1974 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

1974 St. Louis Cardinals season
OwnerBill Bidwill
Head coachDon Coryell
Home fieldBusch Memorial Stadium
Results
Record10–4
Division place1st NFC East
Playoff finishLost Divisional Playoffs
(at Vikings) 14–30
Pro BowlersT Dan Dierdorf
QB Jim Hart
RB Terry Metcalf
WR Mel Gray
CB Roger Wehrli

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]

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

NFL draft

Main article: 1974 NFL Draft
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 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 Georgia 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  

[2]

Roster

St. Louis Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks


Running backs


Wide receivers


Tight ends


Offensive linemen


Defensive linemen


Linebackers


Defensive backs


Special teams


Reserve lists

Practice squad

rookies in italics

Hall of Fame Game

  • St. Louis Cardinals 21, Buffalo Bills 13 [1]

[3]

Regular season

Schedule

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 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

Week 11 at Giants

See also: 1974 New York Giants season
St. Louis Cardinals (8–2) at New York Giants (2–8)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Cardinals 6 0 71023
Giants 0 7 7721

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

Week 14

1 234Total
Giants 0 1400 14
• Cardinals 0 0206 26
Scoring summary
2NYGRon Johnson 2 yard run (Pete Gogolak kick)Giants 7–0
2NYGJoe Dawkins 1 yard run (Pete Gogolak kick)Giants 14–0
3STLKen Willard 4 yard pass from Jim Hart (kick failed)Giants 14–6
3STLJackie Smith 28 yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick)Giants 14–13
3STLTerry Metcalf 1 yard run (Jim Bakken kick)Cardinals 20–14
4STLTerry Metcalf 16 yard run (kick failed)Cardinals 26–14

[5]

Standings

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

Postseason

NFC Divisional Playoff

  • 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

  • Jim Hart, NFC Leader, Touchdown Passes, 20 Passes [7]

Milestones

  • Terry Metcalf, 2000 Combined Net Yards (718 Rush Yards, 377 Pass Receiving Yards, 340 Punt Return Yards, 623 Kick Return Yards) [8]

References

  1. ^ a b c NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 299
  2. ^ "1974 St. Louis Cardinals Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  3. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
  4. ^ "The Yale Bowl and the Giants". Newsday. September 5, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. ^ "1974 NFL Playoffs – www.football.com". Archived from the original on May 12, 2008. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  7. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
  8. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 443