The 1973 Denver Broncos season was the team's 14th year in professional football and its fourth with the National Football League (NFL). Led by second-year head coach and general manager John Ralston, the Broncos posted a winning record for the first time in franchise history, with seven wins, five losses, and two ties, which tied for sixth-best in the conference. Denver tied for second in the AFC West (third with tiebreaker), 1½ games behind the Oakland Raiders.
1973 Denver Broncos season | |
---|---|
Owner | Gerald Phipps |
General manager | John Ralston |
Head coach | John Ralston |
Home field | Mile High Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 7–5–2 |
Division place | 3rd AFC West |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
One of the ties, in their first-ever game with the Cardinals,[1] was the nearest they came to losing to that franchise until 2010,[1] and also their only NFL appearance in St. Louis until 2000 against the relocated Rams at Edward Jones Dome.[2]
Offseason
editNFL draft
edit1973 Denver Broncos draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Otis Armstrong * | Running back | Purdue | |
2 | 36 | Barney Chavous | DE | South Carolina State | |
3 | 54 | Paul Howard | G | BYU | |
3 | 70 | John Wood | DT | LSU | |
4 | 88 | Tom Jackson * | LB | Louisville | |
5 | 113 | Charles McTorry | DB | Tennessee State | |
7 | 165 | Mike Askea | OT | Stanford | |
7 | 166 | John Grant | DT | USC | |
9 | 217 | Lyle Blackwood | DB | Texas Christian | |
10 | 244 | Al Marshall | WR | Boise State | |
11 | 269 | Elton Brown | DE | Utah State | |
12 | 296 | Jim O'Malley | LB | Notre Dame | |
13 | 319 | Ed Smith | DE | Colorado College | |
13 | 321 | Ed White | RB | Tulsa | |
14 | 348 | John Hufnagel | QB | Penn State | |
15 | 373 | Calvin Jones | DB | Washington | |
16 | 398 | Oliver Ross | RB | Alabama A&M | |
16 | 400 | Ken Muhlbeier | C | Idaho | |
17 | 425 | Kenneth Morgan | TE | Elon | |
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Personnel
editStaff
edit
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
- Source:[3]
Roster
editQuarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
Practice squad
|
- Source:
Regular season
editSchedule
editWeek | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 16 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 28–10 | 1–0 | Mile High Stadium | 49,059 | |
2 | September 23 | San Francisco 49ers | L 34–36 | 1–1 | Mile High Stadium | 50,966 | |
3 | September 30 | Chicago Bears | L 14–33 | 1–2 | Mile High Stadium | 51,159 | |
4 | October 7 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 14–16 | 1–3 | Arrowhead Stadium | 71,414 | |
5 | October 14 | at Houston Oilers | W 48–20 | 2–3 | Astrodome | 32,801 | |
6 | October 22 | Oakland Raiders | T 23–23 | 2–3–1 | Mile High Stadium | 51,270 | |
7 | October 28 | at New York Jets | W 40–28 | 3–3–1 | Shea Stadium | 55,108 | |
8 | November 4 | at St. Louis Cardinals | T 17–17 | 3–3–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 46,565 | |
9 | November 11 | San Diego Chargers | W 30–19 | 4–3–2 | Mile High Stadium | 51,034 | |
10 | November 18 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 23–13 | 5–3–2 | Three Rivers Stadium | 48,580 | |
11 | November 25 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 14–10 | 6–3–2 | Mile High Stadium | 51,331 | |
12 | December 2 | Dallas Cowboys | L 10–22 | 6–4–2 | Mile High Stadium | 51,508 | |
13 | December 9 | at San Diego Chargers | W 42–28 | 7–4–2 | San Diego Stadium | 44,954 | |
14 | December 16 | at Oakland Raiders | L 17–21 | 7–5–2 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 51,910 | |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Game summaries
editWeek 2 (Sunday, September 23, 1973): vs. San Francisco 49ers
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
49ers (1–1) | 0 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 36 |
Broncos (1–1) | 10 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 34 |
at Mile High Stadium • Denver, Colorado
- Date: September 23
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. MDT
- Game attendance: 50,966
- Referee: John McDonough
- TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui (play–by–play), Tommy Mason (color commentator) and Brent Musburger (studio reporter)
- [5]
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
---|---|---|---|
SF | Passing | ||
Rushing | |||
Receiving | |||
DEN | Passing | ||
Rushing | |||
Receiving |
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
- Point spread: Broncos +4
- Time of Game:
49ers | Game Statistics | Broncos |
---|---|---|
16 | First downs | 22 |
39–135 | Rushes–yards | 32–115 |
212 | Passing yards | 240 |
14–35–1 | Passes | 17–36–5 |
0–0 | Sacked–yards | 0–0 |
212 | Net passing yards | 240 |
347 | Total yards | 355 |
101 | Return yards | 114 |
6–46.0 | Punts | 4–35.8 |
2–0 | Fumbles–lost | 3–1 |
8–73 | Penalties–yards | 4–32 |
Time of possession |
Week 10 at Steelers
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Broncos | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 23 |
Steelers | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Date: November 18, 1973
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 35 °F (2 °C)
- Game attendance: 48,580
- Referee: Fred Silva
- Box Score
Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
---|---|---|---|
Broncos | Passing | Charley Johnson | 13/20, 86 Yds, TD |
Rushing | Floyd Little | 27 Rush, 88 Yds, TD | |
Receiving | Riley Odoms | 6 Rec, 47 Yds, TD | |
Steelers | Passing | Terry Hanratty | 10/19, 217 Yds, TD |
Rushing | Franco Harris | 11 Rush, 53 Yds | |
Receiving | John McMakin | 3 Rec, 64 Yds |
Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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|
Standings
editAFC West | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Oakland Raiders | 9 | 4 | 1 | .679 | 4–1–1 | 7–3–1 | 292 | 175 | W4 |
Kansas City Chiefs | 7 | 5 | 2 | .571 | 4–2 | 6–4–1 | 231 | 192 | W1 |
Denver Broncos | 7 | 5 | 2 | .571 | 3–2–1 | 7–2–1 | 354 | 296 | L1 |
San Diego Chargers | 2 | 11 | 1 | .179 | 0–6 | 1–9–1 | 188 | 386 | L4 |
Awards and honors
edit- UPI AFC Coach of the Year: John Ralston
References
edit- ^ a b Arizona Cardinals versus Denver Broncos
- ^ St. Louis Rams at home to Denver Broncos
- ^ 1973 Denver Broncos Press Guide. p. 4. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
- ^ "Turner's kick ties Raiders". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 23, 1973. p. 4B.
- ^ Pro Football Reference; San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos – September 23, 1973
External links
edit- Denver Broncos – 1973 media guide
- 1973 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com