1973 Cincinnati Bengals season explained

Team:	Cincinnati Bengals
Year:	1973
Record:	10–4
Division Place:	1st AFC Central
Coach:	Paul Brown
Stadium:	Riverfront Stadium
Playoffs:	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Dolphins) 16–34
Shortnavlink:	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

See main article: article and 1973 NFL Draft. ^[1]

Personnel

Roster

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

^[2]

Week 5 vs Steelers

See also: 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season and Bengals–Steelers rivalry.

Week 7 at Steelers

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)

Awards and records

• RB Boobie Clark (AFC Rookie of the Year)
• WR Isaac Curtis, Led AFC Rookies, Receiving Yards, 843 yards ^[3]

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: 1973 Cincinnati Bengals draftees . Pro-Football-Reference.com . October 11, 2014 .
2. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197309230cin.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com
3. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,, p. 452