The 1973 Denver Broncos season was the team's 14th year in professional football and its fourth with the National Football League (NFL). Led by second-year head coach and general manager John Ralston, the Broncos posted a winning record for the first time in franchise history, with seven wins, five losses, and two ties, which tied for sixth-best in the conference. It was the first time in franchise history that they won more than five games. Denver tied for second in the AFC West (third with tiebreaker), 1ý games behind the Oakland Raiders.
After a 1-3 start, Denver went unbeaten in seven straight games. The last of these was a 14-10 win over Kansas City, only the third win in 28 games all-time vs. the Chiefs franchise. The win put the Broncos in first place in the division at 6-3-2. After a split of the next two games, the final game of the regular season was a 21-17 loss at Oakland, making the Raiders division champions.
One of the ties, in their first-ever game with the Cardinals, was the nearest Denver came to losing to that franchise until 2010, and also their only NFL appearance in St. Louis until 2000 against the relocated Rams at Edward Jones Dome.
To date, the 1973 Broncos along with the Kansas City Chiefs, Cleveland Browns, and Green Bay Packers are the last teams to record 2 ties in a single season. Overtime for regular season games was introduced the following year, and the occurrence of tie games decreased.