1973 Denver Broncos season

1973 Denver Broncos season
Head coach	John Ralston
General manager	John Ralston
Owner	Gerald Phipps
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	7–5–2
Division place	3rd AFC West
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1973 Denver Broncos season was the team's 14th year in professional football and its fourth with the National Football League (NFL). For the first time in franchise history, the team posted a winning record of seven wins, five losses, and two ties. One of these ties, in their first-ever game with the Cardinals,^[1] was the nearest they would come 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]

Personnel

Staff

1973 Denver Broncos staff
	Front office Chairman of the Board – Gerald Phipps President – Allan Phipps Vice President/General Manager – John Ralston Assistant General Manager/Director of Player Personnel – Fred Gehrke Director of Scouting – Carroll Hardy Head coaches Head Coach – John Ralston Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Backfield – Max Coley Wide Receivers – Dick Coury Offensive Line – Jerry Frei			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs – Joe Collier Defensive Line – Doc Urich Linebackers – Bob Gambold Special teams coaches Special Teams – Myrel Moore

^[3]

Roster

1973 Denver Broncos roster
	Quarterbacks 14 John Hufnagel 12 Charley Johnson 10 Steve Ramsey Running Backs 24 Otis Armstrong 33 Joe Dawkins 44 Floyd Little Wide Receivers 25 Haven Moses 80 Jerry Simmons 84 Gene Washington Tight Ends 88 Riley Odoms		Offensive Linemen 74 Mike Current T 68 Larron Jackson T 61 Tommy Lyons G 50 Bobby Maples C 64 Mike Schnitker G Defensive Linemen 77 Lyle Alzado DE 79 Barney Chavous DE 55 Pete Duranko DT 70 Paul Smith DT		Linebackers 58 Tom Graham MLB 57 Tom Jackson OLB 56 Ray May OLB Defensive Backs 20 Charlie Greer S 26 Calvin Jones CB 41 Leroy Mitchell CB 36 Bill Thompson S		Special Teams 10 Jim Turner K 42 Billy Van Heusen P/WR Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Record	Attendance
1	September 16	Cincinnati Bengals	W 28–10	Mile High Stadium	1–0	49,059
2	September 23	San Francisco 49ers	L 34–36	Mile High Stadium	1–1	50,966
3	September 30	Chicago Bears	L 14–33	Mile High Stadium	1–2	51,159
4	October 7	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 14–16	Arrowhead Stadium	1–3	71,414
5	October 14	at Houston Oilers	W 48–20	Astrodome	2–3	32,801
6	October 22	Oakland Raiders	T 23–23	Mile High Stadium	2–3–1	51,270
7	October 28	at New York Jets	W 40–28	Shea Stadium	3–3–1	55,108
8	November 4	at St. Louis Cardinals	T 17–17	Busch Memorial Stadium	3–3–2	46,565
9	November 11	San Diego Chargers	W 30–19	Mile High Stadium	4–3–2	51,034
10	November 18	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 23–13	Three Rivers Stadium	5–3–2	48,580
11	November 25	Kansas City Chiefs	W 14–10	Mile High Stadium	6–3–2	51,331
12	December 2	Dallas Cowboys	L 10–22	Mile High Stadium	6–4–2	51,508
13	December 9	at San Diego Chargers	W 42–28	San Diego Stadium	7–4–2	44,954
14	December 16	at Oakland Raiders	L 17–21	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	7–5–2	51,910

Standings

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

• UPI AFC Coach of the Year: John Ralston

References

1. 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.

External links

• 1973 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com