rams.
The Saints' 2–11–1 record was the worst in the NFC and gave them the second overall pick in the 1971 NFL draft; they selected quarterback Archie Manning of Mississippi.
Offseason NFL draft
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Roster
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 20 Atlanta Falcons L 3–14 0–1 Tulane Stadium 77,042 2 September 27 at Minnesota Vikings L 0–26 0–2 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 3 October 4 New York Giants W 14–10 1–2 Tulane Stadium 69,126 4 October 11 at St. Louis Cardinals L 17–24 1–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 45,294 5 October 18 at San Francisco 49ers T 20–20 1–3–1 Kezar Stadium 39,446 6 October 25 at Atlanta Falcons L 14–32 1–4–1 Atlanta Stadium 58,850 7 November 1 Los Angeles Rams L 17–30 1–5–1 Tulane Stadium 77,861 8 November 8 Detroit Lions W 19–17 2–5–1 Tulane Stadium 66,910 9 November 15 at Miami Dolphins L 10–21 2–6–1 Miami Orange Bowl 42,866 10 November 22 Denver Broncos L 6–31 2–7–1 Tulane Stadium 66,837 11 November 29 at Cincinnati Bengals L 6–26 2–8–1 Riverfront Stadium 59,342 12 December 6 at Los Angeles Rams L 16–34 2–9–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 66,410 13 December 13 San Francisco 49ers L 27–38 2–10–1 Tulane Stadium 61,940 14 December 20 Chicago Bears L 3–24 2–11–1 Tulane Stadium 63,518 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Quotes Al Wester of WWL Radio describes Tom Dempsey's 63-yard field goal against the Detroit Lions.
Don Criqui describing the same play for CBS:
References
External links 1970 New Orleans Saints at JT-SW.com 1970 New Orleans Saints at Pro-Football-Reference.com