1973 Denver Broncos season

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1973 Denver Broncos season
OwnerGerald Phipps
General managerJohn Ralston
Head coachJohn Ralston
Home stadiumMile High Stadium
Results
Record7–5–2
Division place3rd AFC West
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Uniforms worn by the Denver Broncos during 1973

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. It was the first time in franchise history that they won more than five games. Denver tied for second in the AFC West (third with tiebreaker), 1½ games behind the Oakland Raiders.

After a 1-3 start, Denver went unbeaten in seven straight games. The last of these was a 14-10 win over Kansas City, only the third win in 28 games all-time vs. the Chiefs franchise. The win put the Broncos in first place in the division at 6-3-2. After a split of the next two games, the final game of the regular season was a 21-17 loss at Oakland, making the Raiders division champions.

One of the ties, in their first-ever game with the Cardinals,[1] was the nearest Denver 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

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NFL draft

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Main article: 1973 NFL draft
1973 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

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Staff / Coaches

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1973 Denver Broncos staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


Source:[3]

Roster

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1973 Denver Broncos 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 (ST)

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Source:

Regular season

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Main article: 1973 NFL season

Schedule

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Week 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.

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Game summaries

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Week 2 (Sunday, September 23, 1973): vs. San Francisco 49ers

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Week 2: San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers (1–1) 0 20 10636
Broncos (1–1) 10 3 71434

at Mile High Stadium • Denver, Colorado

Team Category Player Statistics
SF Passing
Rushing
Receiving
DEN Passing
Rushing
Receiving
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

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Week Ten: Denver Broncos (4–3–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (8–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Broncos 3 3 71023
Steelers 3 3 0713

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

Standings

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AFC 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

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  • UPI AFC Coach of the Year: John Ralston

References

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  1. ^ a b 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.
  5. ^ Pro Football Reference; San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos – September 23, 1973
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