# 1973 Dallas Cowboys season

The 1973 Dallas Cowboys season was their 14th in the league. The team matched their previous output of 10–4. They qualified for the playoffs for the eighth straight season. After a 4–3 start the Cowboys won six of their last seven games to win the NFC East with a solid 10–4 record.
In the Divisional Playoffs the Dallas Cowboys beat the Los Angeles Rams 27–16 in Texas Stadium to earn their fourth straight Championship Game Appearance. However, not even the home crowd at Texas Stadium could help the Cowboys as they fell to the Minnesota Vikings 27–10. This was Roger Staubach's first full season as the starting quarterback.

## NFL Draft

1973 Dallas Cowboys draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 20 | Billy Joe Dupree * | TE | Michigan State |
| 2 | 46 | Golden Richards | WR | Hawaii |
| 3 | 53 | Harvey Martin * | DE | East Texas State |
| 4 | 98 | Drane Scrivener | DB | Tulsa |
| 5 | 126 | Bruce Walton | OT | UCLA |
| 6 | 151 | Bob Leyen | OG | Yale |
| 7 | 176 | Rodrigo Barnes | LB | Rice |
| 8 | 204 | Dan Werner | QB | Michigan State |
| 9 | 229 | Mike White | DB | Minnesota |
| 10 | 254 | Carl Johnson | LB | Tennessee |
| 11 | 282 | Gerald Caswell | OG | Colorado State |
| 12 | 307 | Jim Arneson | OG | Arizona |
| 13 | 332 | John Smith | WR | UCLA |
| 14 | 360 | Bob Thornton | OG | North Carolina |
| 15 | 385 | Walt Baisy | LB | Grambling |
| 16 | 410 | John Conley | TE | Hawaii |
| 17 | 438 | Les Strayhorn | RB | East Carolina |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 16 | at Chicago Bears | W 20–17 | 1–0 | Soldier Field | 49,970 | Recap |
| 2 | September 24 | New Orleans Saints | W 40–3 | 2–0 | Texas Stadium | 52,715 | Recap |
| 3 | September 30 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 45–10 | 3–0 | Texas Stadium | 64,729 | Recap |
| 4 | October 8 | at Washington Redskins | L 7–14 | 3–1 | RFK Stadium | 54,314 | Recap |
| 5 | October 14 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 31–37 | 3–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 81,428 | Recap |
| 6 | October 21 | New York Giants | W 45–28 | 4–2 | Texas Stadium | 58,741 | Recap |
| 7 | October 28 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 16–30 | 4–3 | Veterans Stadium | 63,300 | Recap |
| 8 | November 4 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 38–10 | 5–3 | Texas Stadium | 54,944 | Recap |
| 9 | November 11 | at New York Giants | W 23–10 | 6–3 | Yale Bowl | 70,128 | Recap |
| 10 | November 18 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 31–10 | 7–3 | Texas Stadium | 59,375 | Recap |
| 11 | November 22 | Miami Dolphins | L 7–14 | 7–4 | Texas Stadium | 58,089 | Recap |
| 12 | December 2 | at Denver Broncos | W 22–10 | 8–4 | Mile High Stadium | 51,508 | Recap |
| 13 | December 9 | Washington Redskins | W 27–7 | 9–4 | Texas Stadium | 62,195 | Recap |
| 14 | December 16 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 30–3 | 10–4 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 43,946 | Recap |
Division opponents are in bold text

### Standings

NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–3 | 382 | 203 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 8–3 | 325 | 198 | W1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 5 | 8 | 1 | .393 | 3–4–1 | 3–7–1 | 310 | 393 | L1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 9 | 1 | .321 | 3–5 | 4–7 | 286 | 365 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 2 | 11 | 1 | .179 | 1–6–1 | 1–9–1 | 226 | 362 | L4 |

## Season summary
### Week 1 at Bears

| 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 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Saints | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Cowboys | 12 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 40 |

### Week 3

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| • Cowboys | 14 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 45 |

### Week 10

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Eagles | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • Cowboys | 0 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Game Site | Attendance | Recap |
| Divisional | December 23, 1973 | Los Angeles Rams | W 27–16 | Texas Stadium | 64,291 | Recap |
| NFC Championship | December 30, 1973 | Minnesota Vikings | L 10–27 | Texas Stadium | 60,272 | Recap |

## Publications

The Football Encyclopedia ISBN 0-312-11435-4 Total Football ISBN 0-06-270170-3 Cowboys Have Always Been My Heroes ISBN 0-446-51950-2