# 1973 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1973 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 24th season in the National Football League and their 28th overall. They began the season hoping to improve on their previous years' output of 8–5–1, and looking to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. However, the team finished 5–9 and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in four years. After the season, quarterback John Brodie retired after 17 years in the NFL, all with the 49ers.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1973 San Francisco 49ers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 18 | Mike Holmes | Wide receiver | Texas Southern | played with the 49ers beginning in 1974 |
| 2 | 41 | Willie Harper | Linebacker | Nebraska | |
| 5 | 112 | Mike Fulk | Linebacker | Indiana | |
| 5 | 122 | Ed Beverly | Wide receiver | Arizona State | |
| 6 | 149 | Arthur Moore | Nose tackle | Tulsa | |
| 7 | 174 | John Mitchell | Linebacker | Alabama | |
| 8 | 201 | Dave Atkins | Running back | UTEP | |
| 9 | 226 | Roger Praetorius | Running back | Syracuse | |
| 10 | 253 | Charlie Hunt | Linebacker | Florida State | |
| 11 | 278 | Tom Dahlberg | Running back | Gustavus Adolphus | |
| 12 | 305 | Larry Pettus | Tackle | Tennessee State | |
| 13 | 330 | Alan Kelso | Center | Washington | |
| 14 | 357 | Dennis Morrison | Quarterback | Kansas State | played with the 49ers in 1974 |
| 15 | 382 | Mike Bettiga | Wide receiver | Humboldt State | played with the 49ers in 1974 |
| 16 | 409 | Mike Oven | Tight end | Georgia Tech | |
| 17 | 434 | Bob Erickson | Guard | North Dakota State | |
| Made roster ||||||

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | July 28 | vs. New England Patriots | W 20–7 | 1–0 | Fawcett Stadium | 19,685 |
| 2 | August 6 | at Cleveland Browns | W 27–16 | 2–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 65,707 |
| 3 | August 11 | vs. New York Jets | L 14–34 | 2–1 | Tampa Stadium | 46,477 |
| 4 | August 19 | San Diego Chargers | W 19–7 | 3–1 | Candlestick Park | 54,977 |
| 5 | August 26 | Denver Broncos | W 43–7 | 4–1 | Candlestick Park | 59,097 |
| 6 | September 1 | at Oakland Raiders | L 17–23 | 4–2 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 53,612 |
| 7 | September 7 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 10–38 | 4–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 57,687 |

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 16 | at Miami Dolphins | L 13–21 | 0–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 68,275 |
| 2 | September 23 | at Denver Broncos | W 36–34 | 1–1 | Mile High Stadium | 50,966 |
| 3 | September 30 | Los Angeles Rams | L 20–40 | 1–2 | Candlestick Park | 57,487 |
| 4 | October 7 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 13–9 | 2–2 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 51,107 |
| 5 | October 14 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–17 | 2–3 | Candlestick Park | 56,438 |
| 6 | October 21 | New Orleans Saints | W 40–0 | 3–3 | Candlestick Park | 52,881 |
| 7 | October 28 | Atlanta Falcons | L 3–17 | 3–4 | Candlestick Park | 56,825 |
| 8 | November 4 | at Detroit Lions | L 20–30 | 3–5 | Tiger Stadium | 49,531 |
| 9 | November 11 | at Washington Redskins | L 9–33 | 3–6 | RFK Stadium | 54,381 |
| 10 | November 18 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 13–31 | 3–7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 78,358 |
| 11 | November 26 | Green Bay Packers | W 20–6 | 4–7 | Candlestick Park | 49,244 |
| 12 | December 2 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 38–28 | 5–7 | Candlestick Park | 51,155 |
| 13 | December 9 | at New Orleans Saints | L 10–16 | 5–8 | Tulane Stadium | 62,490 |
| 14 | December 15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–37 | 5–9 | Candlestick Park | 52,252 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 2: at Denver Broncos

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • 49ers | 0 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 36 |
| Broncos | 10 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 34 |

### Standings

NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Los Angeles Rams | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 5–1 | 9–2 | 388 | 178 | W6 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 4–2 | 7–4 | 318 | 224 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2–4 | 4–7 | 262 | 319 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 1–5 | 4–7 | 163 | 312 | L1 |