# 1973 New York Jets season

The 1973 New York Jets season was the fourteenth season for the team and the fourth in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 7–7 record from 1972 under head coach Weeb Ewbank. The Jets finished with a record of 4–10 in the final season under head coach Weeb Ewbank, with their only wins coming against division rivals New England and Baltimore.
The Jets' offense was weakened when quarterback Joe Namath suffered a shoulder injury in the second game. The injury was the third time in four seasons that Namath had been sidelined. Namath did not play again until the second half of the tenth game of the season.
The memorandum of understanding signed by team original owner (as the New York Titans) Harry Wismer gave Shea Stadium's co-tenants, the New York Mets’, exclusive use of the stadium until they had completed their season. The Jets were required to open 1973 with several road games. As the Mets had a long playoff run to the World Series, the Jets' first six games were on the road.
The 1973 season would be the last for legendary coach Weeb Ewbank.

## Offseason
### Draft

1973 New York Jets draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 13 | Burgess Owens | Defensive back | Miami (FL) | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 17 | at Green Bay Packers | L 7–23 | 0–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,124 |
| 2 | September 23 | at Baltimore Colts | W 34–10 | 1–1 | Memorial Stadium | 55,942 |
| 3 | September 30 | at Buffalo Bills | L 7–9 | 1–2 | Rich Stadium | 77,425 |
| 4 | October 7 | at Miami Dolphins | L 3–31 | 1–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 63,850 |
| 5 | October 14 | at New England Patriots | W 9–7 | 2–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 58,659 |
| 6 | October 21 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–26 | 2–4 | Three Rivers Stadium | 48,682 |
| 7 | October 28 | Denver Broncos | L 28–40 | 2–5 | Shea Stadium | 55,108 |
| 8 | November 4 | Miami Dolphins | L 14–24 | 2–6 | Shea Stadium | 57,791 |
| 9 | November 11 | New England Patriots | W 33–13 | 3–6 | Shea Stadium | 51,034 |
| 10 | November 18 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 14–20 | 3–7 | Riverfront Stadium | 55,745 |
| 11 | November 25 | Atlanta Falcons | L 20–28 | 3–8 | Shea Stadium | 47,283 |
| 12 | December 2 | Baltimore Colts | W 20–17 | 4–8 | Shea Stadium | 51,167 |
| 13 | December 9 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 23–24 | 4–9 | Veterans Stadium | 34,621 |
| 14 | December 16 | Buffalo Bills | L 14–34 | 4–10 | Shea Stadium | 47,740 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||
Schedule notes:
* The October 14 game vs. the Patriots was originally scheduled to be played in New York, but due to the New York Mets’ involvement in the World Series, the sites for that game and the November 11 rematch were switched.
* The October 21 game vs. the Steelers was originally scheduled to be played in New York, but was moved to Pittsburgh due to the Mets' ongoing participation in the World Series.

### Season summary
#### Week 2

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Jets | 3 | 0 | 10 | 21 | 34 |
| Colts | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

#### Week 5

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Jets | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Patriots | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |

#### Week 6 at Steelers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jets | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Steelers | 0 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 26 |
at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Date: October 21
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind 9
* Game attendance: 48,682
* Referee: John McDonough
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Jets
Bill Demory 6/15, 84 Yds, TD, 3 INT
John Riggins 15 Rush, 42 Yds, TD
Rich Caster 1 Rec, 28 Yds, TD
Steelers
Terry Bradshaw 8/18, 119 Yds, INT
Franco Harris 25 Rush, 102 Yds, TD
Ron Shanklin 3 Rec, 68 Yds, TD :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | NYJ | PIT |
| 1 | | | | | Jets | Riggins 1-yard touchdown run, Howfield kick good | 7 | 0 |
| 2 | | | | | Steelers | 27-yard field goal by Gerela | 7 | 3 |
| 2 | | | | | Steelers | 29-yard field goal by Gerela | 7 | 6 |
| 2 | | | | | Jets | Caster 28-yard touchdown reception from Demory, Howfield kick good | 14 | 6 |
| 2 | | | | | Steelers | 36-yard field goal by Gerela | 14 | 9 |
| 3 | | | | | Steelers | 13-yard field goal by Gerela | 14 | 12 |
| 4 | | | | | Steelers | Shanklin 16-yard touchdown reception from Hanratty, Gerela kick good | 14 | 19 |
| 4 | | | | | Steelers | Harris 2-yard touchdown run, Gerela kick good | 14 | 26 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 14 | 26 |

### 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 |