1973 Detroit Lions season

1973 Detroit Lions season
Head Coach	Don McCafferty
Home Field	Tiger Stadium
Results
Record	6–7–1
Place	2nd NFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season	Next season
1972	1974

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, 1973	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–10	48,913
2	September 23, 1973	at Green Bay Packers	T 13–13	55,495
3	October 1, 1973	Atlanta Falcons	W 31–6	45,599
4	October 7, 1973	Minnesota Vikings	L 23–9	49,549
5	October 14, 1973	at New Orleans Saints	L 20–13	57,810
6	October 21, 1973	Baltimore Colts	L 29–27	48,058
7	October 28, 1973	Green Bay Packers	W 34–0	43,616
8	November 4, 1973	San Francisco 49ers	W 30–20	49,531
9	November 11, 1973	at Minnesota Vikings	L 28–7	47,911
10	November 18, 1973	at Chicago Bears	W 30–7	48,625
11	November 22, 1973	Washington Redskins	L 20–0	46,807
12	December 2, 1973	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 20–16	44,982
13	December 9, 1973	Chicago Bears	W 40–7	41,729
14	December 15, 1973	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) 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) 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

Template:1973 NFC Central standings