Roster
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
| Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
| Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
| Reserved
|
| 1973 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Billy Sullivan |
| General manager | Chuck Fairbanks |
| Head coach | Chuck Fairbanks |
| Home field | Schaefer Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 5–9 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | None |
| AP All-Pros | None |
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.
| 1973 New England Patriots draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
| Offensive linemen (OL)
Defensive linemen (DL)
| Linebackers (LB)
Defensive backs (DB)
| Reserved
|
| 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. | |||||||
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The Patriots play home games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Boston. The franchise is owned by Robert Kraft, who purchased the team in 1994. As of 2023, the Patriots are tied for the third-most valuable sports team in the world and have sold out every home game since 1994.
William Stephen Belichick is an American sports analyst and football coach. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, including the record of most Super Bowl wins (six) as a head coach, all with the New England Patriots, along with two more during his time as the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, for a record eight combined total Super Bowl victories as coach and coordinator. A renowned American football historian, Belichick is often referred to as a "student of the game" with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of each player position. During his tenure with the Patriots, Belichick was a central figure as the head coach and de facto general manager during the franchise's dynasty from 2001 to 2019.
Lawyer Marzell Milloy is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons. He played college football for the Washington Huskies, and earned unanimous All-American honors. He was selected by the New England Patriots in the second round of the 1996 NFL draft, and also played for the Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, and Seattle Seahawks of the NFL. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection, a two-time All-Pro, and a member of the Patriots' Super Bowl XXXVI championship team that beat his hometown team, the St. Louis Rams.
The 1996 NFL season was the 77th regular season of the National Football League (NFL) and the season was marked by notable controversies from beginning to end. Most significantly, the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy resulted in a then-unique legal settlement where the Cleveland Browns franchise, history, records, and intellectual property remained in Cleveland, while its players and personnel transferred to Baltimore, technically to a new league franchise that was named the Baltimore Ravens.
The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League (NFL). Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that weekend off. This marked the first time since the 1966 NFL season and the AFL seasons of 1966 and 1967 that there were byes in week 1.
The 1985 NFL season was the 66th regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XX when the Chicago Bears defeated the New England Patriots 46–10 at the Louisiana Superdome. The Bears became the second team in NFL history to win 15 games in the regular season and 18 including the playoffs.
The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season was highlighted by O. J. Simpson becoming the first player to rush for 2,000 yards in one season.
Rodney Arthur Rust was an American football player and coach. He is best known in the United States as the head coach of the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) during the 1990 season, which ended with a 1–15 record.
Samuel Lewis Cunningham Jr, nicknamed "Bam", was an American professional football player who was a fullback for 10 seasons with the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, where he earned first-team All-American honors and was the MVP of the 1973 Rose Bowl.
Ronald Shaw Meyer was an American college and professional football coach. He is best known for having been the head coach of Southern Methodist University and the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL).
Joshua Thomas McDaniels is an American professional football coach. He began his National Football League (NFL) career in 2001 with the New England Patriots, where he served as the offensive coordinator for 14 non-consecutive seasons. During McDaniels' first stint as offensive coordinator from 2006 to 2008, New England set the season record for points scored and won 16 of their 16 regular season games in 2007. In his second stint from 2012 to 2021, the Patriots won three Super Bowl titles. McDaniels was also among the Patriots personnel to be present for all six of their titles during the Brady–Belichick era.
Damon Paul Huard is an American former professional football quarterback. He is the director of community relations and fundraising for the University of Washington football program, his alma mater.
Charles Leo Fairbanks was an American football coach who was a head coach at the high school, college and professional levels. He served as the head coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1967 to 1972 and at the University of Colorado from 1979 to 1981, compiling a career college record of 59–41–1 (.589). Fairbanks was also the head coach for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL) from 1973 to 1978, amassing a record of 46–41 (.529), and for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL) in 1983, tallying a mark of 6–12.
Guy Walker Morriss was an American football coach and player. He served as the head football coach at the University of Kentucky for two seasons (2001–2002) and at Baylor University for five seasons (2003–2007).
The Fearsome Foursome was the dominating defensive line of the Los Angeles Rams of the 1960s and 1970s. Before them, the term had occasionally been applied to other defensive lines in the National Football League.
The 1978 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League and 19th overall. They finished the season with a record of eleven wins and five losses, tied for first in the AFC East, and won the tiebreaker over the Miami Dolphins. It was the Patriots' second division title, and the first since 1963, the fourth year of the AFL. In the Divisional Playoffs the Patriots lost to the Houston Oilers 31–14.
The 1997 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League (NFL) and the 38th overall. They finished the season with a 10–6 record and a division title but lost in the playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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–Patriots rivalry is a National Football League (NFL) rivalry between the New York Jets and the New England Patriots.
Brian Francisco Flores is an American professional football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He began his NFL career with the New England Patriots, where he served as an assistant coach from 2008 to 2018. Flores was New England's defensive playcaller during his final season coaching for the team, which concluded with a victory in Super Bowl LIII. Following the victory, he served as the head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019 to 2021.
 | This article relating to an American football season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
  | This article related to sports in Massachusetts is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
