The 1973Pittsburgh Steelersseason 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 quarterbackpasser rating of all opposing quarterbacks throughout the season—was 33.1, an NFL record for the Super Bowl era.
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).
[3][4][5][6] Rookies in italics
46 active, 1 inactive, 1 practice squad
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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