1973 New England Patriots season

Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots

1973 New England Patriots season

Owner| Billy Sullivan
General manager| Chuck Fairbanks
Head coach| Chuck Fairbanks
Home stadium| Schaefer Stadium
Results
Record| 5–9
Division place| 3rd AFC East
Playoffs| Did not qualify
All-Pros| None
Pro Bowlers| None

* ← 1972
* Patriots seasons
* 1974 →

The 1973 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League and 14th overall. The patriots ended the season with a record of five wins and nine losses and a third place finish in the AFC East Division. It was the first year under head coach and general manager Chuck Fairbanks, hired in January after six seasons as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.

Selections in the 1973 NFL draft included John Hannah, Sam Cunningham, Ray Hamilton, and Darryl Stingley. The assistant coaches on offense included future NFL head coaches Ron Erhardt, Sam Rutigliano, and Red Miller.

## Offseason

[edit]

### NFL draft

[edit]

Main article: 1973 NFL draft

1973 New England Patriots draft

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | College  | Notes
1  | 4  | John Hannah * †  | Guard | Alabama |
1  | 11  | Sam Cunningham *  | Fullback | USC |
1  | 19  | Darryl Stingley  | Wide receiver | Purdue |
3  | 57  | Brad Dusek  | Defensive back | Texas A&M |
5  | 108  | Doug Dumler  | Center | Nebraska |
8  | 186  | Isaac Brown  | Running back | Western Kentucky |
9  | 212  | David Callaway  | Tackle | Texas A&M |
10  | 238  | Dan Ruster  | Defensive back  | Oklahoma |
11  | 264  | Homer May  | Tight end | Texas A&M |
12  | 290  | Bruce Barnes  | Punter | UCLA |
13  | 316  | Adam Lowry  | Defensive back | Texas |
14  | 342  | Ray Hamilton  | Defensive end | Oklahoma |
15  | 368  | Condie Pugh  | Running back | Norfolk State |
16  | 394  | Mike Kutter  | Defensive end | Concordia Moorhead |
17  | 420  | Eddie McAshan  | Quarterback | Georgia Tech |
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

## Staff

[edit]

1973 New England Patriots staff |

Front office

* President – Billy Sullivan
* Assistant general manager – Peter Hadhazy
* Director of player personnel – Bucko Kilroy
* Administrative assistant to the head coach – Phil Bengtson

Head coaches

* General manager/head coach – Chuck Fairbanks

Offensive coaches

* Quarterbacks – Bill Nelsen
* Offensive backfield – Ron Erhardt
* Receivers – Sam Rutigliano
* Offensive line – Red Miller

|  |  | Defensive coaches

* Defensive line – Hank Bullough
* Linebackers – Charlie Sumner
* Defensive backs – Larrye Weaver

Special teams coaches

* Special teams – Jim Valek

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## Roster

[edit]

1973 New England Patriots roster Quarterbacks (QB)

* 14 Brian Dowling
* 16 Jim Plunkett
* 11 Dick Shiner

Running backs (RB)

* 31 Josh Ashton
* 39 Sam Cunningham
* 42 Mack Herron
* 24 Bob McCall
* 36 John Tarver

Wide receivers (WR)

* \-- Edesel Garrison
* 33 Reggie Rucker
* 84 Darryl Stingley
* 18 Randy Vataha

Tight ends (TE)

* 80 Bob Adams
* \-- John Mosier
* 86 Bob Windsor

|  | Offensive linemen (OL)

* 61 Sam Adams T
* 78 Willie Banks G
* 58 Doug Dumler C
* 70 Leon Gray T
* 73 John Hannah G
* 67 Bill Lenkaitis C
* 77 Tom Neville T
* 60 Len St. Jean G

Defensive linemen (DL)

* 85 Julius Adams DT
* 63 Rick Cash DE
* \-- Ron Fernandes DE
* 71 Ray Hamilton DE
* 72 Mel Lunsford DT
* 75 Arthur Moore DT
* 76 Dave Rowe DT
* 65 Donnell Smith DE

|  | Linebackers (LB)

* 51 Ron Acks OLB
* 50 Edgar Chandler MLB
* 59 Bob Geddes MLB
* \-- Carl Johnson OLB
* 57 Steve Kiner OLB
* 52 Steve King OLB
* 53 John Tanner OLB

Defensive backs (DB)

* 49 Ralph Anderson FS
* 27 Ron Bolton CB
* 29 Greg Boyd SS
* 22 Sandy Durko SS
* 23 George Hoey CB
* 38 Don Martin CB
* 28 Dave Mason FS

Special teams (ST)

*  3 Bruce Barnes P
*  2 Jeff White K

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Reserve

* 66 Nate Dorsey DE (IR)
* 55 Will Foster LB (IR)
* 64 Allen Gallaher T (IR)
* \-- Steve Harkey RB (DNR)
* 56 Jon Morris C (IR)
* 30 Wayne Patrick RB (IR)
* \-- Bill Peterson OLB (IR)
* 59 Brian Stenger LB (IR)
* 43 Claxton Welch RB (IR)

Rookies in italics

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## Regular season

[edit]

### Schedule

[edit]

Week  | Date  | Opponent  | Result  | Record  | Venue  | Attendance  | Game Recap

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1  | September 16  | Buffalo Bills | L 13–31  | 0–1  | Schaefer Stadium |

56,119

| Recap
2  | September 23  | Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–10  | 0–2  | Schaefer Stadium  |

57,918

| Recap
3  | September 30  | at Miami Dolphins | L 23–44  | 0–3  | Miami Orange Bowl |

62,508

| Recap
4  | October 7  | Baltimore Colts | W 24–16  | 1–3  | Schaefer Stadium  |

57,044

| Recap
5  | October 14  | New York Jets | L 7–9  | 1–4  | Schaefer Stadium  |

58,659

| Recap
6  | October 21  | at Chicago Bears | W 13–10  | 2–4  | Soldier Field |

47,643

| Recap
7  | October 28  | Miami Dolphins | L 14–30  | 2–5  | Schaefer Stadium  |

57,617

| Recap
8  | November 4  | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 23–24  | 2–6  | Veterans Stadium |

65,070

| Recap
9  | November 11  | at New York Jets | L 13–33  | 2–7  | Shea Stadium |

51,034

| Recap
10  | November 18  | Green Bay Packers | W 33–24  | 3–7  | Schaefer Stadium  |

60,525

| Recap
11  | November 25  | at Houston Oilers | W 32–0  | 4–7  | Astrodome |

27,344

| Recap
12  | December 2  | San Diego Chargers | W 30–14  | 5–7  | Schaefer Stadium  |

58,150

| Recap
13  | December 9  | at Buffalo Bills | L 13–37  | 5–8  | Rich Stadium |

72,470

| Recap
14  | December 16  | at Baltimore Colts | L 13–18  | 5–9  | Memorial Stadium |

52,065

| Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Standings

[edit]

AFC East

* view
* talk
* edit

| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK
Miami Dolphins | 12  | 2  | 0  | .857  | 7–1  | 9–2  | 343  | 150  | W1
Buffalo Bills | 9  | 5  | 0  | .643  | 6–2  | 7–4  | 259  | 230  | W4
New England Patriots | 5  | 9  | 0  | .357  | 1–7  | 3–8  | 258  | 300  | L2
New York Jets | 4  | 10  | 0  | .286  | 4–4  | 4–7  | 240  | 306  | L2
Baltimore Colts | 4  | 10  | 0  | .286  | 2–6  | 2–9  | 226  | 341  | W2

[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 296

* v
* t
* e

New England Patriots

* Founded in 1960
* Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970)
* Based and headquartered in Foxborough, Massachusetts

Franchise|

* Franchise
* History
* Brady–Belichick era
* Hall of Fame
* Patriot Place
* Seasons
* All-time roster
* Coaches
* First-round draft picks
* Starting quarterbacks
* Retired numbers
* Strategy
* Broadcasters

Stadiums|

* Nickerson Field
* Fenway Park
* Alumni Stadium
* Harvard Stadium
* Foxboro Stadium
* Gillette Stadium

Culture|

* Billy Sullivan
* Robert Kraft
* Jonathan Kraft
* Pat Patriot
* Cheerleaders
* "I'm Shipping Up to Boston"
* "Crazy Train"
* "Your Love"
* Patriot Reign
* Family Guy
* "Patriot Games"
* "3 Acts of God"
* "Gronkowsbees"
* "This Is Our House"
* "Stunning and Brave"
* "Turd Burglars"
* Tom vs Time
* Man in the Arena: Tom Brady
* 80 for Brady

Lore|

* Snowplow Game
* Lisa Olson
* St. Louis Stallions
* Tuck Rule Game
* 2006 playoff game vs. San Diego Chargers
* 16–0
* Spygate
* 2007 game vs. New York Giants
* Helmet Catch
* Butt Fumble
* Deflategate
* Malcolm Butler's interception
* Colts Catastrophe
* 28–3
* Philly Special
* Miami Miracle
* Brady's return
* Lunatic Lateral

Rivalries|

* Baltimore Ravens
* Buffalo Bills
* Denver Broncos
* Indianapolis Colts
* Brady–Manning rivalry
* Miami Dolphins
* New York Giants
* New York Jets
* Pittsburgh Steelers

Division championships (22)|

* 1963
* 1978
* 1986
* 1996
* 1997
* 2001
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019

Conference championships (11)|

* 1985
* 1996
* 2001
* 2003
* 2004
* 2007
* 2011
* 2014
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018

League championships (6)|

* 2001 (XXXVI)
* 2003 (XXXVIII)
* 2004 (XXXIX)
* 2014 (XLIX)
* 2016 (LI)
* 2018 (LIII)

Retired numbers|

* 12
* 20
* 40
* 56
* 57
* 73
* 78
* 79
* 89

Media|

* Broadcasters
* WBZ-FM
* WBZ-TV
* Radio network
* Gil Santos
* Gino Cappelletti
* Bob Socci
* Scott Zolak

Current league affiliations|

* League: National Football League (1970–present)
* Conference: American Football Conference
* Division: East Division

Former league affiliation|

* League: American Football League (1960–1969)

* v
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New England Patriots seasons

Formerly the Boston Patriots (1960–1970)

* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
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* 2001
* 2002
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* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
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* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory
Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

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1973 NFL season

| AFC| East | Central| West| East| Central| West | NFC

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Baltimore | Cincinnati| Denver| Dallas| Chicago| Atlanta
Buffalo | Cleveland| Kansas City| NY Giants| Detroit| Los Angeles
Miami | Houston| Oakland| Philadelphia| Green Bay| New Orleans
New England | Pittsburgh| San Diego| St. Louis| Minnesota| San Francisco
NY Jets | | | Washington| |

* 1973 NFL draft
* NFL playoffs
* Pro Bowl
* Super Bowl VIII

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*[T]: Ties
*[G]: Offensive guard
*[C]: Center
*[DT]: Defensive tackle
*[DE]: Defensive end
*[OLB]: Outside linebacker
*[MLB]: Middle linebacker
*[FS]: Free safety
*[CB]: Cornerback
*[SS]: Strong safety
*[P]: Punter
*[K]: Kicker
*[LB]: Linebacker
*[RB]: Running back
*[DNR]: Did Not Report. Players under contract who failed to report to the team for training camp.
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[PCT]: Winning percentage
*[DIV]: Win–Loss record within their division
*[CONF]: Win–Loss record within their conference
*[PF]: Points For (Total points scored)
*[PA]: Points Against (Total points allowed)
*[STK]: Current Winning or Losing Streak
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template