1973 Cleveland Browns

1973 Cleveland Browns season
Head Coach	Nick Skorich
Home Field	Cleveland Stadium
Results
Record	7–5–2
Place	3rd AFC Central
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1972	1974

The 1973 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 24th season with the National Football League. The 1973 season is where the Browns' great run of the 1940s, '50s and '60s -- the one that produced eight league titles and a slew of regular-season victories and accomplishments, making for one of the proudest traditions in all of the NFL -- really started to come to a grinding halt. But it didn't happen completely until the very end of the season.

Season summary

Fresh off a thrilling 21-16 come-from-behind decision over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Stadium -- their third victory in a row -- the Browns appeared to be in good shape, standing 7-3-1 with three games to play. Then the team, full of aging veterans who had led the Browns to such success in the 1960s, began to wear out.

A 20-20 tie at Kansas City -- achieved only after the Browns rallied late from a two-touchdown deficit -- then ensued, followed by one-sided losses on the road to the Cincinnati Bengals (34-17) and Los Angeles Rams (30-17). It forced the Browns to finish 7-5-2 and, for the first time in three years, out of the playoffs, where they would remain for six more seasons. As such, it was a tremendous disappointment for a club that, after finishing 10-4 in 1972 and nearly upsetting Miami in the divisional playoffs on the Dolphins' way to a Super Bowl title and a perfect 17-0 season, thought it could coax at least one more big year out of its older players.

Offseason

NFL Draft

The following were selected in the 1973 NFL Draft.

Round	Overall	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	16	Steve Holden	Wide Receiver	Arizona State
1	22	Pete Adams	Guard	USC
2	30	Greg Pruitt	Running Back	Oklahoma
2	47	Jim Steinke	Defensive Back	Texas State
3	67	Bob Crum	Defensive End	Arizona
4	93	Andy Dorris	Defensive End	New Mexico State
4	100	Randy Mattingly	Quarterback	Evansville
6	150	Van Green	Defensive Back	Shaw
9	228	Curtis Wester	Guard	Texas A&M University-Commerce
10	256	Tommy Humphrey	Center	Abilene Christian
11	281	Carl Barisich	Defensive Tackle	Princeton
12	306	Stan Simmons	Tight End	Lewis & Clark
13	334	Jim Romaniszyn	Linebacker	Edinboro
14	359	Robert Popelka	Defensive Back	SMU
15	384	Dave Sullivan	Wide Receiver	Virginia
16	412	George Greenfield	Running Back	Murray State
17	437	Robert McClowry	Center	Michigan State

Exhibition schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	August 6, 1973	San Francisco 49ers	L 27–16	65,707
2	August 11, 1973	at Los Angeles Rams	T 21–21	54,385
3	August 19, 1973	vs. Cincinnati Bengals at Columbus, Ohio	W 24–6	73,421
4	August 25, 1973	vs. Atlanta Falcons at Knoxville	W 20–17	40,831
5	September 1, 1973	Detroit Lions	L 16–13	64,088
6	September 8, 1973	vs. New York Giants at Akron	L 21–10	30,751

Regular season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 16, 1973	Baltimore Colts	W 24–14	74,303
2	September 23, 1973	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 33–6	49,396
3	September 30, 1973	New York Giants	W 12–10	76,065
4	October 7, 1973	Cincinnati Bengals	W 17–10	70,805
5	October 15, 1973	Miami Dolphins	L 17–9	72,070
6	October 21, 1973	Houston Oilers	W 42–13	61,146
7	October 28, 1973	San Diego Chargers	T 16–16	68,244
8	November 4, 1973	at Minnesota Vikings	L 26–3	45,590
9	November 11, 1973	at Houston Oilers	W 23–13	37,230
10	November 18, 1973	at Oakland Raiders	W 7–3	47,398
11	November 25, 1973	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 21–16	67,773
12	December 2, 1973	at Kansas City Chiefs	T 20–20	70,296
13	December 9, 1973	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 34–17	58,266
14	December 16, 1973	at Los Angeles Rams	L 30–17	73,948

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Cincinnati Bengals	10	4	0	.714	286	231	W-6
Pittsburgh Steelers	10	4	0	.714	347	210	W-2
Cleveland Browns	7	5	2	.571	234	255	L-2
Houston Oilers	1	13	0	.071	199	447	L-6

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1973 Cleveland Browns final staff
	Front Office Owner and President – Art Modell Executive Vice President/General Manager – Harold Sauerbrai Head Coaches Head Coaches – Nick Skorich Offensive Coaches Wide Receivers – Fran Polsfoot Offensive line – Jerry Smith			Defensive Coaches Defensive Coordinator - Howard Brinker Defensive Line - Dick Modzelewski Secondary / Defensive Backs – Richie McCabe Special Teams Coaches

Final roster

1973 Cleveland Browns roster
	Quarterbacks 13 Don Horn 15 Mike Phipps 17 Brian Sipe Running backs 30 Ken Brown 37 Hugh McKinnis 44 Leroy Kelly 34 Greg Pruitt 35 Bo Scott FB Wide receivers 88 Steve Holden 43 Fair Hooker 26 Billy Lefear 25 Frank Pitts 42 Gloster Richardson 48 Dave Sullivan Tight ends 83 Chip Glass 89 Milt Morin 85 Ken Smith		Offensive linemen 63 Joe Carollo T 64 Jim Copeland G 61 Bob DeMarco C 65 John Demarie G 73 Doug Dieken T 66 Gene Hickerson G 78 Bob McKay T Defensive linemen 74 Carl Barisich DT 84 Bob Briggs DE 71 Walter Johnson DT 80 Joe Jones DE 53 Mel Long 81 Nick Roman DE 72 Jerry Sherk DT		Linebackers 52 Billy Andrews OLB 60 Bob Babich 50 John Garlington OLB 59 Charlie Hall OLB 56 Jim Romaniszyn Defensive backs 23 Cliff Brooks 27 Thom Darden FS 28 Ben Davis CB 22 Clarence Scott CB 20 Jim Stienke CB 29 Walt Sumner CB Special teams 12 Don Cockroft K/P		Reserve lists Vacant - none Practice/Taxi Squad Vacant - none Rookies in italics

External links

• 1973 Cleveland Browns season article at Wikipedia
• 1973 eason summary and statistics at Cleveland Browns.com
• 1973 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference
• 1973 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
• 1973 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
• 1973 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com