# 1974 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

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.
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 St. Louis Cardinals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 7 | J. V. Cain | Tight end | Colorado | |
| 2 | 33 | Greg Kindle | Guard | Tennessee State | |
| 3 | 60 | Steve George | Defensive tackle | Houston | |
| 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 | |
| 8 | 189 | Sergio Albert | Kicker | U.S. International | |
| 9 | 215 | Reggie Harrison | Running back | Cincinnati | |
| 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 | |
| Made roster ||||||

## Hall of Fame Game

* St. Louis Cardinals 21, Buffalo Bills 13

## 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 | 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

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 6 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 23 |
| Giants | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Yale Bowl • New Haven, Connecticut
* Date: November 24
* Game time: 1:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C) • Wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
* Game attendance: 40,615
* Referee: Bob Frederic
* TV: CBS
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Cardinals
Jim Hart 25/42, 259 Yds, 2 TD
Terry Metcalf 15 Rush, 48 Yds
Mel Gray 5 Rec, 102 Yds, TD
Giants
Craig Morton 21/35, 257 Yds, 2 TD, INT
Joe Dawkins 12 Rush, 65 Yds
Bob Tucker 5 Rec, 69 Yds, TD :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | STL | NYG |
| 1 | | | | | Cardinals | 36-yard field goal by Jim Bakken | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | | | | | Cardinals | 32-yard field goal by Jim Bakken | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | | | | | Giants | Ron Johnson 2-yard touchdown run, Pete Gogolak kick good | 6 | 7 |
| 3 | | | | | Giants | Bob Tucker 29-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Pete Gogolak kick good | 6 | 14 |
| 3 | | | | | Cardinals | Earl Thomas 16-yard touchdown reception from Jim Hart, Jim Bakken kick good | 13 | 14 |
| 4 | | | | | Cardinals | Mel Gray 45-yard touchdown reception from Jim Hart, Jim Bakken kick good | 20 | 14 |
| 4 | | | | | Giants | Walker Gillette 17-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Pete Gogolak kick good | 20 | 21 |
| 4 | | | | | Cardinals | 36-yard field goal by Jim Bakken | 23 | 21 |
| "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. | 23 | 21 |

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 | 26 |

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 7–1 | 8–3 | 285 | 218 | W1 |
| Washington Redskins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–3 | 8–3 | 320 | 196 | W2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 4–4 | 6–5 | 297 | 235 | L1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 5–6 | 242 | 217 | W3 |
| New York Giants | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1–7 | 1–10 | 195 | 299 | L6 |

## Postseason
### NFC Divisional Playoff

* Minnesota Vikings 30, St. Louis Cardinals 14
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| 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

### Milestones

* Terry Metcalf, 2000 Combined Net Yards (718 Rush Yards, 377 Pass Receiving Yards, 340 Punt Return Yards, 623 Kick Return Yards)