1974 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

American football team season August 2023 March 2026 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) St. Louis Cardinals 1974 10–4 1st NFC East Don Coryell Bill Bidwill Busch Memorial Stadium Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Vikings) 14–30 T Dan DierdorfQB Jim HartRB Terry MetcalfWR Mel GrayCB Roger Wehrli Cardinals seasons The 1974 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 55th year with the National Football League and the 15th season in St. Louis. The Cardinals scored 285 points while the defense gave up 218 points, en route to the NFC East Championship.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 299 The 10–4 Cardinals qualified for the postseason for the first time since 1948 when the franchise was based in Chicago. It was the team's first winning season since 1970 when the Cardinals went 8–5–1. Although the Cardinals and the Washington Redskins finished with identical 10–4 records, the Cardinals won the NFC East title, because of their two victories over Washington that season. The Cardinals won their first seven games, and were at least tied for first place from Week One to the end of the regular season. The Cardinals would not start a season with a 7–0 record again until 2021. By then, they would be based in Arizona. Offseason NFL draft 1974 NFL draft 1974 St. Louis Cardinals 1 7 J. V. Cain Tight end Colorado yes 2 33 Greg Kindle Guard Tennessee State yes 3 60 Steve George Defensive tackle Houston yes 4 85 Durwood Keeton Defensive back Oklahoma Signed with Southern California Sun (WFL) 4 91 Ike Harris Wide receiver Iowa State Played with Cardinals 75–77 5 111 Steve Neils Linebacker Minnesota yes 8 189 Sergio Albert Kicker U.S. International yes 9 215 Reggie Harrison Running back Cincinnati yes 10 251 Greg Hartle Linebacker Newberry 12 293 Roger Wallace Wide receiver Bowling Green Signed with Memphis Grizzlies (WFL) 13 319 Jimmy Poulos Running back Georgia Signed with Jacksonville Express (WFL) 14 345 Charles Smith Running back Yankton 15 371 Vincent Ancell Defensive back Arkansas State 16 397 Alonzo Emery Running back Arizona State 17 423 John Moseley Defensive back Missouri no nohttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/crd/1974_draft.htm 1974 St. Louis Cardinals Draftees Pro Football Reference February 13, 2022 Personnel Staff / Coaches 1974 St. Louis Cardinals Principal Owner/de facto General Manager - Bill Bidwill Director of Pro Football Operations – Joe Sullivan Head Coach – Don Coryell Offensive Backs / Receivers – Joe Gibbs Offensive line – Jim Hanifan Defensive Coordinator / Secondary – Ray Willsey Defensive Line / Linebackers – Sid Hall Defensive Backs – Jim Champion Special Assignments – Wayne Sevier Source:1973 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) Scores, Roster, Stats , Coaches, Draft https://www.profootballarchives.com/1973nflstl.html 2026-08-30 www.profootballarchives.com Roster 1974 St. Louis Cardinals roster Quarterbacks 17 Jim Hart American football 12 Gary Keithley 11 Dennis Shaw Running backs 44 Donny Anderson 34 Steve Jones American football 21 Terry Metcalf 27 Eddie Moss 35 Jim Otis 20 Ken Willard Wide receivers 88 J. V. Cain y 85 Mel Gray wide receiver 30 Gary Hammond 82 Earl Thomas wide receiver Tight ends 80 Jim McFarland 81 Jackie Smith Offensive linemen 51 Tom Brahaney C 72 Dan Dierdorf T 60 Conrad Dobler G 60 Roger Finnie G 69 Greg Kindle y T 73 Ernie McMillan T 56 Cal Withrow C 64 Bob Young offensive lineman G Defensive linemen 79 Bob Bell American football DE 70 Leo Brooks American football DT 65 Bob Crum y DE 63 Steve George American football y DT 75 Bob Rowe American football DT 74 Council Rudolph DE 78 Ron Yankowski DE Linebackers 57 Mark Arneson MLB 59 Pete Barnes OLB 50 Greg Hartle y MLB 52 Jack LeVeck OLB 58 Terry Miller linebacker OLB 53 Steve Neils y OLB 67 Larry Stallings OLB Defensive backs 26 Dwayne Crump CB 41 Clarence Duren FS 36 Ken Reaves SS 38 Hurles Scales CB 43 Norm Thompson American football CB 45 Jim Tolbert SS 22 Roger Wehrli CB Special teams 18 Sergio Albert y K 25 Jim Bakken K 14 Hal Roberts y P Reserve lists 54 Tom Banks American football C IR 33 Willie Belton RB IR 65 Dave Butz DT IR 28 Scott Stringer American football y CB IR 40 Eric Washington no CB IR rookies in italics Hall of Fame Game St. Louis Cardinals 21, Buffalo Bills 13 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 15 Philadelphia Eagles W 7–3 1–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 40,322 Recap 2 September 22 at Washington Redskins W 17–10 2–0 RFK Stadium 53,888 Recap 3 September 29 Cleveland Browns W 29–7 3–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 43,472 Recap 4 October 6 at San Francisco 49ers W 34–9 4–0 Candlestick Park 48,675 Recap 5 October 13 Dallas Cowboys W 31–28 5–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,885 Recap 6 October 20 at Houston Oilers W 31–27 6–0 Astrodome 26,371 Recap 7 October 27 Washington Redskins W 23–20 7–0 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,410 Recap 8 November 3 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–17 7–1 Texas Stadium 64,146 Recap 9 November 11, 1974 Minnesota Vikings L 24–28 7–2 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,183 Recap 10 November 17 at Philadelphia Eagles W 13–3 8–2 Veterans Stadium 61,982 Recap 11 November 24 at New York Giants W 23–21 9–2 Yale Bowl 40,615 Recap 12 December 1 Kansas City Chiefs L 13–17 9–3 Busch Memorial Stadium 41,863 Recap 13 December 8 at New Orleans Saints L 0–14 9–4 Tulane Stadium 57,152 Recap 14 December 15 New York Giants W 26–14 10–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 47,414 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 11 at Giants 1974 New York Giants season Arizona Cardinals 1974 2; text-align:center collapsed St. Louis Cardinals (8–2) at New York Giants (2–8) November 24 1:00 p.m. Cardinals 6 0 7 10 Giants 0 7 7 7 Yale Bowl • New Haven, Connecticut 40,615 The Yale Bowl and the Giants Newsday September 5, 2018 https://www.newsday.com/sports/football/giants/the-yale-bowl-and-the-giants-v11610 https://web.archive.org/web/20190127035149/https://www.newsday.com/sports/football/giants/the-yale-bowl-and-the-giants-1.20846261 live January 27, 2019 January 29, 2019 45 F C • Wind 9 mph km/h knot Bob Frederic CBS Pro-Football-Reference.com Cardinals Jim Hart25/42, 259 Yds, 2 TD Terry Metcalf15 Rush, 48 Yds Mel Gray5 Rec, 102 Yds, TD Giants Craig Morton21/35, 257 Yds, 2 TD, INT Joe Dawkins12 Rush, 65 Yds Bob Tucker5 Rec, 69 Yds, TD STL NYG collapsed 1 Cardinals FG 36 Jim Bakken 3 0 2 Cardinals FG 32 Jim Bakken 6 0 2 Giants RushTD Ron Johnson 2 good Pete Gogolak run/pass good/failed/incomplete 6 7 3 Giants RecTD Bob Tucker Craig Morton 29 good Pete Gogolak run/pass good/failed/incomplete 6 14 3 Cardinals RecTD Earl Thomas Jim Hart 16 good Jim Bakken run/pass good/failed/incomplete 13 14 4 Cardinals RecTD Mel Gray Jim Hart 45 good Jim Bakken run/pass good/failed/incomplete 20 14 4 Giants RecTD Walker Gillette Craig Morton 17 good Pete Gogolak run/pass good/failed/incomplete 20 21 4 Cardinals FG 36 Jim Bakken 23 21 23 21 Week 14 Giants 0 14 0 0 Cardinals 0 0 20 6 December 15 Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri 1:00 p.m. 41 °F °C, wind 14 mph km/h knots yes 2 NYG Ron Johnson 2 yard run (Pete Gogolak kick) Giants 7–0 2 NYG Joe Dawkins 1 yard run (Pete Gogolak kick) Giants 14–0 3 STL Ken Willard 4 yard pass from Jim Hart (kick failed) Giants 14–6 3 STL Jackie Smith 28 yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick) Giants 14–13 3 STL Terry Metcalf 1 yard run (Jim Bakken kick) Cardinals 20–14 4 STL Terry Metcalf 16 yard run (kick failed) Cardinals 26–14 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com With the win, the Cardinals finished the regular season 10-4 (7-1 against the NFC East & 5-2 at home) and clinched both the NFC East and their first playoff berth since 1948, snapping a 25 year playoff drought (ironically one started and ended 3 years after Washington's 25 year playoff drought). Standings Postseason NFC Divisional Playoff Minnesota Vikings 30, St. Louis Cardinals 14 http://www.football.com/nfl/playoffs/1974.html 1974 NFL Playoffs – www.football.com 2008-03-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20080512002149/http://www.football.com/nfl/playoffs/1974.html 2008-05-12 dead Cardinals 0 7 0 7 20 Vikings 0 7 16 7 30 at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota TV: CBS Attendance: 44,626 Awards and records Jim Hart, NFC Leader, Touchdown Passes, 20 Passes NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451 Milestones Terry Metcalf, 2000 Combined Net Yards (718 Rush Yards, 377 Pass Receiving Yards, 340 Punt Return Yards, 623 Kick Return Yards)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 443 References Cardinals on Pro Football Reference Cardinals on jt-sw.com St. Louis Category:Arizona Cardinals seasons Category:NFC East championship seasons