1973 Season
10-4 Regular Season • Divisional Playoffs
Season Summary: The 1973 Steelers looked ready to take another major step after the breakthrough of 1972. They opened 6-1, with Bradshaw starting the first 7 games, and for a while looked like one of the AFC's strongest teams. But the season changed when Bradshaw suffered a separated shoulder, forcing the Steelers to turn to Terry Hanratty and rookie Joe Gilliam.
Bradshaw returned on Monday night in Miami after Gilliam, making his first NFL start, threw 3 Ints in 7 attempts as the defending champion Dolphins raced to a 27-0 lead. Bradshaw came off the bench and threw pick-6, but then lead a furious 2nd-half comeback. Pittsburgh pulled within 30-26 and got the ball back with a minute remaining before finally running out of chances.
Back in the lineup, Bradshaw finished the season with wins over Houston and San Fran as Pittsburgh went 10-4. His numbers reflected an uneven, injury-shortened year, but the Steelers were 8-1 in his regular-season starts. Franco Harris also battled injuries and the team never quite regained the momentum it had early in the season.
The playoffs ended abruptly in Oakland. Bradshaw threw 2 TD passes, but also 3 Ints as the Raiders won 33-14, avenging the Immaculate Reception from a year earlier. The 1973 Steelers were good enough to win 10 games despite the injuries and instability, but they weren't yet the finished product. Fortunately, the 1974 draft was just around the corner...
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Regular Season
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| Game | Week | Date | Result | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rate | Sk | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | ||||
| vs Lions | 1* | 09/16 | W 24-10 | 15 | 23 | 65.2 | 154 | 6.7 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 95.2 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 3.1 | 1 | 9 |
| vs Browns | 2* | 09/23 | W 33-6 | 5 | 14 | 35.7 | 140 | 10.0 | 1 | 1 | 49 | 67.6 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 0 | 10 |
| at Oilers | 3* | 09/30 | W 36-7 | 9 | 17 | 52.9 | 159 | 9.4 | 1 | 2 | 44 | 65.2 | 3 | 5 | 26 | 5.2 | 1 | 10 |
| vs Chargers | 4* | 10/07 | W 38-21 | 7 | 16 | 43.8 | 99 | 6.2 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 59.1 | 1 | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 1 | 21 |
| at Bengals | 5* | 10/14 | L 7-19 | 9 | 14 | 64.3 | 106 | 7.6 | 0 | 1 | 67 | 57.4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 3 |
| vs Jets | 6* | 10/21 | W 26-14 | 8 | 18 | 44.4 | 119 | 6.6 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 43.5 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 0 | 12 |
| vs Bengals | 7* | 10/28 | W 20-13 | 3 | 7 | 42.9 | 37 | 5.3 | 0 | 1 | 22 | 20.2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 |
| vs Redskins | 8 | 11/05 | W 21-16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| at Raiders | 9 | 11/11 | W 17-9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| vs Broncos | 10 | 11/18 | L 13-23 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| at Browns | 11 | 11/25 | L 16-21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| WATCHat Dolphins | 12 | 12/03 | L 26-30 | 14 | 35 | 40.0 | 117 | 3.3 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 32.7 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 2 |
| vs Oilers | 13* | 12/09 | W 33-7 | 11 | 20 | 55.0 | 117 | 5.9 | 2 | 4 | 24 | 66.0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 2.7 | 0 | — |
| at 49ers | 14* | 12/15 | W 37-14 | 8 | 16 | 50.0 | 135 | 8.4 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 99.7 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 3.3 | 0 | 6 |
| 1973 TOTAL | 10 G / 9 GS | — | 8-1 as starter | 89 | 180 | 49.4 | 1,183 | 6.6 | 10 | 15 | 67 | 54.5 | 24 | 34 | 145 | 4.3 | 3 | 21 |
* Bradshaw started
Postseason
| Game | Week | Date | Result | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rate | Sk | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Lng | ||||
| at Raiders | DIV* | 12/22 | L 14-33 | 12 | 25 | 48.0 | 167 | 6.7 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 57.0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 0 | 5 |
| POSTSEASON | 1 | — | 0-1 | 12 | 25 | 48.0 | 167 | 6.7 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 57.0 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 0 | 5 |
* Bradshaw started