| 1974 St. Louis Cardinals season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bill Bidwill |
| Head coach | Don Coryell |
| Home stadium | Busch Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–4 |
| Division place | 1stNFC East |
| Playoffs | LostDivisional Playoffs (atVikings) 14–30 |
| Pro Bowlers | TDan Dierdorf QBJim Hart RBTerry Metcalf WRMel Gray CBRoger Wehrli |
The1974 St. Louis Cardinals season was the team's 55th year with theNational 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]
The 10–4 Cardinals qualified for the postseason for the first time since1948 when the franchise was based in Chicago. It was the team's first winning season since1970 when the Cardinals went 8–5–1.[1] Although the Cardinals and theWashington 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 until2021. By then, they would be based in Arizona.
| 1974 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 withSouthern 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 withMemphis Grizzlies (WFL) |
| 13 | 319 | Jimmy Poulos | Running back | Georgia | Signed withJacksonville 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 | |||||
| St. Louis Cardinals roster | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks Running backs Wide receivers Tight ends | Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists
| |||||
| Week | 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 | atWashington 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 | atSan 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 | atHouston 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 | atDallas 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 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | W 13–3 | 8–2 | Veterans Stadium | 61,982 | Recap |
| 11 | November 24 | atNew 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 | atNew 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 inbold text. | |||||||
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 6 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 23 |
| Giants | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
atYale Bowl •New Haven, Connecticut
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| • Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 20 | 6 | 26 |
| 2 | NYG | Ron Johnson 2 yard run (Pete Gogolak kick) | Giants 7–0 | |
| 2 | NYG | Joe Dawkins 1 yard run (Pete Gogolak kick) | Giants 14–0 | |
| 3 | STL | Ken Willard 4 yard pass fromJim Hart (kick failed) | Giants 14–6 | |
| 3 | STL | Jackie Smith 28 yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick) | Giants 14–13 | |
| 3 | STL | Terry Metcalf 1 yard run (Jim Bakken kick) | Cardinals 20–14 | |
| 4 | STL | Terry Metcalf 16 yard run (kick failed) | Cardinals 26–14 | |
| NFC 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 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardinals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Vikings | 0 | 7 | 16 | 7 | 30 |
atMetropolitan Stadium,Bloomington, Minnesota