1973 Denver Broncos season
NFL team season
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 .
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
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
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
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.
[ 4]
Game summaries
Week 2: San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter
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
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
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
Awards and honors
UPI AFC Coach of the Year: John Ralston
References
External links
Franchise Stadiums Key personnel Culture Lore Rivalries Retired numbers Division championships (15) Conference championships (8) League championships (3) Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation