1973 Denver Broncos season

Last updated

1973 Denver Broncos season
Owner Gerald Phipps
General managerJohn Ralston
Head coach John Ralston
Home field Mile High Stadium
Results
Record7–5–2
Division place3rd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify

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.

Contents

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

NFL draft

1973 Denver Broncos draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
19 Otis Armstrong  *  Running back Purdue
236 Barney Chavous   DE South Carolina State
354 Paul Howard   G BYU
370 John Wood   DT LSU
488 Tom Jackson  *  LB Louisville
5113Charles McTorry  DB Tennessee State
7165 Mike Askea   OT Stanford
7166 John Grant   DT USC
9217 Lyle Blackwood   DB Texas Christian
10244Al Marshall  WR Boise State
11269Elton Brown  DE Utah State
12296 Jim O'Malley   LB Notre Dame
13319 Ed Smith   DE Colorado College
13321Ed White  RB Tulsa
14348 John Hufnagel   QB Penn State
15373 Calvin Jones   DB Washington
16398 Oliver Ross   RB Alabama A&M
16400Ken Muhlbeier  C Idaho
17425 Kenneth Morgan   TE Elon
      Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1973 Denver Broncos staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


Source: [3]

Roster

1973 Denver Broncos roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Source:

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 16 Cincinnati Bengals W 28–101–0 Mile High Stadium 49,059
2September 23 San Francisco 49ers L 34–361–1Mile High Stadium50,966
3September 30 Chicago Bears L 14–331–2Mile High Stadium51,159
4October 7at Kansas City Chiefs L 14–161–3 Arrowhead Stadium 71,414
5October 14at Houston Oilers W 48–202–3 Astrodome 32,801
6October 22 Oakland Raiders T 23–232–3–1Mile High Stadium51,270
7October 28at New York Jets W 40–283–3–1 Shea Stadium 55,108
8November 4at St. Louis Cardinals T 17–173–3–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 46,565
9November 11 San Diego Chargers W 30–194–3–2Mile High Stadium51,034
10November 18at Pittsburgh Steelers W 23–135–3–2 Three Rivers Stadium 48,580
11November 25 Kansas City Chiefs W 14–106–3–2Mile High Stadium51,331
12December 2 Dallas Cowboys L 10–226–4–2Mile High Stadium51,508
13December 9at San Diego Chargers W 42–287–4–2 San Diego Stadium 44,954
14December 16at Oakland Raiders L 17–217–5–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,910
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

[4]

Standings

AFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Oakland Raiders 941.6794–1–17–3–1292175W4
Kansas City Chiefs 752.5714–26–4–1231192W1
Denver Broncos 752.5713–2–17–2–1354296L1
San Diego Chargers 2111.1790–61–9–1188386L4

Season summary

Week 10 at Steelers

Week Ten: Denver Broncos (4–3–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (8–1)
Period1234Total
Broncos 3371023
Steelers 330713

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
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
BroncosPassing Charley Johnson 13/20, 86 Yds, TD
Rushing Floyd Little 27 Rush, 88 Yds, TD
Receiving Riley Odoms 6 Rec, 47 Yds, TD
SteelersPassing Terry Hanratty 10/19, 217 Yds, TD
Rushing Franco Harris 11 Rush, 53 Yds
Receiving John McMakin 3 Rec, 64 Yds

Awards and honors

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References

  1. 1 2 Arizona Cardinals versus Denver Broncos
  2. ↑ St. Louis Rams at home to Denver Broncos
  3. ↑ 1973 Denver Broncos Press Guide. p. 4. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Turner's kick ties Raiders". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 23, 1973. p. 4B.
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