1970 Cincinnati Bengals season

1970 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home field	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	8–6–0
Division place	1st AFC Central
Playoff finish	Lost AFC Divisional Playoff
Timeline
Previous season      Next season < 1969      1971 >

The 1970 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's third year in professional football and its first with the National Football League.

The NFL-AFL merger took place before the season, and 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, however, the Bengals would win the rest of their games, rallying to a 8-6 finish and champions of the newly-formed AFC Central division. In their first playoff game, they lost, 17–0, to eventual Super Bowl-champion Baltimore. 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.

Offseason

NFL Draft

= Pro Bowler

1970 Cincinnati Bengals Draft
Round	Pick #	Overall	Name	Position	College
1	7	7	Mike Reid	Defensive Tackle	Penn State
2	6	32	Ron Carpenter	Defensive Tackle	North Carolina State
3	8	60	Chip Bennett	Linebacker	Abilene Christian
4	7	85	Joe Stevens	Guard	Jackson State
4	26	104	Billie Hayes	Defensive Back	San Diego State
6	8	138	Sandy Durko	Defensive Back	USC
7	7	163	Lemar Parrish	Defensive Back	Lincoln (MO)
8	6	188	Bill Trout	Defensive Tackle	Miami (FL)
9	8	216	Bill Bolden	Running Back	UCLA
10	7	241	Nick Roman	Linebacker	Ohio State
11	6	266	Samuel Wallace	Offensive Tackle	Grambling
12	8	294	Thomas Truesdell	Defensive End	Ohio Wesleyan
13	7	319	Paul Dunn (American Football)	Wide Receiver	US International
14	3	344	Joe Johnson	Wide Receiver	Johnson C. Smith
15	8	372	Marvin Weeks	Defensive Back	Alcorn State
16	7	397	Larry Ely	Linebacker	Iowa
17	6	422	Richard Smith	Running Back	Washington State

Regular season

Riverfront Stadium, the new home stadium for the Cincinnati Bengals

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 Nov. 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

1970 Cincinnati Bengals Schedule
Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Stadium
September 20	Oakland Raiders	W 31–21	56,616	Riverfront Stadium
September 27	at Detroit Lions	L 3–38	58,202	Tiger Stadium
October 4	Houston Oilers	L 13–20	55,094	Riverfront Stadium
October 11	at Cleveland Browns	L 27–30	83,520	Cleveland Stadium
October 18	Kansas City Chiefs	L 19–27	57,265	Riverfront Stadium
October 25	at Washington Redskins	L 0–20	50,415	RFK Stadium
November 2	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 10–21	38,968	Three Rivers Stadium
November 8	at Buffalo Bills	W 43–14	43,587	War Memorial Stadium
November 15	Cleveland Browns	W 14–10	60,007	Riverfront Stadium
November 22	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–7	59,276	Riverfront Stadium
November 29	New Orleans Saints	W 26–6	59,342	Riverfront Stadium
December 6	at San Diego Chargers	W 17–14	41,461	San Diego Stadium
December 13	at Houston Oilers	W 30–20	34,435	Astrodome
December 20	Boston Patriots	W 45–7	60,157	Riverfront Stadium

Standings

Qualified for playoffs

AFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
Cincinnati Bengals	8	6	0	.571	312	255
Cleveland Browns	7	7	0	.500	286	265
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	9	0	.357	210	272
Houston Oilers	3	10	1	.231	217	352

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)

Roster

Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks 11 Virgil Carter 12 Greg Cook 14 Sam Wyche Running Backs 44 Doug Dressler 67 Mike Wilson 21 Paul Dunn 40 Ron Lamb 19 Essex Johnson 18 Paul Robinson 30 Jesse Phillips Wide Receivers 10 Eric Crabtree 25 Chip Myers 17 Speedy Thomas Tight Ends 84 Bob Trumpy 87 Mike Kelly 88 Bruce Coslet		Offensive Linemen 54 Bob Johnson 72 Howard Fest 73 Pat Matson 63 Guy Dennis 71 Rufus Mayes 75 Ernie Wright Defensive Linemen 81 Nick Roman 89 Martin Amsler 85 Martin Baccagolio 82 Royce Berry 70 Ron Carpenter 79 Steve Chomyszack 76 Frank Cornish 74 Mike Reid 78 Willie Lee Jones		Linebackers 65 Wayne McClure 59 Larry Ely 58 Al Beauchamp 66 Bill Bergey 51 Ken Avery 53 Bill Peterson Defensive Backs 20 Lemar Parrish 13 Ken Riley 31 Fletcher Smith 33 Kenny Graham 28 John Guillory 29 Sandy Durko 27 Ken Dyer 23 Al Coleman Special Teams 16 Horst Muhlmann K 15 Dave Lewis P

Playoffs

1970 AFC Divisional Playoffs
Date	Opponent	W-L	Score	ATT.	Stadium
December 26	Baltimore	L	0–17	51,127	Memorial

Awards and records

Pro Bowl Selections

• CB Lemar Parrish
• TE Bob Trumpy (3rd overall selection, 1st in NFL)

References

• Bengals on Pro Football Reference
• Bengals Schedule on jt-sw.com
• Bengals History on Official Site