# 1973 New England Patriots season

The 1973 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League and 14th overall. The patriots ended the season with a record of five wins and nine losses and a third place finish in the AFC East Division. It was the first year under head coach and general manager Chuck Fairbanks, hired in January after six seasons as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.
Selections in the 1973 NFL draft included John Hannah, Sam Cunningham, Ray Hamilton, and Darryl Stingley. The assistant coaches on offense included future NFL head coaches Ron Erhardt, Sam Rutigliano, and Red Miller.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1973 New England Patriots draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 4 | John Hannah * $^†$ | Guard | Alabama |
| 1 | 11 | Sam Cunningham * | Fullback | USC |
| 1 | 19 | Darryl Stingley | Wide receiver | Purdue |
| 3 | 57 | Brad Dusek | Defensive back | Texas A&M |
| 5 | 108 | Doug Dumler | Center | Nebraska |
| 8 | 186 | Isaac Brown | Running back | Western Kentucky |
| 9 | 212 | David Callaway | Tackle | Texas A&M |
| 10 | 238 | Dan Ruster | Defensive back | Oklahoma |
| 11 | 264 | Homer May | Tight end | Texas A&M |
| 12 | 290 | Bruce Barnes | Punter | UCLA |
| 13 | 316 | Adam Lowry | Defensive back | Texas |
| 14 | 342 | Ray Hamilton | Defensive end | Oklahoma |
| 15 | 368 | Condie Pugh | Running back | Norfolk State |
| 16 | 394 | Mike Kutter | Defensive end | Concordia Moorhead |
| 17 | 420 | Eddie McAshan | Quarterback | Georgia Tech |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game Recap |
| 1 | September 16 | Buffalo Bills | L 13–31 | 0–1 | Schaefer Stadium | 56,119 | Recap |
| 2 | September 23 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–10 | 0–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 57,918 | Recap |
| 3 | September 30 | at Miami Dolphins | L 23–44 | 0–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 62,508 | Recap |
| 4 | October 7 | Baltimore Colts | W 24–16 | 1–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 57,044 | Recap |
| 5 | October 14 | New York Jets | L 7–9 | 1–4 | Schaefer Stadium | 58,659 | Recap |
| 6 | October 21 | at Chicago Bears | W 13–10 | 2–4 | Soldier Field | 47,643 | Recap |
| 7 | October 28 | Miami Dolphins | L 14–30 | 2–5 | Schaefer Stadium | 57,617 | Recap |
| 8 | November 4 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 23–24 | 2–6 | Veterans Stadium | 65,070 | Recap |
| 9 | November 11 | at New York Jets | L 13–33 | 2–7 | Shea Stadium | 51,034 | Recap |
| 10 | November 18 | Green Bay Packers | W 33–24 | 3–7 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,525 | Recap |
| 11 | November 25 | at Houston Oilers | W 32–0 | 4–7 | Astrodome | 27,344 | Recap |
| 12 | December 2 | San Diego Chargers | W 30–14 | 5–7 | Schaefer Stadium | 58,150 | Recap |
| 13 | December 9 | at Buffalo Bills | L 13–37 | 5–8 | Rich Stadium | 72,470 | Recap |
| 14 | December 16 | at Baltimore Colts | L 13–18 | 5–9 | Memorial Stadium | 52,065 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Miami Dolphins | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 7–1 | 9–2 | 343 | 150 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 6–2 | 7–4 | 259 | 230 | W4 |
| New England Patriots | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 1–7 | 3–8 | 258 | 300 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 4–4 | 4–7 | 240 | 306 | L2 |
| Baltimore Colts | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 2–6 | 2–9 | 226 | 341 | W2 |