The 1974 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 55th year with the National Football League and the 15th season in St. Louis. The Cardinals scored 285 points while the defense gave up 218 points, en route to the NFC East Championship.[1]
1974 St. Louis Cardinals season | |
---|---|
Owner | Bill Bidwill |
Head coach | Don Coryell |
Home field | Busch Memorial Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 10–4 |
Division place | 1st NFC East |
Playoff finish | Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Vikings) 14–30 |
Pro Bowlers | T Dan Dierdorf QB Jim Hart RB Terry Metcalf WR Mel Gray CB Roger Wehrli |
The 10–4 Cardinals qualified for the postseason for the first time since 1948 when the franchise was based in Chicago. It was the team's first winning season since 1970 when the Cardinals went 8–5–1.[1] Although the Cardinals and the Washington Redskins finished with identical 10–4 records, the Cardinals won the NFC East title, because of their two victories over Washington that season.
The Cardinals won their first seven games, and were at least tied for first place from Week One to the end of the regular season.
The Cardinals would not start a season with a 7–0 record again until 2021. By then, they would be based in Arizona.
Offseason
editNFL draft
edit1974 St. Louis Cardinals draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | J. V. Cain | Tight end | Colorado | |
2 | 33 | Greg Kindle | Guard | Tennessee State | |
3 | 60 | Steve George | Defensive tackle | Houston | |
4 | 85 | Durwood Keeton | Defensive back | Oklahoma | Signed with Southern California Sun (WFL) |
4 | 91 | Ike Harris | Wide receiver | Iowa State | Played with Cardinals 75–77 |
5 | 111 | Steve Neils | Linebacker | Minnesota | |
8 | 189 | Sergio Albert | Kicker | U.S. International | |
9 | 215 | Reggie Harrison | Running back | Cincinnati | |
10 | 251 | Greg Hartle | Linebacker | Newberry | |
12 | 293 | Roger Wallace | Wide receiver | Bowling Green | Signed with Memphis Grizzlies (WFL) |
13 | 319 | Jimmy Poulos | Running back | Georgien | Signed with Jacksonville Express (WFL) |
14 | 345 | Charles Smith | Running back | Yankton | |
15 | 371 | Vincent Ancell | Defensive back | Arkansas State | |
16 | 397 | Alonzo Emery | Running back | Arizona State | |
17 | 423 | John Moseley | Defensive back | Missouri | |
Made roster |
Roster
editSt. Louis Cardinals 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 rookies in italics |
Hall of Fame Game
edit- St. Louis Cardinals 21, Buffalo Bills 13 [1]
Regular season
editZeitplan
editWeek | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 15 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 7–3 | 1–0 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 40,322 | Recap |
2 | September 22 | at Washington Redskins | W 17–10 | 2–0 | RFK Stadium | 53,888 | Recap |
3 | September 29 | Cleveland Browns | W 29–7 | 3–0 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 43,472 | Recap |
4 | October 6 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 34–9 | 4–0 | Candlestick Park | 48,675 | Recap |
5 | October 13 | Dallas Cowboys | W 31–28 | 5–0 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49,885 | Recap |
6 | October 20 | at Houston Oilers | W 31–27 | 6–0 | Astrodome | 26,371 | Recap |
7 | October 27 | Washington Redskins | W 23–20 | 7–0 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 49,410 | Recap |
8 | November 3 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 14–17 | 7–1 | Texas Stadium | 64,146 | Recap |
9 | November 11 | Minnesota Vikings | L 24–28 | 7–2 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 50,183 | Recap |
10 | November 17 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 13–3 | 8–2 | Veterans Stadium | 61,982 | Recap |
11 | November 24 | at New York Giants | W 23–21 | 9–2 | Yale Bowl | 40,615 | Recap |
12 | December 1 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 13–17 | 9–3 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 41,863 | Recap |
13 | December 8 | at New Orleans Saints | L 0–14 | 9–4 | Tulane Stadium | 57,152 | Recap |
14 | December 15 | New York Giants | W 26–14 | 10–4 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 47,414 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |
Game summaries
editWeek 11 at Giants
editQuarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 6 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 23 |
Giants | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
at Yale Bowl • New Haven, Connecticut
- Date: November 24
- Game time: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 45 °F (7 °C) • Wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
- Game attendance: 40,615[4]
- Referee: Bob Frederic
- TV: CBS
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information | ||
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Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Week 14
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Standings
editNFC East | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
St. Louis Cardinals | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 7–1 | 8–3 | 285 | 218 | W1 |
Washington Redskins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–3 | 8–3 | 320 | 196 | W2 |
Dallas Cowboys | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 4–4 | 6–5 | 297 | 235 | L1 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 5–6 | 242 | 217 | W3 |
New York Giants | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1–7 | 1–10 | 195 | 299 | L6 |
Postseason
editNFC Divisional Playoff
edit- Minnesota Vikings 30, St. Louis Cardinals 14 [6]
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Vikings | 0 | 7 | 16 | 7 | 30 |
at Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota
- TV: CBS
- Attendance: 44,626
Awards and records
edit- Jim Hart, NFC Leader, Touchdown Passes, 20 Passes [7]
Milestones
edit- Terry Metcalf, 2000 Combined Net Yards (718 Rush Yards, 377 Pass Receiving Yards, 340 Punt Return Yards, 623 Kick Return Yards) [8]
References
edit- ^ a b c NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 299
- ^ "1974 St. Louis Cardinals Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
- ^ "The Yale Bowl and the Giants". Newsday. September 5, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
- ^ "1974 NFL Playoffs – www.football.com". Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 443