1974 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season

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
Head coach	Don Coryell
Owner	Bill Bidwill
Home field	Busch Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	1st NFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional playoffs (at Vikings) 30–14
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 Cardinals 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.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Roster

St. Louis Cardinals roster
Quarterbacks 17 Jim Hart 12 Gary Keithley 11 Dennis Shaw Running Backs 44 Donny Anderson 33 Willie Belton 30 Gary Hammond 34 Steve Jones 21 Terry Metcalf 35 Jim Otis FB 20 Ken Willard Wide Receivers 85 Mel Gray 82 Earl Thomas Tight Ends 88 J. V. Cain 80 Jim McFarland 81 Jackie Smith		Offensive Linemen 54 Tom Banks C 51 Tom Brahaney C 72 Dan Dierdorf T 60 Conrad Dobler G 73 Ernie McMillan T 64 Bob Young G Defensive Linemen 79 Bob Bell DE 70 Leo Brooks DT 65 Bob Crum DE 75 Bob Rowe DT 74 Council Rudolph DE 78 Ron Yankowski DE		Linebackers 57 Mark Arneson 59 Pete Barnes 52 Jack LeVeck 53 Steve Neils 67 Larry Stallings Defensive Backs 26 Dwayne Crump CB 41 Clarence Duren FS 36 Ken Reaves SS 28 Scott Stringer 43 Norm Thompson CB 45 Jim Tolbert SS 22 Roger Wehrli CB Special Teams 18 Sergio Albert K 25 Jim Bakken K 14 Hal Roberts P		Reserve Lists Practice Squad Rookies in italics

Hall of Fame Game

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

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 15, 1974	Philadelphia Eagles	W 7–3	40,322
2	September 22, 1974	at Washington Redskins	W 17–10	53,888
3	September 29, 1974	Cleveland Browns	W 29–7	43,472
4	October 6, 1974	at San Francisco 49ers	W 34–9	48,675
5	October 13, 1974	Dallas Cowboys	W 31–28	49,885
6	October 20, 1974	at Houston Oilers	W 31–27	26,371
7	October 27, 1974	Washington Redskins	W 23–20	49,410
8	November 3, 1974	at Dallas Cowboys	L 14-17	64,146
9	November 11, 1974	Minnesota Vikings	L 24–28	50,183
10	November 17, 1974	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 13–3	61,982
11	November 24, 1974	at New York Giants	W 23–21	40,615
12	December 1, 1974	Kansas City Chiefs	L 13–17	41,863
13	December 8, 1974	at New Orleans Saints	L 0-14	57,152
14	December 15, 1974	New York Giants	W 26–14	47,414

Game summaries

Week 11 at Giants

See also: 1974 New York Giants season

St. Louis Cardinals (8–2) at New York Giants (2–8)

	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[3]
• Referee: Bob Frederic
• TV: CBS
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information
Cardinals Jim Hart 25/42, 259 Yds, 2 TD Terry Metcalf 15 Rush, 48 Yds Mel Gray 5 Rec, 102 Yds, TD Giants Craig Morton 21/35, 257 Yds, 2 TD, INT Joe Dawkins 12 Rush, 65 Yds Bob Tucker 5 Rec, 69 Yds, TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP STL NYG 1 Cardinals 36-yard field goal by Jim Bakken 3 0 2 Cardinals 32-yard field goal by Jim Bakken 6 0 2 Giants Ron Johnson 2-yard touchdown run, Pete Gogolak kick good 6 7 3 Giants Bob Tucker 29-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Pete Gogolak kick good 6 14 3 Cardinals Earl Thomas 16-yard touchdown reception from Jim Hart, Jim Bakken kick good 13 14 4 Cardinals Mel Gray 45-yard touchdown reception from Jim Hart, Jim Bakken kick good 20 14 4 Giants Walker Gillette 17-yard touchdown reception from Craig Morton, Pete Gogolak kick good 20 21 4 Cardinals 36-yard field goal by Jim Bakken 23 21 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 23 21

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Giants 0 14 0 0 14 • Cardinals 0 0 20 6 26 Date: December 15 Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 41 °F (5 °C), wind 14 miles per hour (23 km/h; 12 kn)

Scoring summary 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 from Jim 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

[4]

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 [5]

	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 [6]

Milestones

• Terry Metcalf, 2000 Combined Net Yards (718 Rush Yards, 377 Pass Receiving Yards, 340 Punt Return Yards, 623 Kick Return Yards) [7]

References

1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 299
2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
3. "The Yale Bowl and the Giants". Newsday. September 5, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com
5. "1974 NFL Playoffs – www.football.com". Archived from the original on 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
6. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451
7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 443

• Cardinals on Pro Football Reference
• Cardinals on jt-sw.com