The 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 41st season in the National Football League. The team finished second in the AFC Central division, but qualified for the postseason for the second consecutive season. The Steelers got off to a terrific start winning eight of their first nine games. However, a costly three game losing streak would put their playoff hopes in jeopardy. The Steelers would recover to win their last two games, but had to settle for a Wild Card berth with a 10-4 record. The Steelers would lose in the playoffs to the Oakland Raiders 33-14 in Oakland.
The 1973 Steelers' pass defense is arguably the greatest in the history of the NFL. Their defensive passer rating—the quarterback passer rating of all opposing quarterbacks throughout the season—was 33.1, an NFL record for the Super Bowl era.
According to Cold Hard Football Facts:[1]
Pittsburgh's pass-defense numbers that year were stunning. Opposing passers compiled the following stat-line:
- 164 of 359 (45.7%) for 1,923 yards, 5.36 [yards-per-attempt], 11 [touchdowns] and 37 [interceptions]
The figure that leaps screaming off the sheet is the amazing 37 picks in 14 games. The 2009 Jets, by comparison, allowed a puny 8 TDs in 16 games, but hauled in just 17 picks.
Pittsburgh's all-time best pass defense was an equal-opportunity unit: Mike Wagner led the team with 8 INT, but 10 other guys recorded at least one pick. Amazing. Eleven defenders boasted at least one INT for Pittsburgh that season. The entire starting secondary recorded 24 picks alone, and Hall of Fame cornerback Mel Blount was last on the list: Wagner (8), safety Glen Edwards (6), cornerback John Rowser (6) and Blount (4).
Personnel
Staff
1973 Pittsburgh Steelers staff |
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Front office
- President – Arthur J. Rooney
- Vice President – John R. McGinley
- Vice President – Daniel M. Rooney
- Vice President – Arthur J. Rooney, Jr.
- Public Relations Director – Ed Kiely
- Traveling Secretary – James A. Boston
- Controller – Robert P. Quinn
- Publicity Director – Joe Gordon
- Ticket Manager – Joseph H. Carr
- Director of Player Personnel – Dick Haley
- Assistant Director of Player Personnel – Bill Nunn
- Director of Professional Scouting – V. Timothy Rooney
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
- Strength – Louis Riecke
- Flexibility – Paul Uram
- Team Physician, Orthopedic – Dr. John Best
- Team Physician, M.D. – Dr. David S. Huber
- Team Dentist – Dr. Robert Gray
- Trainer – Ralph Berlin
- Assistant Trainer – Robert Milie
- Equipment Manager – Anthony Parisi
- Field Manager – Jack Hart
[2]
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Roster
1973 Pittsburgh Steelers final 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
[3] [4] [5] [6]
Rookies in italics 46 Active, 1 Inactive, 1 Practice squad
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Offseason
NFL Draft
Team Rd Pick Name Pos College PIT 1 24 J.T. Thomas DB Florida St. PIT 2 50 Ken Phares DB Mississippi St. PIT 3 76 Roger Bernhardt G Kansas PIT 4 102 Gail Clark LB Michigan St. PIT 5 128 Larry Clark LB Northern Illinois PIT 5 106 Dave Reavis T Arkansas PIT 6 154 Glenn Scolnik WR Indiana PIT 6 140 Ron Bell RB Illinois St. PIT 7 180 Nate Dorsey WR Miss. Valley St. PIT 8 206 Bill Janssen T Nebraska PIT 8 192 Loren Toews LB California PIT 9 232 Bracey Bonham G North Carolina Central PIT 10 258 Don Wunderly DT Arkansas PIT 11 284 Bob White DB Arizona PIT 12 310 Willie Lee RB Indiana St. PIT 13 336 Rick Fergerson WR Kansas St. PIT 14 362 Roger Cowan DE Stanford PIT 15 388 Charles Cross DB Iowa PIT 16 414 Glen Nardi DT Navy PIT 17 440 Mike Shannon DT Oregon St.
Preseason
Schedule
Game summaries
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Regular season
Game summaries
Week 1
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Lions |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
10 |
• Steelers |
0 |
3 |
7 |
14 |
24 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 2
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Browns |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
• Steelers |
10 |
6 |
10 |
7 |
33 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 3
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Steelers |
3 |
3 |
13 |
17 |
36 |
Oilers |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 4
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Chargers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
21 |
21 |
• Steelers |
17 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
38 |
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Game summary
Johnny Unitas playing for San Diego is knocked out of the game after completing only 3 of 15 passes for 24 yards and 3 interceptions.
Scoring Drives:
Week 5
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Steelers |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
• Bengals |
6 |
3 |
7 |
3 |
19 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 6
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Jets |
7 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
14 |
• Steelers |
0 |
9 |
3 |
14 |
26 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 7
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Bengals |
0 |
6 |
0 |
7 |
13 |
• Steelers |
3 |
7 |
10 |
0 |
20 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Redskins |
3 |
3 |
3 |
7 |
16 |
• Steelers |
7 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
21 |
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Game summary
Joe Gilliam makes his Monday night debut.
Scoring Drives:
Week 9
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Steelers |
0 |
7 |
7 |
3 |
17 |
Raiders |
0 |
3 |
0 |
6 |
9 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 10
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Broncos |
3 |
3 |
7 |
10 |
23 |
Steelers |
3 |
3 |
0 |
7 |
13 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 11
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Steelers |
7 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
16 |
• Browns |
7 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
21 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 12 (Monday December 3, 1973): Miami Dolphins
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Steelers |
0 |
3 |
7 |
16 |
26 |
• Dolphins |
20 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
30 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 13
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Oilers |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
• Steelers |
3 |
14 |
10 |
6 |
33 |
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
Week 14
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
• Steelers |
7 |
7 |
13 |
10 |
37 |
49ers |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
14 |
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Game summary
John Brodie's number was retired prior to game
Scoring Drives:
Standings
Postseason
Game summaries
Divisional
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1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Steelers |
0 |
7 |
0 |
7 |
14 |
• Raiders |
7 |
3 |
13 |
10 |
33 |
- Date: December 23
- Location: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
- Game attendance: 50,094
- Referee: Pat Haggerty
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Game summary
Scoring Drives:
References
- ↑ Cold Hard Football Facts: Shutdown! The greatest pass defenses in history
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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Formerly the Pittsburgh Pirates (1933–1939)
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