1973 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

The 1973 St. Louis Cardinals season was the franchise's 54th season in the National Football League (NFL). Led by first-year head coach Don Coryell, the Cardinals matched their previous output of 4–9–1, finishing with that record for the third straight season. They failed to reach the playoffs for the 25th straight season (not counting an appearance in the Playoff Bowl following the 1964 season).

1973 St. Louis Cardinals season
Owner	Bill Bidwill
Head coach	Don Coryell
Home field	Busch Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	4–9–1
Division place	4th NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None

The game vs. the Oakland Raiders was the first between the teams, and the last until 1983, by which time the Raiders have moved to Los Angeles. It would be the last time the Raiders played at the Cardinals until 1998 in Tempe, Arizona, and the Raiders' last game in St. Louis until 2002 when they played the Rams.

Their tied game, their first NFL game against the Denver Broncos, was the nearest they would come to beating that franchise until 2010, and the only time the Broncos would play at Busch Memorial Stadium (they would play at Edward Jones Dome in 2000).

Hired in January, Coryell was previously the head coach at San Diego State for twelve seasons.

Offseason

Main article: 1973 NFL draft

1973 St. Louis Cardinals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	5	Dave Butz *	Defensive tackle	Purdue
2	45	Gary Keithley	Quarterback	UTEP
3	59	Fred Sturt	Guard	Bowling Green
3	63	Terry Metcalf	Running back	Long Beach State
5	109	Tom Brahaney	Center	Oklahoma
6	137	Dwayne Crump	Defensive back	Fresno State
6	148	Phil Andre	Defensive back	Washington
7	164	Ken Jones	Tackle	Oklahoma
8	188	Ken Garrett	Running back	Wake Forest
9	213	Ken King	Linebacker	Kentucky
10	242	Bonnie Sloan	Defensive tackle	Austin Peay
11	267	Dan Sanspree	Defensive end	Auburn
12	292	Dean Unruh	Tackle	Oklahoma
13	317	Ed Robinson	Defensive back	Lamar
14	346	Dan Peiffer	Center	Southeast Missouri State
15	371	Mel Parker	Linebacker	Duke
16	396	Jim Hann	Linebacker	Montana
17	421	Eric Crone	Quarterback	Harvard
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

St. Louis Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks 17 Jim Hart 12 Gary Keithley P Running backs 44 Donny Anderson 21 Terry Metcalf 35 Jim Otis FB 31 Don Shy Wide receivers 85 Mel Gray 84 Walker Gillette 30 Gary Hammond 13 Don Maynard 37 Marv Owens 28 Ahmad Rashad Tight ends 83 Jim McFarland 81 Jackie Smith		Offensive linemen 54 Tom Banks C 51 Tom Brahaney C 72 Dan Dierdorf T 60 Conrad Dobler G 60 Roger Finnie G 55 Warren Koegel T 73 Ernie McMillan T 74 Bob Reynolds T 68 Mike Taylor T 64 Bob Young G Defensive linemen 70 Leo Brooks DT 65 Dave Butz DE 71 John Richardson DT 75 Bob Rowe DT 79 Bonnie Sloan DT 78 Ron Yankowski DE		Linebackers 57 Mark Arneson 59 Pete Barnes 52 Jack LeVeck 58 Terry Miller 53 Jamie Rivers 67 Larry Stallings Defensive backs 26 Dwayne Crump CB 42 Chuck Detwiler FS 41 Clarence Duren FS 20 Clancy Oliver CB 45 Jim Tolbert SS 40 Eric Washington CB 22 Roger Wehrli CB Special teams 25 Jim Bakken K		Reserve lists 27 Eddie Moss RB (IR) Practice squad rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 16	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 34–23	1–0	Veterans Stadium	61,103
2	September 23	Washington Redskins	W 34–27	2–0	Busch Memorial Stadium	50,316
3	September 30	at Dallas Cowboys	L 10–45	2–1	Texas Stadium	64,729
4	October 7	Oakland Raiders	L 10–17	2–2	Busch Memorial Stadium	49,051
5	October 14	Philadelphia Eagles	L 24–27	2–3	Busch Memorial Stadium	44,400
6	October 21	at Washington Redskins	L 13–31	2–4	RFK Stadium	54,381
7	October 28	New York Giants	W 35–27	3–4	Busch Memorial Stadium	47,589
8	November 4	Denver Broncos	T 17–17	3–4–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	46,565
9	November 11	at Green Bay Packers	L 21–25	3–5–1	Lambeau Field	52,922
10	November 18	at New York Giants	L 13–24	3–6–1	Yale Bowl	65,795
11	November 25	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 24–42	3–7–1	Riverfront Stadium	50,918
12	December 2	Detroit Lions	L 16–20	3–8–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	44,982
13	December 9	at Atlanta Falcons	W 32–10	4–8–1	Atlanta Stadium	48,030
14	December 16	Dallas Cowboys	L 3–30	4–9–1	Busch Memorial Stadium	43,946
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	382	203	W3
Washington Redskins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–3	325	198	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	5	8	1	.393	3–4–1	3–7–1	310	393	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	4	9	1	.321	3–5	4–7	286	365	L1
New York Giants	2	11	1	.179	1–6–1	1–9–1	226	362	L4