# 1973 Chicago Bears season

The 1973 Chicago Bears season was their 54th regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 3–11 record, the second worst showing in franchise history until 43 years later in 2016, when the team finished 3–13.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1973 Chicago Bears draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 8 | Wally Chambers * | Defensive end | Eastern Kentucky |
| 2 | 33 | Gary Huff | Quarterback | Florida State |
| 2 | 48 | Gary Hrivnak | Defensive tackle | Purdue |
| 5 | 107 | Allan Ellis * | Cornerback | UCLA |
| 6 | 138 | Mike Creaney | Center | Notre Dame |
| 8 | 187 | Conrad Graham | Defensive back | Tennessee |
| 9 | 216 | Mike Deutsch | Running back | North Dakota |
| 10 | 241 | William Barry | Wide receiver | Ole Miss |
| 11 | 266 | Ed Siegler | Kicker | Clemson |
| 12 | 291 | Mike Griffin | Guard | Arkansas |
| 13 | 320 | John Cieszkowski | Running back | Notre Dame |
| 14 | 345 | Dave Juenger | Wide receiver | Ohio |
| 15 | 370 | Don Rives | Linebacker | Texas Tech |
| 17 | 424 | Larry Roach | Defensive back | Oklahoma |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 16 | Dallas Cowboys | L 17–20 | 0–1 | Soldier Field | 49,970 |
| 2 | September 23 | Minnesota Vikings | L 13–22 | 0–2 | Soldier Field | 52,035 |
| 3 | September 30 | at Denver Broncos | W 33–14 | 1–2 | Mile High Stadium | 51,159 |
| 4 | October 7 | at New Orleans Saints | L 16–21 | 1–3 | Tulane Stadium | 56,561 |
| 5 | October 14 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 6–46 | 1–4 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 58,850 |
| 6 | October 21 | New England Patriots | L 10–13 | 1–5 | Soldier Field | 47,643 |
| 7 | October 28 | Houston Oilers | W 35–14 | 2–5 | Soldier Field | 43,755 |
| 8 | November 4 | at Green Bay Packers | W 31–17 | 3–5 | Lambeau Field | 56,267 |
| 9 | November 12 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–19 | 3–6 | Arrowhead Stadium | 70,664 |
| 10 | November 18 | Detroit Lions | L 7–30 | 3–7 | Soldier Field | 48,625 |
| 11 | November 25 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 13–31 | 3–8 | Metropolitan Stadium | 46,430 |
| 12 | December 2 | Los Angeles Rams | L 0–26 | 3–9 | Soldier Field | 47,620 |
| 13 | December 9 | at Detroit Lions | L 7–40 | 3–10 | Tiger Stadium | 41,729 |
| 14 | December 16 | Green Bay Packers | L 0–21 | 3–11 | Soldier Field | 29,157 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1 vs. Cowboys

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 0 | 17 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| Bears | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
at Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
* Date: September 16
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. CST
* Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 49,970
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
CHI – Mac Percival 33-yard field goal. Bears 3–0.
Second quarter
DAL – Toni Fritsch 25-yard field goal. Tie 3–3.
DAL – Otto Stowe 21-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Toni Fritsch kick). Cowboys 10–3.
DAL – Bob Hayes 18-yard pass from Roger Staubach (Toni Fritsch kick). Cowboys 17–3.
Third quarter'
CHI – Ike Hill 59-yard punt return (Mac Percival kick). Cowboys 17–10.
Fourth quarter
CHI – Carl Garrett 15-yard run (Mac Percival kick). Tie 17–17.
DAL – Toni Fritsch 11-yard field goal. Cowboys 20–17.
Top passers
DAL – Roger Staubach – 9/22, 91 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
CHI – Bobby Douglass – 6/13, 52 yards, INT
Top rushers
DAL – Calvin Hill – 31 rushes, 130 yards
CHI – Jim Harrison – 16 rushes, 70 yards
Top receivers
DAL – Calvin Hill – 4 receptions, 28 yards
CHI – Jim Harrison – 4 receptions, 30 yards :

#### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bears | 7 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 31 |
| Packers | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

### Standings

NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | 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 |