# 1973 Cincinnati Bengals season

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 Cincinnati Bengals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 ||||||

## 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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oilers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| • Bengals | 0 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 24 |

#### Week 5 vs Steelers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Bengals | 6 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 19 |
at Riverfront Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio
* Date: October 14
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) • Wind 8 mph (13 km/h)
* Game attendance: 55,819
* Referee: Dick Jorgensen
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Steelers
Terry Bradshaw 9/14, 106 Yds, INT
Preston Pearson 12 Rush, 39 Yds, TD
Ron Shanklin 1 Rec, 67 Yds
Bengals
Ken Anderson 9/21, 78 Yds
Boobie Clark 28 Rush, 112 Yds, TD
Isaac Curtis 3 Rec, 46 Yds :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | PIT | CIN |
| 1 | | | | | Bengals | 20-yard field goal by Muhlmann | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | | | | | Bengals | 19-yard field goal by Muhlmann | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | | | | | Bengals | 20-yard field goal by Muhlmann | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | | | | | Bengals | Clark 3-yard touchdown run, Muhlmann kick good | 0 | 16 |
| 4 | | | | | Bengals | 41-yard field goal by Muhlmann | 0 | 19 |
| 4 | | | | | 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. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 7 | 19 |

#### Week 7 at Steelers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| Steelers | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Date: October 28
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C) • Wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
* Game attendance: 45,761
* Referee: Norm Schachter
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Bengals
Ken Anderson 20/38, 230 Yds, TD, 3 INT
Boobie Clark 15 Rush, 60 Yds 10 Rec, 68 Yds
Steelers
Terry Hanratty 4/7, 127 Yds, TD, INT
Franco Harris 21 Rush, 43 Yds
Ron Shanklin 3 Rec, 104 Yds, TD :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | CIN | PIT |
| 1 | | | | | Steelers | 15-yard field goal by Roy Gerela | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | | | | | Bengals | 17-yard field goal by Horst Muhlmann | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | | | | | Bengals | 41-yard field goal by Horst Muhlmann | 6 | 3 |
| 2 | | | | | Steelers | Ron Shanklin 51-yard touchdown reception from Terry Hanratty, Roy Gerela kick good | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | | | | | Steelers | 18-yard field goal by Roy Gerela | 6 | 13 |
| 3 | | | | | Steelers | John Fuqua 1-yard touchdown run, Roy Gerela kick good | 6 | 20 |
| 4 | | | | | Bengals | Essex Johnson 16-yard touchdown reception from Ken Anderson, Horst Muhlmann kick good | 13 | 20 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 13 | 20 |

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | 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)

## 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

### Pro Bowl Selections

* WR Isaac Curtis
* DT Mike Reid
* TE Bob Trumpy