1973 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1973 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League, and the 6th overall.

1973 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldRiverfront Stadium
Results
Record10–4
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs (at Dolphins) 34–16

The Bengals split their first eight games, then swept their last six to win their second AFC Central Division title. Cincinnati for the second time made the playoffs, losing to the eventual Super Bowl winner (Miami 34–16) for the second time as well.

RB Essex Johnson became the first Bengal to achieve 100+ yards rushing and receiving in the same game. He rushed for 121 yards on 21 carries and got 116 yards on two receptions on Sep 30, 1973 at San Diego. Perhaps one of the best marks of the season for the Bengals was giving the eventual NFC Champion Vikings their most lopsided loss of the season 27-0.

Offseason

NFL Draft
Main article: 1973 NFL Draft
1973 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 15 Isaac Curtis *  Wide receiver San Diego State
2 43 Al Chandler  Tight end Oklahoma
3 68 Tim George  Wide receiver Carson–Newman
5 121 Bob McCall  Running back Arizona
6 146 Bob Jones  Defensive back Virginia Union
7 171 Bob Maddox  Defensive end Frostburg State
8 199 Joe Wilson  Running back Holy Cross
9 224 John Dampeer  Guard Notre Dame
10 249 Lenvil Elliott  Running back Northeast Missouri State
11 277 William Montgomery  Defensive back Morehouse
12 302 Boobie Clark  Running back Bethune–Cookman
13 327 Brooks West  Defensive tackle UTEP
14 355 Hurles Scales  Defensive back North Texas State
15 380 Ted McNulty  Quarterback Indiana
16 405 Harry Unger  Running back Auburn
17 433 Wayne Estabrook  Quarterback Whittier
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff
1973 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Front office
  • President – John Sawyer
  • Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Regular season

Schedule
1973 Cincinnati Bengals Schedule
DateOpponentResultScoreAttendanceStadium
September 16at Denver BroncosL10–28
49,059
Mile High Stadium
September 23Houston OilersW24–10
51,823
Riverfront Stadium
September 30at San Diego ChargersW20–13
46,733
San Diego Stadium
October 7at Cleveland BrownsL10–17
70,805
Cleveland Stadium
October 14Pittsburgh SteelersW19–7
55,819
Riverfront Stadium
October 21Kansas City ChiefsW14–6
56,397
Riverfront Stadium
October 28at Pittsburgh SteelersL13–20
45,761
Three Rivers Stadium
November 4at Dallas CowboysL10–38
54,944
Texas Stadium
November 11at Buffalo BillsW16–13
76,927
Rich Stadium
November 18New York JetsW20–14
55,745
Riverfront Stadium
November 25St. Louis CardinalsW42–24
50,918
Riverfront Stadium
December 2Minnesota VikingsW27–0
57,859
Riverfront Stadium
December 9Cleveland BrownsW34–17
58,266
Riverfront Stadium
December 16at Houston OilersW27–24
21,955
Astrodome

Week 2
1 234Total
Oilers 7 030 10
• Bengals 0 10014 24

[2]

Week 5 vs Steelers
See also: 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season and Bengals–Steelers rivalry
Pittsburgh Steelers (4–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (2–2)
1 2 34Total
Steelers 0 0 077
Bengals 6 3 7319

at Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio

Week 7 at Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals (4–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (5–1)
1 2 34Total
Bengals 0 6 0713
Steelers 3 7 10020

at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Standings
AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Cincinnati Bengals 10 4 0 .714 4–2 8–3 286 231 W6
Pittsburgh Steelers 10 4 0 .714 4–2 7–4 347 210 W2
Cleveland Browns 7 5 2 .571 4–2 6–3–2 234 255 L2
Houston Oilers 1 13 0 .071 0–6 1–10 199 447 L6

Team stats
1973 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATS Bengals Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 252 219
Rushing 124 109
Passing 108 97
Penalty 20 13
TOTAL NET YARDS 4512 3705
Avg Per Game 322.3 264.6
Total Plays 871 840
Avg. Per Play 5.2 4.4
NET YARDS RUSHING 2236 1807
Avg. Per Game 159.7 129.1
Total Rushes 515 459
NET YARDS PASSING 2276 1898
Avg. Per Game 162.6 135.6
Sacked Yards Lost 24–163 43–342
Gross Yards 2439 2240
Att. Completions 332–180 338–182
Completion Pct. 54.2 53.8
Intercepted 12 18
PUNTS-AVERAGE 68–41 77–41.7
PENALTIES-YARDS 83–799 78–710
FUMBLES-BALL LOST 25–14 31–16
TOUCHDOWNS 32 27
Rushing 13 15
Passing 18 9
Returns 1 3
Score by Periods 1 2 3 4 Tot
Bengals 39 100 79 68 286
Opponents 50 61 58 62 231

Team leaders
  • Passing: Ken Anderson (329 Att, 179 Comp, 2428 Yds, 54.4 Pct, 18 TD, 12 Int, 81.2 Rating)
  • Rushing: Essex Johnson (195 Att, 997 Yds, 5.1 Avg, 46 Long, 4 TD)
  • Receiving: Isaac Curtis (45 Rec, 843 Yds, 18.7 Avg, 77 Long, 9 TD)
  • Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 94 points (21 FG; 31 PAT)

Roster
Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive Backs

Special Teams

Postseason
Playoffs
Date Opponent W-L Score Attendance Stadium
December 23 at Miami Dolphins L 16–34
74,651
 Miami Orange Bowl

Awards and records

Pro Bowl Selections

References
  1. "1973 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-22.
  3. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 452
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