1973 Detroit Lions 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

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 whom 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 on their previous season's output of 8–5–1, finishing a mediocre 6–7–1. The team missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	17	Ernie Price	Defensive End	Texas A&M-Kingsville
2	44	Leon Crosswhite	Running back	Oklahoma
3	58	John Brady	Tight End	Washington
3	71	Jim Laslavic	Linebacker	Penn State

Roster

Detroit Lions roster
Quarterbacks 17 Bill Cappleman 11 Greg Landry 19 Bill Munson Running Backs 35 Leon Crosswhite 24 Mel Farr 30 Jim Hooks FB 36 Steve Owens 42 Altie Taylor Wide Receivers 86 Al Barnes 89 Ron Jessie 25 Earl McCullough 49 Larry Walton Tight Ends 81 John Hilton 88 Charlie Sanders		Offensive Linemen 60 Guy Dennis G 54 Ed Flanagan C 76 Rocky Freitas T 64 Gordon Jolley T 66 Bob Kowalkowski G 65 Dave Thompson T 63 Chuck Walton G 75 Jim Yarbrough T Defensive Linemen 74 Larry Hand DT 83 Jim Mitchell DE 88 Herb Orvis DT 82 Ken Sanders DE 66 John Small DT		Linebackers 58 Mike Hennigan 52 Jim Laslavic 53 Mike Lucci 50 Paul Naumoff 57 Jim Teal Defensive Backs 20 Lem Barney CB 27 Miller Farr CB 26 Dick Jauron FS 23 Levi Johnson CB 21 Jim Thrower 46 Doug Wyatt Special Teams 12 Errol Mann K 18 Herman Weaver P		Reserve Lists Currently vacant Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 16	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–10	48,913
2	September 23	at Green Bay Packers	T 13–13	55,495
3	October 1	Atlanta Falcons	W 31–6	45,599
4	October 7	Minnesota Vikings	L 23–9	49,549
5	October 14	at New Orleans Saints	L 20–13	57,810
6	October 21	Baltimore Colts	L 29–27	48,058
7	October 28	Green Bay Packers	W 34–0	43,616
8	November 4	San Francisco 49ers	W 30–20	49,531
9	November 11	at Minnesota Vikings	L 28–7	47,911
10	November 18	at Chicago Bears	W 30–7	48,625
11	November 22	Washington Redskins	L 20–0	46,807
12	December 2	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 20–16	44,982
13	December 9	Chicago Bears	W 40–7	41,729
14	December 15	at Miami Dolphins	L 34–7	53,375

Season summary

Week 1

See also: 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Detroit 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; wind 11
• Game attendance: 48,913
• Referee: Fred Wyant
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information
Lions Greg Landry 11/27, 219 Yds, TD, 3 INT 8 Rush, 65 Yds Ron Jessie 3 Rec, 131 Yds, TD Steelers Terry Bradshaw 15/23, 124 Yds, 2 TD, INT John Fuqua 26 Rush, 100 Yds Barry Pearson 6 Rec, 58 Yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP DET PIT 2 Steelers 11-yard field goal by Roy Gerela 0 3 3 Steelers Bradshaw 1-yard touchdown run, Gerela kick good 0 10 3 Lions Jessie 84-yard touchdown reception from Landry, Mann kick good 7 10 3 Lions 40-yard field goal by Mann 10 10 4 Steelers McMakin 24-yard touchdown reception from Bradshaw, Gerela kick good 10 17 4 Steelers Shanklin 6-yard touchdown reception from Bradshaw, Gerela kick good 10 24 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 10 24

Week 14

See also: 1973 Miami Dolphins season

Week 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, wind 7 mph
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter MIA – Paul Warfield 21-yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick) – Dolphins 7–0 MIA – Paul Warfield 7-yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick) – Dolphins 14–0 Second quarter MIA – Garo Yepremian 27-yard field goal – Dolphins 17–0 MIA – Paul Warfield 16-yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick) – Dolphins 24–0 MIA – Paul Warfield 4-yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick) – Dolphins 31–0 Third quarter MIA – Garo Yepremian 28-yard field goal – Dolphins 34–0 Fourth quarter DET – Steve Owens 5-yard run (Errol Mann kick) – Dolphins 34–7 Lions Bill Munson 8/17, 73 Yds, INT Steve Owens 27 Rush, 113 Yds, TD 6 Rec, 56 Yds Dolphins Bob Griese 11/15, 141 Yds, 4 TD Larry Csonka 10 Rush, 51 Yds Paul Warfield 6 Rec, 103 Yds, 4 TD

Standings

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