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. Their 7-2-1 record against conference opponents was the second best in the AFC, behind only the Miami Dolphins' 9-2. However, they finished 0-3-1 against NFC opponents. 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,Arizona Cardinals versus Denver Broncos was the nearest Denver came to losing to that franchise until 2010, and also their only NFL appearance in St. Louis until 2000 against the relocated Rams at Edward Jones Dome.St. Louis Rams at home to Denver Broncos
To date, the 1973 Broncos along with the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers are the last teams to record 2 ties in a single season. Overtime for regular season games was introduced the following year, and the occurrence of tie games decreased.
Offseason
NFL draft
Personnel
Staff / Coaches
Roster
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.
Game summaries Week 2 (Sunday, September 23, 1973): vs. San Francisco 49ers
Point spread: Broncos +4 Time of game:
49ersGame statisticsBroncos16 First downs 2239–135 Rushes–yards 32–115212 Passing yards 24014–35–1 17–36–50–0 Sacked–yards 0–0212 Net passing yards 240347 Total yards 355101 Return yards 1146–46.0 4–35.82–0 Fumbles–lost 3–18–73 Penalties–yards 4–32 Time of possession
Week 10 at Steelers
Standings
Awards and honors UPI AFC Coach of the Year: John Ralston
References
External links Denver Broncos – 1973 media guide 1973 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1973 Denver Broncos season at jt-sw.com