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

Personnel

Staff

Roster

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

Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jun-22.

Week 5 vs Steelers

Week 7 at Steelers

Standings

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 78–710FUMBLES-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 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 452

Pro Bowl selections WR Isaac Curtis DT Mike Reid TE Bob Trumpy

References

Bengals on Pro Football Reference Bengals Schedule on jt-sw.com Bengals History on Official Site