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
← 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

NFL Draft

Main article: 1973 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1973 New England Patriots draft
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 Bengston 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 14 Brian Dowling 16 Jim Plunkett 11 Dick Shiner Running backs 31 Josh Ashton 39 Sam Cunningham 46 Paul Gipson 42 Mack Herron 24 Bob McCall 36 John Tarver FB 43 Claxton Welch Wide receivers 66 Nate Dorsey 33 Reggie Rucker 84 Darryl Stingley 18 Randy Vataha Tight ends 80 Bob Adams 86 Bob Windsor		Offensive linemen 61 Sam Adams Sr. G 58 Doug Dumler C 70 Leon Gray T 73 John Hannah G 67 Bill Lenkaitis C 60 Len St. Jean G Defensive linemen 85 Julius Adams DE 63 Rick Cash DE 71 Ray Hamilton DE 75 Arthur Moore DT 76 Dave Rowe DT		Linebackers 51 Ron Acks 50 Edgar Chandler 53 John Tanner 55 Will Foster 57 Steve Kiner 52 Steve King Defensive backs 49 Ralph Anderson FS 27 Ron Bolton CB 29 Greg Boyd 22 Sandy Durko 23 George Hoey CB 38 Don Martin Special teams 3 Bruce Barnes P 8 Bill Bell K 2 Jeff White K		Reserve lists -- Wayne Patrick RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 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
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

^ 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 Players Coaches First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks 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" 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 Miami Dolphins New York Giants New York Jets Pittsburgh Steelers Brady–Manning rivalry
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	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 t e 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 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1973 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
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