1973 New England Patriots season

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.

1973 New England Patriots season
Owner	Billy Sullivan
General manager	Chuck Fairbanks
Head coach	Chuck Fairbanks
Home field	Schaefer Stadium
Results
Record	5–9
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None
AP All-Pros	None

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

NFL Draft

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

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 Head coach/general manager – Chuck Fairbanks Offensive coaches Quarterbacks – Bill Nelsen Offensive backfield – Ron Erhardt Offensive backs/receivers – Sam Rutigliano Offensive line – Red Miller

Defensive coaches Defensive line – Hank Bullough Linebackers/secondary – Charlie Sumner Defensive backfield – Larry Weaver Special teams coaches Special teams – Jim Valek

Roster

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 FB 43 Claxton Welch Wide receivers (WR) 33 Reggie Rucker 84 Darryl Stingley 18 Randy Vataha Tight ends (TE) 80 Bob Adams 86 Bob Windsor

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 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 66 Nate Dorsey 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 50 Edgar Chandler 59 Bob Geddes 55 Will Foster 57 Steve Kiner 52 Steve King 59 Brian Stenger 53 John Tanner Defensive backs (DB) 49 Ralph Anderson FS 27 Ron Bolton CB 29 Greg Boyd S 22 Sandy Durko SS 23 George Hoey CB 38 Don Martin CB 28 Dave Mason S Special teams 3 Bruce Barnes P 8 Bill Bell K 2 Jeff White K

Reserve -- Wayne Patrick RB (IR) -- Bill Peterson OLB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Game Recap
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

AFC East
	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