1973 Houston Oilers

The 1973 Houston Oilers season was the fourth season in league and the 14th overall. The team matched their previous season's output of 1–13. They missed the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, and it was Houston's second-consecutive 1-13 record.

Coach Bill Peterson left the team after an 0-5 start, and was replaced by coaching veteran Sid Gillman, who went 1-8 to finish the season. The Oilers' offense struggled in 1973, ranking last in rushing yards (1388), second worst in yards per play (3.9), and third-worst in both total yards (3307) and first downs (tied at 193).

The '73 Oilers had one of the worst defenses of all time, statistically; they gave up 447 points during the season, the most ever for a 14-game season in the merger era (1970-1977). Only three teams ever -- the 1966 Giants, the 1963 Broncos, and the 1961 Raiders -- gave up more points in a 14-game season. Their point-differential of -248 points was the worst in the league that year, and remains one of the ten worst in NFL history. (The second-worst team, the Philadelphia Eagles, gave up 393 points, or 3.8 fewer points per game.) Houston also gave up a league-high 26 touchdown passes in 1973.