# 1970 Washington Redskins season

The 1970 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 39th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 34th in Washington, D.C. Vince Lombardi, who was hired the previous season, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in late June and died on September 3. In July, offensive line coach Bill Austin was named interim head coach.
The Redskins finished at 6–8 in 1970, fourth in the NFC East, but with a five-game losing streak in the second half of the season. The last loss was a 34–0 shutout at rival Dallas on December 6, and Washington fell to a 4–8 record and four games behind the Cowboys.
It was the 25th consecutive season that the Redskins did not advance to the playoffs. Austin's contract was not renewed after the season.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1970 Washington Redskins Draft :
| Round | Selection | Player | Position | College |
| 2 | 43 | Bill Brundige | Defensive tackle | Colorado |
| 4 | 103 | Paul Laaveg | Tackle | Iowa |
| 5 | 114 | Manny Sistrunk | Defensive tackle | Arkansas AM&N |
| 5 | 121 | Danny Pierce | Running back | Memphis State |
| 7 | 173 | Roland Merritt | Wide receiver | Maryland |
| 7 | 178 | Jimmy Harris | Cornerback | Howard Payne |
| 8 | 199 | Paul Johnson | Defensive back | Penn State |
| 9 | 225 | Ralph Sonntag | Tackle | Maryland |
| 11 | 277 | Mack Alston | Tight end | Maryland State |
| 12 | 303 | James Kates | Linebacker | Penn State |
| 13 | 329 | Joe Patterson | Tackle | Lawrence |
| 14 | 355 | Tony Moro | Running back | Dayton |
| 15 | 381 | Vic Lewandowski | Center | Holy Cross |
| 16 | 407 | Steve Bushore | Wide receiver | Emporia State |
| 17 | 433 | Earl Maxfield | Defensive tackle | Baylor |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 20 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 17–26 | 0–1 | Kezar Stadium | 34,984 | Recap |
| 2 | September 27 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 17–27 | 0–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 44,246 | Recap |
| 3 | October 4 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 33–21 | 1–2 | Franklin Field | 60,658 | Recap |
| 4 | October 11 | Detroit Lions | W 31–10 | 2–2 | RFK Stadium | 50,414 | Recap |
| 5 | October 19 | at Oakland Raiders | L 20–34 | 2-3 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 54,471 | Recap |
| 6 | October 25 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 20–0 | 3–3 | RFK Stadium | 50,414 | Recap |
| 7 | November 1 | at Denver Broncos | W 19–3 | 4–3 | Mile High Stadium | 50,705 | Recap |
| 8 | November 8 | Minnesota Vikings | L 10–19 | 4–4 | RFK Stadium | 50,415 | Recap |
| 9 | November 15 | at New York Giants | L 33–35 | 4–5 | Yankee Stadium | 62,915 | Recap |
| 10 | November 22 | Dallas Cowboys | L 21–45 | 4–6 | RFK Stadium | 50,415 | Recap |
| 11 | November 29 | New York Giants | L 24–27 | 4–7 | RFK Stadium | 50,415 | Recap |
| 12 | December 6 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 0–34 | 4–8 | Cotton Bowl | 57,936 | Recap |
| 13 | December 13 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 24–6 | 5–8 | RFK Stadium | 50,415 | Recap |
| 14 | December 20 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 28–27 | 6–8 | RFK Stadium | 50,415 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–3 | 7–4 | 299 | 221 | W5 |
| New York Giants | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 6–2 | 6–5 | 301 | 270 | L1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 5–3 | 6–5 | 325 | 228 | L3 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 3–5 | 4–7 | 297 | 314 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 3 | 10 | 1 | .231 | 1–7 | 1–9–1 | 241 | 332 | W1 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.