1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Last updated

1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Owner Art Rooney
Head coach Chuck Noll
Home field Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record10–4
Division place2nd AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Raiders) 14–33
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
3
  • Joe Greene (1st team)
  • Roy Gerela (2nd team)
  • Jack Ham (2nd team)
Team MVPRon Shanklin

The 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 41st season in the National Football League. The team finished second in the AFC Central division, but qualified for the postseason for the second consecutive season. The Steelers got off to a terrific start winning eight of their first nine games. However, a costly three game losing streak would put their playoff hopes in jeopardy. The Steelers would recover to win their last two games, but had to settle for a Wild Card berth with a 10–4 record. The Steelers would lose in the playoffs to the Oakland Raiders 33–14 in Oakland.

Contents

The 1973 Steelers' pass defense is arguably the greatest in the history of the NFL. Their defensive passer rating—the quarterback passer rating of all opposing quarterbacks throughout the season—was 33.1, an NFL record for the Super Bowl era.

According to Cold Hard Football Facts: [1]

Pittsburgh's pass-defense numbers that year were stunning. Opposing passers compiled the following stat-line:

The figure that leaps screaming off the sheet is the amazing 37 picks in 14 games. The 2009 Jets, by comparison, allowed a puny 8 TDs in 16 games, but hauled in just 17 picks.

Pittsburgh's all-time best pass defense was an equal-opportunity unit: Mike Wagner led the team with 8 INT, but 10 other guys recorded at least one pick. Amazing. Eleven defenders boasted at least one INT for Pittsburgh that season. The entire starting secondary recorded 24 picks alone, and Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount was last on the list: Wagner (8), safety Glen Edwards (6), cornerback John Rowser (6) and Blount (4).

The campaign was chronicled in Roy Blount Jr.'s 1974 book About Three Bricks Shy of a Load. The source of its title was Craig Hanneman whose endearing description of himself and his teammates after the regular season away victory over the Oakland Raiders was "We’re all about three bricks shy of a load." [2]

Offseason

NFL Draft

TeamRdPickNamePosCollege
PIT124 J.T. Thomas DBFlorida St.
PIT250 Ken Phares DBMississippi St.
PIT376 Roger Bernhardt GKansas
PIT4102 Gail Clark LBMichigan St.
PIT5106 Dave Reavis TArkansas
PIT5128Larry ClarkLBNorthern Illinois
PIT6140Ron BellRBIllinois St.
PIT6154 Glenn Scolnik WRIndiana
PIT7180 Nate Dorsey WRMiss Valley St.
PIT8192 Loren Toews LBCalifornia
PIT8206 Bill Janssen TNebraska
PIT9232 Bracey Bonham GNorth Carolina Central
PIT10258Don WunderlyDTArkansas
PIT11284Bob WhiteDBArizona
PIT12310Willie LeeRBIndiana St.
PIT13336Rick FergersonWRKansas St.
PIT14362Roger CowanDEStanford
PIT15388Charles CrossDBIowa
PIT16414Glen NardiDTNavy
PIT17440Mike ShannonDTOregon St.

Personnel

Staff

1973 Pittsburgh Steelers staff

Front office

  • President – Arthur J. Rooney
  • Vice president – John R. McGinley
  • Vice president – Daniel M. Rooney
  • Vice president – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
  • Public relations director – Ed Kiely
  • Traveling secretary – James A. Boston
  • Controller – Robert P. Quinn
  • Publicity director – Joe Gordon
  • Ticket manager – Joseph H. Carr
  • Director of player personnel – Dick Haley
  • Assistant director of player personnel – Bill Nunn
  • Director of professional scouting – V. Timothy Rooney

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches


Strength and conditioning

  • Strength – Louis Riecke
  • Flexibility – Paul Uram
  • Team physician, orthopedic – Dr. John Best
  • Team Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber
  • Team dentist – Dr. Robert Gray
  • Trainer – Ralph Berlin
  • Assistant trainer – Robert Milie
  • Equipment manager – Anthony Parisi
  • Field manager – Jack Hart

[3]


Roster

1973 Pittsburgh Steelers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad


[3] [4] [5] [6] Reserve

Rookies in italics
46 active, 1 reserve, 1 practice squad

Regular season

Game summaries

Week 1

Detroit Lions (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)
Quarter1234Total
Lions0010010
Steelers0371424

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA

Game information

Week 2

Cleveland Browns (1–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (1–0)
Quarter1234Total
Browns30036
Steelers10610733

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 3

Pittsburgh Steelers (2–0) at Houston Oilers (0–2)
Quarter1234Total
Steelers33131736
Oilers07007

at Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Game information

Week 4

San Diego Chargers (1–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3–0)
Quarter1234Total
Chargers0002121
Steelers17210038

at Three Rivers StadiumPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

Johnny Unitas playing for San Diego is knocked out of the game after completing only 3 of 15 passes for 24 yards and three interceptions.

Week 5

Pittsburgh Steelers (4–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (2–2)
Quarter1234Total
Steelers00077
Bengals637319

at Riverfront StadiumCincinnati, Ohio

Game information

Week 6

New York Jets (2–3) at Pittsburgh Steelers (4–1)
Quarter1234Total
Jets770014
Steelers0931426

at Three Rivers StadiumPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: October 21
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 48,682
  • Referee: John McDonough
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Week 7 vs Bengals

Cincinnati Bengals (4–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (5–1)
Quarter1234Total
Bengals060713
Steelers3710020

at Three Rivers StadiumPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 8 vs Washington Redskins

Washington Redskins (5–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (6–1)
Quarter1234Total
Redskins333716
Steelers770721

at Three Rivers StadiumPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: Monday, November 5
  • Game time: 9:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C) • Wind 13 miles per hour (21 km/h; 11 kn)
  • Game attendance: 49,220
  • Referee: Tommy Bell
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Joe Gilliam makes Monday Night Football debut

Week 9 at Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers (7–1) at Oakland Raiders (5–2–1)
Quarter1234Total
Steelers077317
Raiders03069

at Oakland–Alameda County ColiseumOakland, California

  • Date: November 11
  • Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C) • Wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
  • Game attendance: 47,535
  • Referee: Bernie Ulman
  • Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information

Week 10 vs Broncos

Week Ten: Denver Broncos (4–3–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (8–1)
Quarter1234Total
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

Week 11

1234Total
Steelers733316
Browns770721
Game summary

Scoring drives:

Week 12 (Monday December 3, 1973): at Miami Dolphins

1234Total
Steelers0371626
Dolphins20100030
  • Date: Monday, December 3
  • Location: Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
  • Game start: 9:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 68,901
  • Game weather: 75 F, wind 14 mph (23 km/h)
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith
Game summary

Scoring drives:

Week 13

1234Total
Oilers70007
Steelers31410633
Game summary

Scoring drives:

Week 14

1234Total
Steelers77131037
49ers070714
Game summary

John Brodie's number 12 was retired prior to game.

Scoring drives:

  • Pittsburgh – Rowser 71 interception return (Gerela kick) – Steelers 7–0
  • San Francisco – Hall recovered blocked punt in end zone (Gossett kick) – Tie 7–7
  • Pittsburgh – P. Pearson 1 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–7
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 27 – Steelers 17–7
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 27 – Steelers 20–7
  • Pittsburgh – Lewis 50 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 27–7
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 35 – Steelers 30–7
  • Pittsburgh – Steve Davis 1 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 37–7
  • San Francisco – Atkins 3 run (Gossett kick) – Steelers 37–14

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Cincinnati Bengals 1040.7144–28–3286231W6
Pittsburgh Steelers 1040.7144–27–4347210W2
Cleveland Browns 752.5714–26–3–2234255L2
Houston Oilers 1130.0710–61–10199447L6

Postseason

AFC Divisional: @ Oakland Raiders

1234Total
Steelers070714
Raiders73131033
  • Date: Saturday, December 22
  • Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
  • Game start: 4 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 52,646
  • Game weather: 50 F, wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
  • Referee: Pat Haggerty
  • TV announcers (NBC): Jim Simpson and Kyle Rote
  • References:

Scoring Drives

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References

  1. Cold Hard Football Facts: Shutdown! The greatest pass defenses in history
  2. Starkey, Joe. "The wildest Steelers season there ever was," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Saturday, December 30, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2020
  3. 1 2 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  4. 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers Media Guide.
  5. About Three Bricks Shy... and the Load Filled Up.
  6. "1973 Pittsburgh Steelers". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2014.