1973 New England Patriots season

Season of National Football League team the New England Patriots November 2013 March 2026 New England Patriots 1973 5–9 3rd AFC East Chuck Fairbanks Chuck Fairbanks Billy Sullivan Schaefer Stadium Did not qualify None None Patriots seasons The 1973 New England Patriots season was the franchise's fourth 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 NFL draft 1973 NFL draft 1973 New England Patriots 1 4 John Hannah Guard Alabama yes yes yes 1 11 Sam Cunningham Fullback USC yes yes 1 19 Darryl Stingley Wide receiver Purdue yes 3 57 Brad Dusek Defensive back Texas A&M no 5 108 Doug Dumler Center Nebraska yes 8 186 Isaac Brown Running back Western Kentucky no 9 212 David Callaway Tackle Texas A&M no 10 238 Dan Ruster Defensive back Oklahoma no 11 264 Homer May Tight end Texas A&M no 12 290 Bruce Barnes Punter UCLA yes 13 316 Adam Lowry Defensive back Texas no 14 342 Ray Hamilton Defensive end Oklahoma yes 15 368 Condie Pugh Running back 1972 Norfolk State Spartans Norfolk State no 16 394 Mike Kutter Defensive end 1972 Concordia Cobbers Concordia Moorhead no 17 420 Eddie McAshan Quarterback Georgia Tech no yes Staff 1973 New England Patriots President – Billy Sullivan Assistant general manager – Peter Hadhazy Director of player personnel – Bucko Kilroy Administrative assistant to the head coach – Phil Bengtson General manager/head coach – Chuck Fairbanks Quarterbacks – Bill Nelsen Offensive backfield – Ron Erhardt Receivers – Sam Rutigliano Offensive line – Red Miller Defensive line – Hank Bullough Linebackers – Charlie Sumner Defensive backs – Larrye Weaver Special teams – Jim Valek Roster 1973 New England Patriots 14 Brian Dowling American football 16 Jim Plunkett 11 Dick Shiner 31 Josh Ashton 39 Sam Cunningham y 42 Mack Herron 24 Bob McCall y no 36 John Tarver -- Edesel Garrison y no 33 Reggie Rucker 84 Darryl Stingley y 18 Randy Vataha 80 Bob Adams American football -- John Mosier American football 86 Bob Windsor 61 Sam Adams Sr. T 78 Willie Banks American football G 58 Doug Dumler y C 70 Leon Gray y T 73 John Hannah American football y G 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 77 Tom Neville offensive tackle T 60 Len St. Jean G 85 Julius Adams DT 63 Rick Cash DE -- Ron Fernandes y DE 71 Ray Hamilton defensive tackle y DE 72 Mel Lunsford DT 75 Arthur Moore American football y DT 76 Dave Rowe American football DT 65 Donnell Smith DE 51 Ron Acks OLB 50 Edgar Chandler MLB 59 Bob Geddes MLB -- Carl Johnson y no OLB 57 Steve Kiner OLB 52 Steve King American football y OLB 53 John Tanner gridiron football, born 1945 OLB 49 Ralph Anderson defensive back FS 27 Ron Bolton American football CB 29 Greg Boyd defensive back y no SS 22 Sandy Durko SS 23 George Hoey CB 38 Don Martin American football CB 28 Dave Mason American football y FS  3 Bruce Barnes American football y P  2 Jeff White American football K 66 Nate Dorsey y no DE IR 55 Will Foster American football y LB IR 64 Allen Gallaher y T IR -- Steve Harkey RB DNR 56 Jon Morris C IR 30 Wayne Patrick RB IR -- Bill Peterson linebacker OLB IR 59 Brian Stenger LB IR 43 Claxton Welch RB IR 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 5–8Rich 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 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 296 References New England Patriots Category:New England Patriots seasons New England Patriots Category:Sports competitions in Foxborough, Massachusetts Category:Long stubs with short prose