# 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. This was the final season of Dick Butkus's career, as he was forced to retire due to a knee injury.

## 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 |