# 1973 Green Bay Packers season

The 1973 Green Bay Packers season was their 55th season overall and their 53rd season in the National Football League. The defending division champions posted a 5–7–2 record under third-year head coach Dan Devine, earning them a third-place finish in the NFC Central division.
As of 2024, the 1973 Packers are the last team to record 2 ties in a single season. Overtime for regular season games was introduced the following year, and the occurrence of tie games decreased.

## Offseason

Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke retired during training camp in late August. Bart Starr left as quarterbacks coach to other business interests, which included a network broadcasting position with CBS.

### NFL draft

1973 Green Bay Packers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 21 | Barry Smith | Wide receiver | Florida State |
| 3 | 74 | Tom MacLeod | Linebacker | Minnesota |
| 6 | 152 | Tom Toner | Linebacker | Idaho State |
| 7 | 177 | John Muller | Tackle | Iowa |
| 8 | 202 | Hise Austin | Cornerback | Prairie View A&M |
| 9 | 230 | Rick Brown | Linebacker | Iowa |
| 10 | 255 | Larry Allen | Linebacker | Illinois |
| 11 | 280 | Phil Engle | Defensive tackle | South Dakota State |
| 12 | 308 | Larry McCarren * | Center | Illinois |
| 13 | 333 | Tim Alderson | Defensive back | Minnesota |
| 14 | 358 | James Anderson | Defensive tackle | Northwestern |
| 15 | 386 | Reggie Echols | Wide receiver | UCLA |
| 16 | 411 | Keith Pretty | Tight end | Western Michigan |
| 17 | 436 | Harold Sampson | Defensive tackle | Southern |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

1973 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| James Bulger | Quarterback | Notre Dame |
| Steve Hammitt | Center | Nevada |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 17 | New York Jets | W 23–7 | 1–0 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,124 |
| 2 | September 23 | Detroit Lions | T 13–13 | 1–0–1 | Lambeau Field | 55,495 |
| 3 | September 30 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 3–11 | 1–1–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 48,176 |
| 4 | October 7 | at New York Giants | W 16–14 | 2–1–1 | Yale Bowl | 70,050 |
| 5 | October 14 | Kansas City Chiefs | T 10–10 | 2–1–2 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 46,583 |
| 6 | October 21 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 7–24 | 2–2–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 80,558 |
| 7 | October 28 | at Detroit Lions | L 0–34 | 2–3–2 | Tiger Stadium | 43,616 |
| 8 | November 4 | Chicago Bears | L 17–31 | 2–4–2 | Lambeau Field | 56,267 |
| 9 | November 11 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 25–21 | 3–4–2 | Lambeau Field | 52,922 |
| 10 | November 18 | at New England Patriots | L 24–33 | 3–5–2 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,525 |
| 11 | November 26 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 6–20 | 3–6–2 | Candlestick Park | 49,244 |
| 12 | December 2 | New Orleans Saints | W 30–10 | 4–6–2 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 46,092 |
| 13 | December 8 | Minnesota Vikings | L 7–31 | 4–7–2 | Lambeau Field | 53,830 |
| 14 | December 16 | at Chicago Bears | W 21–0 | 5–7–2 | Soldier Field | 29,157 |
    Monday (September 17, November 26), Saturday (December 8)
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

### Game summaries
#### Week 1

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Packers | 3 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 23 |

#### Week 4

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Packers | 7 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
| Giants | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

#### Week 9

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| • Packers | 10 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 25 |

#### Week 12

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Saints | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| • Packers | 3 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 30 |

#### Week 14

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Packers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### 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 |