NFL playoffs, 1970-71
The Baltimore Colts playing against the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V.
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| Dates | December 26, 1970–January 17, 1971 | ||||
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| Season | 1970 | ||||
| Teams | 8 | ||||
| Games played | 7 | ||||
| Defending champions |
1969 Pre-merger
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| Champions | Baltimore Colts | ||||
| Runners-up | Dallas Cowboys | ||||
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The National Football League playoffs for the 1970 season began on December 26, 1970. The postseason tournament concluded with the Baltimore Colts defeating the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl V, 16–13, on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.
This was the first playoff tournament after the AFL–NFL merger. An eight-team playoff tournament was designed, with four clubs from each conference qualifying. Along with the three division winners in each conference, one wild card team, the second place team with the best record from each conference, was added to the tournament. The first round was named the Divisional Playoffs, while the Conference Championship games were moved to the second playoff round and the Super Bowl became the league's championship game.
However, the home teams in the playoffs were still decided based on a yearly divisional rotation, excluding the wild card teams, who would always play on the road. Also, a rule was made that two teams from the same division could not meet in the Divisional Playoffs.
Within each conference, the three division winners and one wild card team (the top non-division winner with the best overall records of all remaining teams in the conference) qualified for the playoffs. The NFL did not use a seeding system until the 1975 season, and instead home teams during the first two rounds of the playoffs alternated by division. Thus it was possible for a team to host another club with a better regular season record. For the Super Bowl, the third and final round played at a neutral site, the designated home team was based on an annual rotation by conference.
The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs finished the season 7–5–2, runner-up in the AFC West.
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