The 1973 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League, and the 6th overall.
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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.
NFL Draft
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[1]
Staff
1973 Cincinnati Bengals staff
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Front office
- President – John Sawyer
- Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
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Roster
1973 Cincinnati Bengals roster
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
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Schedule
More information Week, Date ...
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. |
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Game summaries
Week 2
More information Total, Scoring summary ...
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1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Oilers |
7 |
0 | 3 | 0 |
10 |
• Bengals |
0 |
10 | 0 | 14 |
24 |
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Scoring summary |
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| 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 |
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[2]
Week 5 vs Steelers
More information Quarter, Total ...
Quarter |
1 |
2 |
3 | 4 | Total |
Steelers |
0 |
0 |
0 | 7 | 7 |
Bengals |
6 |
3 |
7 | 3 | 19 |
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More information Game information ...
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More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
Scoring summary |
Quarter |
Time |
Drive |
Team |
Scoring information |
Score |
Plays |
Yards |
TOP |
PIT |
CIN |
1 |
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Bengals |
20-yard field goal by Muhlmann |
0 |
3 |
1 |
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Bengals |
19-yard field goal by Muhlmann |
0 |
6 |
2 |
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Bengals |
20-yard field goal by Muhlmann |
0 |
9 |
3 |
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Bengals |
Clark 3-yard touchdown run, Muhlmann kick good |
0 |
16 |
4 |
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Bengals |
41-yard field goal by Muhlmann |
0 |
19 |
4 |
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Steelers |
Pearson 1-yard touchdown run, Gerela kick good |
7 |
19 |
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. |
7 |
19 |
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Week 7 at Steelers
More information Quarter, Total ...
Quarter |
1 |
2 |
3 | 4 | Total |
Bengals |
0 |
6 |
0 | 7 | 13 |
Steelers |
3 |
7 |
10 | 0 | 20 |
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More information Game information ...
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More information Scoring summary, Quarter ...
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Standings
More information AFC Central, W ...
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Team stats
More information TEAM STATS, Bengals ...
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 |
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More information Score by Periods, Tot ...
Score by Periods |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Tot |
Bengals |
39 |
100 |
79 |
68 |
286 |
Opponents |
50 |
61 |
58 |
62 |
231 |
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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)
More information Round, Date ...
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NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 452