1973 Cincinnati Bengals season

NFL team season December 2013 March 2026 Cincinnati Bengals 1973 10–4 1st AFC Central Paul Brown Riverfront Stadium Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Dolphins) 16–34 Bengals seasons The 1973 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League, and the 6th overall. The Bengals split their first eight games, then swept their last six to win their second AFC Central Division title. Cincinnati qualified for the postseason but lost in the Divisional Playoffs to the Super Bowl winner, the Miami Dolphins 34–16. 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 Minnesota Vikings their most lopsided loss of the season 27–0. Offseason NFL draft 1973 NFL draft 1973 Cincinnati Bengals 1 15 Isaac Curtis Wide receiver San Diego State yes yes 2 43 Al Chandler Tight end Oklahoma yes 3 68 Tim George Wide receiver Carson–Newman yes 5 121 Bob McCall Running back Arizona 6 146 Bob Jones Defensive back Virginia Union yes 7 171 Bob Maddox Defensive end Frostburg State yes 8 199 Joe Wilson Running back Holy Cross yes 9 224 John Dampeer Guard Notre Dame 10 249 Lenvil Elliott Running back Northeast Missouri State yes 11 277 William Montgomery Defensive back Morehouse 12 302 Boobie Clark Running back Bethune–Cookman yes 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 no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/1973_draft.htm 1973 Cincinnati Bengals draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 11, 2014 Personnel Staff 1973 Cincinnati Bengals President – John Sawyer Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown Head Coach/General Manager – Paul Brown Quarterbacks/Receivers – Bill Walsh Offensive Backfield – Jack Donaldson Offensive Line – Bill Johnson Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backfield – Chuck Weber Defensive Line – Chuck Studley Linebackers – Vince Costello Roster 1973 Cincinnati Bengals 14 Ken Anderson quarterback 12 Greg Cook 17 Mike Ernst 35 Boobie Clark 36 Lenvil Elliott y 19 Essex Johnson 26 Reece Morrison 43 Ed Williams running back y 46 Joe Wilson American football y 85 Isaac Curtis y 89 Tim George y 18 Charlie Joiner 81 Al Chandler 88 Bruce Coslet 84 Bob Trumpy 50 Tom DeLeone C/G 72 Howard Fest G 76 Vernon Holland T 54 Bob Johnson American football C 73 Pat Matson G 71 Rufus Mayes T 64 John Shinners G 82 Royce Berry DE 70 Ron Carpenter defensive lineman DT 79 Steve Chomyszak DT 80 Ken Johnson defensive end, born 1947 DE/DT 74 Mike Reid singer DT 78 Lee Thomas American football DE 83 Sherman White American football DE 52 Doug Adams American football MLB 51 Ken Avery OLB 58 Al Beauchamp OLB 66 Bill Bergey MLB 56 Tim Kearney American football OLB 55 Jim LeClair OLB 60 Ron Pritchard OLB 29 Lyle Blackwood y FS 37 Tommy Casanova FS 34 Neal Craig SS 23 Bernard Jackson defensive back FS/CB 32 Bob Jones American football y SS 20 Lemar Parrish CB 13 Ken Riley CB 15 Dave Lewis punter P 16 Horst Mühlmann K 11 Virgil Carter QB IR 44 Doug Dressler RB IR 77 Bob Maddox y DE IR 25 Chip Myers WR IR 75 Stan Walters T NF-Ill. Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 16 at Denver Broncos L 10–28 0–1 Mile High Stadium 49,059 2 September 23 Houston Oilers W 24–10 1–1 Riverfront Stadium 51,823 3 September 30 at San Diego Chargers W 20–13 2–1 San Diego Stadium 46,733 4 October 7 at Cleveland Browns L 10–17 2–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 70,805 5 October 14 Pittsburgh Steelers W 19–7 3–2 Riverfront Stadium 55,819 6 October 21 Kansas City Chiefs W 14–6 4–2 Riverfront Stadium 56,397 7 October 28 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–20 4–3 Three Rivers Stadium 45,761 8 November 4 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–38 4–4 Texas Stadium 54,944 9 November 11 at Buffalo Bills W 16–13 5–4 Rich Stadium 76,927 10 November 18 New York Jets W 20–14 6–4 Riverfront Stadium 55,745 11 November 25 St. Louis Cardinals W 42–24 7–4 Riverfront Stadium 50,918 12 December 2 Minnesota Vikings W 27–0 8–4 Riverfront Stadium 57,859 13 December 9 Cleveland Browns W 34–17 9–4 Riverfront Stadium 58,266 14 December 16 at Houston Oilers W 27–24 10–4 Astrodome 21,955 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Game summaries Week 2 Oilers 7 0 3 0 Bengals 0 10 0 14 September 23 Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati 51,823 71 F; wind 9 mph on yes Q1 HOU Gresham 103 yard kickoff return (Butler kick) HOU 7–0 Q2 CIN Johnson 11 yard run (Muhlmann kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 CIN Muhlmann 27 yard field goal CIN 10–7 Q3 HOU Butler 38 yard field goal Tie 10–10 Q4 CIN Clark 3 yard run (Muhlmann kick) CIN 17–10 Q4 CIN Trumpy 35 yard pass from Anderson (Muhlmann kick) CIN 24–10 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-22. Week 5 vs Steelers 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season Bengals–Steelers rivalry Cincinnati Bengals 1973 2; text-align:center collapsed Pittsburgh Steelers (4–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (2–2) October 14 1:00 p.m. Steelers 0 0 0 7 Bengals 6 3 7 3 Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio 55,819 59 F • Wind 8 mph on Dick Jorgensen Pro-Football-Reference.com Steelers Terry Bradshaw9/14, 106 Yds, INT Preston Pearson12 Rush, 39 Yds, TD Ron Shanklin1 Rec, 67 Yds Bengals Ken Anderson9/21, 78 Yds Boobie Clark28 Rush, 112 Yds, TD Isaac Curtis3 Rec, 46 Yds PIT CIN collapsed 1 Bengals FG 20 Muhlmann 0 3 1 Bengals FG 19 Muhlmann 0 6 2 Bengals FG 20 Muhlmann 0 9 3 Bengals RushTD Clark 3 good Muhlmann run/pass good/failed/incomplete 0 16 4 Bengals FG 41 Muhlmann 0 19 4 Steelers RushTD Pearson 1 good Gerela run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 19 7 19 Week 7 at Steelers Cincinnati Bengals 1973 2; text-align:center collapsed Cincinnati Bengals (4–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (5–1) October 28 4:00 p.m. EDT Bengals 0 6 0 7 Steelers 3 7 10 0 Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 45,761 52 F C • Wind 12 mph km/h knot Norm Schachter Pro-Football-Reference.com Bengals Ken Anderson20/38, 230 Yds, TD, 3 INT Boobie Clark15 Rush, 60 Yds10 Rec, 68 Yds Steelers Terry Hanratty4/7, 127 Yds, TD, INT Franco Harris21 Rush, 43 Yds Ron Shanklin3 Rec, 104 Yds, TD CIN PIT collapsed 1 Steelers FG 15 Roy Gerela 0 3 2 Bengals FG 17 Horst Muhlmann 3 3 2 Bengals FG 41 Horst Muhlmann 6 3 2 Steelers RecTD Ron Shanklin Terry Hanratty 51 good Roy Gerela run/pass good/failed/incomplete 6 10 3 Steelers FG 18 Roy Gerela 6 13 3 Steelers RushTD John Fuqua 1 good Roy Gerela run/pass good/failed/incomplete 6 20 4 Bengals RecTD Essex Johnson Ken Anderson 16 good Horst Muhlmann run/pass good/failed/incomplete 13 20 13 20 Standings 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 78–710FUMBLES-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) Postseason Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Divisional December 23 at Miami Dolphins L 16–34 0–1 Miami Orange Bowl 74,651 Awards and records RB Boobie Clark (AFC Rookie of the Year) WR Isaac Curtis, Led AFC Rookies, Receiving Yards, 843 yards NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 452 Pro Bowl selections WR Isaac Curtis DT Mike Reid TE Bob Trumpy References Bengals on Pro Football Reference Bengals Schedule on jt-sw.com Bengals History on Official Site Cincinnati Bengals Category:Cincinnati Bengals seasons Category:AFC Central championship seasons Cincinnati