The 1973 Detroit Lions season was their 44th in the league. Don McCafferty, who served as an assistant under Don Shula during Shula's stint as head coach of the Baltimore Colts, and who as head coach himself coached the Colts to a Super Bowl V victory over the Dallas Cowboys, would replace Joe Schmidt as head coach. However, the team would still fail to improve and get better on their previous season's output of 8–5–1, finishing a mediocre 6–7–1.[1] The football team had missed the playoffs for the third in a row straight season.
| 1973 Detroit Lions season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | William Clay Ford Sr. |
| Head coach | Don McCafferty |
| Home field | Tiger Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 6–7–1 |
| Division place | 2nd NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
NFL draft
edit| 1973 Detroit Lions draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Ernie Price | DE | Texas A&M | from Chicago |
| 2 | 44 | Leon Crosswhite | RB | Oklahoma | |
| 3 | 58 | John Brady | TE | Washington | from Chicago |
| 3 | 71 | Jim Laslavic | LB | Penn State | |
| 3 | 75 | Levi Johnson | CB | Texas A&I | from Los Angeles |
| 4 | 81 | Mike Hennigan | LB | Tennessee Tech | |
| 4 | 91 | Dick Jauron * | S | Yale | from Atlanta |
| 4 | 96 | Jim Hooks | RB | Central State (OK) | |
| 7 | 175 | John Andrews | DT | Morgan State | |
| 8 | 200 | Prentice McCray | S | Arizona State | |
| 8 | 203 | John Bledsoe | RB | Ohio State | from Cleveland |
| 9 | 227 | Ira Dean | DB | Baylor | |
| 10 | 252 | Ray Bonner | DB | Middle Tennessee State | |
| 11 | 279 | Scott Freeman | WR | Wyoming | |
| 12 | 304 | Tom Scott | WR | Washington | |
| 13 | 331 | John Moss | LB | Pittsburgh | |
| 14 | 356 | Jay Corey | OT | Santa Clara | |
| 15 | 408 | Larry Nickels | WR | Dayton | |
| 17 | 435 | Earl Belgrave | OT | Ohio State | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Notes
- Detroit traded TE Craig Cotton and its first-round selection (19th) to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's first- and third-round selections (17th and 58th).
- Detroit traded DB Al Clark to Los Angeles in exchange for the Rams' third-round selection (75th).
- Detroit traded its second-round selection in 1972 to Atlanta in exchange for CB Rudy Redmond, RB Sonny Campbell and Atlanta's fourth-round selection (91st).
- Detroit traded its fifth-round selection (123rd) to Washington in exchange for TE John Hilton.
- Detroit traded its sixth-round selection (148th) to St. Louis in exchange for LB Rick Ogle.
- Detroit traded DT Jerry Rush to Cleveland in exchange for the Browns' eighth-round pick (203rd).
Roster
edit| Detroit Lions roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
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Offensive linemen
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Linebackers
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Reserve lists
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Schedule
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 16 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–24 | 0–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 48,913 | Recap |
| 2 | September 23 | at Green Bay Packers | T 13–13 | 0–1–1 | Lambeau Field | 55,495 | Recap |
| 3 | October 1 | Atlanta Falcons | W 31–6 | 1–1–1 | Tiger Stadium | 45,599 | Recap |
| 4 | October 7 | Minnesota Vikings | L 9–23 | 1–2–1 | Tiger Stadium | 49,549 | Recap |
| 5 | October 14 | at New Orleans Saints | L 13–20 | 1–3–1 | Tulane Stadium | 57,810 | Recap |
| 6 | October 21 | Baltimore Colts | L 27–29 | 1–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 48,058 | Recap |
| 7 | October 28 | Green Bay Packers | W 34–0 | 2–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 43,616 | Recap |
| 8 | November 4 | San Francisco 49ers | W 30–20 | 3–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 49,531 | Recap |
| 9 | November 11 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 7–28 | 3–5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,911 | Recap |
| 10 | November 18 | at Chicago Bears | W 30–7 | 4–5–1 | Soldier Field | 48,625 | Recap |
| 11 | November 22 | Washington Redskins | L 0–20 | 4–6–1 | Tiger Stadium | 46,807 | Recap |
| 12 | December 2 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 20–16 | 5–6–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 44,982 | Recap |
| 13 | December 9 | Chicago Bears | W 40–7 | 6–6–1 | Tiger Stadium | 41,729 | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | at Miami Dolphins | L 7–34 | 6–7–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 53,375 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Season summary
editWeek 1
editDetroit Lions (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| Steelers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA
- Date: September 16
- Game time: 4:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C); wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
- Game attendance: 48,913
- Referee: Fred Wyant
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
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Week 14
editWeek Fourteen: Detroit Lions (6–6–1) at Miami Dolphins (11–2)
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Dolphins | 14 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 34 |
at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
- Date: Saturday, December 15
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
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Standings
edit| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 6–0 | 10–1 | 296 | 168 | W2 |
| Detroit Lions | 6 | 7 | 1 | .464 | 3–2–1 | 6–4–1 | 271 | 247 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 5 | 7 | 2 | .429 | 1–4–1 | 4–6–1 | 202 | 259 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 1–5 | 1–9 | 195 | 334 | L6 |