1973 Detroit Lions season
Appearance
1973 Detroit Lions season | |
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Owner | NFC Central |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The Baltimore Colts, and who as head coach himself coached the Colts to a Super Bowl V victory over the Dallas Cowboys, would replace Joe Schmidt as head coach. However, the team would still fail to improve on their previous season's output of 8–5–1, finishing a mediocre 6–7–1.[1] The team missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
NFL draft
1973 Detroit Lions draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
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1 | 17 | Ernie Price | DE | Texas A&M | from Chicago |
2 | 44 | Leon Crosswhite | RB | Oklahoma | |
3 | 58 | John Brady | TE | Washington | from Chicago |
3 | 71 | Jim Laslavic | LB | Penn State | |
3 | 75 | Levi Johnson | CB | Texas A&I | from Los Angeles |
4 | 81 | Mike Hennigan | LB | Tennessee Tech | |
4 | 91 | Dick Jauron * | S | Yale | from Atlanta |
4 | 96 | Jim Hooks | RB | Central State (OK) | |
7 | 175 | John Andrews | DT | Morgan State | |
8 | 200 | Prentice McCray | S | Arizona State | |
8 | 203 | John Bledsoe | RB | Ohio State | from Cleveland |
9 | 227 | Ira Dean | DB | Baylor | |
10 | 252 | Ray Bonner | DB | Middle Tennessee State | |
11 | 279 | Scott Freeman | WR | Wyoming | |
12 | 304 | Tom Scott | WR | Washington
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13 | 331 | John Moss | LB | Pittsburgh | |
14 | 356 | Jay Corey | OT | Santa Clara | |
15 | 408 | Larry Nickels | WR | Dayton | |
17 | 435 | Earl Belgrave | OT | Ohio State | |
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Notes
- Detroit traded TE Craig Cotton and its first-round selection (19th) to Chicago in exchange for Chicago's first- and third-round selections (17th and 58th).
- Detroit traded DB Al Clark to Los Angeles in exchange for the Rams' third-round selection (75th).
- Detroit traded its second-round selection in 1972 to Atlanta in exchange for CB Rudy Redmond, RB Sonny Campbelland Atlanta's fourth-round selection (91st).
- Detroit traded its fifth-round selection (123rd) to Washington in exchange for TE John Hilton.
- Detroit traded its sixth-round selection (148th) to St. Louis in exchange for LB Rick Ogle.
- Detroit traded DT Jerry Rush to Cleveland in exchange for the Browns' eighth-round pick (203rd).
Roster
Detroit Lions roster | ||||||
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
rookies in italics |
Schedule
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | September 16 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–24 | 0–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 48,913 | Recap |
2 | September 23 | at Green Bay Packers | T 13–13 | 0–1–1 | Lambeau Field | 55,495 | Recap |
3 | October 1 | Atlanta Falcons | W 31–6 | 1–1–1 | Tiger Stadium | 45,599 | Recap |
4 | October 7 | Minnesota Vikings | L 9–23 | 1–2–1 | Tiger Stadium | 49,549 | Recap |
5 | October 14 | at New Orleans Saints | L 13–20 | 1–3–1 | Tulane Stadium | 57,810 | Recap |
6 | October 21 | Baltimore Colts | L 27–29 | 1–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 48,058 | Recap |
7 | October 28 | Green Bay Packers | W 34–0 | 2–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 43,616 | Recap |
8 | November 4 | San Francisco 49ers | W 30–20 | 3–4–1 | Tiger Stadium | 49,531 | Recap |
9 | November 11 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 7–28 | 3–5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,911 | Recap |
10 | November 18 | at Chicago Bears | W 30–7 | 4–5–1 | Soldier Field | 48,625 | Recap |
11 | November 22 | Washington Redskins | L 0–20 | 4–6–1 | Tiger Stadium | 46,807 | Recap |
12 | December 2 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 20–16 | 5–6–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium | 44,982 | Recap |
13 | December 9 | Chicago Bears | W 40–7 | 6–6–1 | Tiger Stadium | 41,729 | Recap |
14 | December 15 | at Miami Dolphins | L 7–34 | 6–7–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 53,375 | Recap |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Season summary
Week 1
Detroit Lions (0–0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (0–0)
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Lions | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 10 |
Steelers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |
at Pittsburgh, PA
- Date: September 16
- Game time: 4:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C); wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
- Game attendance: 48,913
- Referee: Fred Wyant
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information | ||
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Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Week 14
Week Fourteen: Detroit Lions (6–6–1) at Miami Dolphins (11–2)
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Lions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Dolphins | 14 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 34 |
at Miami, Florida
- Date: Saturday, December 15
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C), wind 7 mph (11 km/h)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information | ||
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Standings
NFC Central | |||||||||
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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 |