1974 Denver Broncos season

Last updated

1974 Denver Broncos season
Owner Gerald Phipps
General managerJohn Ralston
Head coach John Ralston
Home field Mile High Stadium
Results
Record7–6–1
Division place2nd AFC West
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1974 Denver Broncos season was the team's 15th year in professional football and its fifth with the National Football League (NFL). Led by third-year head coach and general manager John Ralston, the Broncos had a winning record for the second straight season with seven wins, six losses, and one tie, which was fifth-best in the conference.

Contents

Denver finished second in the AFC West, but 4½ games behind the Oakland Raiders, who clinched in mid-November, [1] and 1½ games behind the wild card Buffalo Bills. In their fifteen years of existence, the Broncos had yet to reach the postseason.

The team played at Detroit on Thanksgiving and won in the final NFL game at Tiger Stadium; [2] the Lions moved north to the Pontiac Silverdome in 1975.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1974 Denver Broncos draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
114 Randy Gradishar  *  LB Ohio State
242 Carl Wafer   DT Tennessee State
368 Claudie Minor   T San Diego State
492Ozell Collie  DB Colorado
6145John Winesberry  WR Stanford
10248Charlie Johnson  DB Southern
11276Steve Buchanan  RB Holy Cross
12301 Larry Cameron   LB Alcorn A&M
13326John Clerkley  DT Fort Valley State
14354Rich Marks  DB Northern Illinois
15379Peil Pennington  QB Massachusetts
16404 Darrell Austin   T South Carolina
17432 Boyd Brown   TE Alcorn A&M
      Made roster    †    Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1974 Denver Broncos staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


Source: [3]

Roster

1974 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

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 15 Los Angeles Rams L 10–170–1 Mile High Stadium 51,121 Recap
2September 22 Pittsburgh Steelers T 35–35 (OT)0–1–1Mile High Stadium51,068 Recap
3September 30at Washington Redskins L 3–300–2–1 RFK Stadium 54,395 Recap
4October 6at Kansas City Chiefs W 17–141–2–1 Arrowhead Stadium 67,298 Recap
5October 13 New Orleans Saints W 33–172–2–1Mile High Stadium50,881 Recap
6October 20 San Diego Chargers W 27–73–2–1Mile High Stadium50,928 Recap
7October 27at Cleveland Browns L 21–233–3–1 Cleveland Stadium 60,478 Recap
8November 3 Oakland Raiders L 17–283–4–1Mile High Stadium45,946 Recap
9November 10at Baltimore Colts W 17–64–4–1 Memorial Stadium 33,244 Recap
10November 18 Kansas City Chiefs L 34–424–5–1Mile High Stadium50,236 Recap
11November 24at Oakland Raiders W 20–175–5–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 51,224 Recap
12 November 28 at Detroit Lions W 31–276–5–1 Tiger Stadium 51,157 Recap
13December 8 Houston Oilers W 37–147–5–1Mile High Stadium46,942 Recap
14December 15at San Diego Chargers L 0–177–6–1 San Diego Stadium 36,571 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

[1] [4] Thursday (November 28: Thanksgiving) [2]

Standings

AFC West
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Oakland Raiders 1220.8575–19–2355228W3
Denver Broncos 761.5363–35–4–1302294L1
Kansas City Chiefs 590.3572–44–7233293L2
San Diego Chargers 590.3572–44–7212285W2

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References

  1. 1 2 "Third-period blitz spurs Chiefs, 42-34". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 19, 1974. p. 3C.
  2. 1 2 "Broncs boot Lions with onside kick". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. November 29, 1974. p. 20.
  3. ↑ 1974 Denver Broncos Media Guide. p. 4. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
  4. ↑ "'The Redskins are back' – Allen". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 1, 1974. p. 1B.
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