1973 Cleveland Browns season
NFL team season
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The 1973 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 24th season with the National Football League. After a solid 1972 season, which included a playoff appearance, the Browns got off to a solid start, winning three of their first four games on the way to a 7-3-1 start. However, the Browns did not win another game the rest of the season and settled for third place with a 7-5-2 record.
OwnerArt Modell
Home stadiumCleveland Municipal Stadium
| 1973 Cleveland Browns season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Art Modell |
| General manager | Harold Sauerbrei |
| Head coach | Nick Skorich |
| Home stadium | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–5–2 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | RB Greg Pruitt DT Jerry Sherk CB Clarence Scott |
To date, the 1973 Browns along with the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, and Green Bay Packers are the last teams to record 2 ties in a single season. Overtime for regular season games was introduced the following year, and the occurrence of tie games decreased.
The team did not wear their brown jerseys for any 1973 game, preseason or regular season.[1]
Offseason
Draft
| 1973 Cleveland Browns draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 | Steve Holden | WR | Arizona St | |
| 1 | 22 | Pete Adams | OG | USC | |
| 2 | 30 | Greg Pruitt * | RB | Oklahoma | |
| 2 | 47 | Jim Stienke | DB | Texas St | |
| 3 | 67 | Bob Crum | DE | Arizona | |
| 4 | 93 | Andy Dorris | DE | New Mexico St | |
| 4 | 100 | Randy Mattingly | QB | Evansville | |
| 6 | 150 | Van Green | DB | Shaw | |
| 9 | 228 | Curtis Wester | OG | Texas A&M-Commerce | |
| 10 | 256 | Tommy Humphrey | C | Abilene Christian | |
| 11 | 281 | Carl Barisich | DT | Princeton | |
| 12 | 306 | Stan Simmons | TE | Lewis & Clark | |
| 13 | 334 | Jim Romaniszyn | LB | Edinboro | |
| 14 | 359 | Robert Popelka | DB | SMU | |
| 15 | 384 | Dave Sullivan | WR | Virginia | |
| 16 | 412 | George Greenfield | RB | Murray St | |
| 17 | 437 | Robert McClowry | C | Michigan St | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Personnel
Staff / coaches
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
|
Final roster
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 6 | San Francisco 49ers | L 16–27 | 0–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 65,707 |
| 2 | August 11 | at Los Angeles Rams | T 21–21 | 0–1–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 54,385 |
| 3 | August 19 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 24–6 | 1–1–1 | Ohio Stadium | 73,421 |
| 4 | August 25 | vs. Atlanta Falcons | W 20–17 | 2–1–1 | Neyland Stadium | 40,831 |
| 5 | September 1 | Detroit Lions | L 13–16 | 2–2–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 64,088 |
| 6 | September 8 | vs. New York Giants | L 10–21 | 2–3–1 | Rubber Bowl | 30,751 |
Regular season schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 16 | Baltimore Colts | W 24–14 | 1–0 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 74,303 | Recap |
| 2 | September 23 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 6–33 | 1–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 49,396 | Recap |
| 3 | September 30 | New York Giants | W 12–10 | 2–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 76,065 | Recap |
| 4 | October 7 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 17–10 | 3–1 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 70,805 | Recap |
| 5 | October 15 | Miami Dolphins | L 9–17 | 3–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 72,070 | Recap |
| 6 | October 21 | Houston Oilers | W 42–13 | 4–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 61,146 | Recap |
| 7 | October 28 | San Diego Chargers | T 16–16 | 4–2–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 68,244 | Recap |
| 8 | November 4 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 3–26 | 4–3–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,590 | Recap |
| 9 | November 11 | at Houston Oilers | W 23–13 | 5–3–1 | Houston Astrodome | 37,230 | Recap |
| 10 | November 18 | at Oakland Raiders | W 7–3 | 6–3–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 47,398 | Recap |
| 11 | November 25 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 21–16 | 7–3–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 67,773 | Recap |
| 12 | December 2 | at Kansas City Chiefs | T 20–20 | 7–3–2 | Arrowhead Stadium | 70,296 | Recap |
| 13 | December 9 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 17–34 | 7–4–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 58,266 | Recap |
| 14 | December 16 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 17–30 | 7–5–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 73,948 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Season summary
Week 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Browns | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
- Date: September 16
- Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 74,303
- Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
| Q1 | CLE | Pitts 26 yard pass from Phipps (Cockroft kick) | CLE 7–0 | |
| Q2 | BAL | Speyrer 33 yard pass from Jones (Hunt kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q2 | CLE | Cockroft 14 yard field goal | CLE 10–7 | |
| Q2 | CLE | Scott 45 yard interception return (Cockroft kick) | CLE 17–7 | |
| Q3 | BAL | Hendricks 2 yard blocked punt return (Hunt kick) | CLE 17–14 | |
| Q3 | CLE | Pitts 8 yard pass from Phipps (Cockroft kick) | CLE 24–14 | |
Week 2
Week 3
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • Browns | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
- Date: September 30
- Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 76,065
- Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
| Q2 | NYG | Gogolak 20 yard field goal | NYG 3–0 | |
| Q2 | NYG | Tucker 20 yard pass from Snead (Gogolak kick) | NYG 10–0 | |
| Q3 | CLE | Cockroft 11 yard field goal | NYG 10–3 | |
| Q3 | CLE | Cockroft 27 yard field goal | NYG 10–6 | |
| Q4 | CLE | Cockroft 30 yard field goal | NYG 10–9 | |
| Q4 | CLE | Cockroft 10 yard field goal | CLE 12–10 | |
Week 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| • Browns | 0 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 17 |
- Date: October 7
- Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 70,805
- Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C); wind 4 mph (6.4 km/h)
| Q1 | CIN | Muhlmann 38 yard field goal | CIN 3–0 | |
| Q2 | CLE | Kelly 3 yard run (Cockroft kick) | CLE 7–3 | |
| Q3 | CLE | Kelly 7 yard run (Cockroft kick) | CLE 14–3 | |
| Q4 | CIN | Curtis 60 yard pass from Anderson (Muhlmann kick) | CLE 14–10 | |
| Q4 | CLE | Cockroft 24 yard field goal | CLE 17–10 | |
Week 5
Week 6
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| • Browns | 14 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 42 |
- Date: October 21
- Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 51 °F (11 °C); wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
| Q1 | CLE | Kelly 8 yard run (Cockroft kick) | CLE 7–0 | |
| Q1 | CLE | Phipps 1 yard run (Cockroft kick) | CLE 14–0 | |
| Q2 | CLE | Hooker 21 yard pass from Phipps (Cockroft kick) | CLE 21–0 | |
| Q2 | CLE | Pitts 3 yard pass from Phipps (Cockroft kick) | CLE 28–0 | |
| Q3 | HOU | Hinton 34 yard pass from Pastorini (Butler kick) | CLE 28–7 | |
| Q3 | HOU | Butler 9 yard field goal | CLE 28–10 | |
| Q3 | HOU | Butler 31 yard field goal | CLE 28–13 | |
| Q4 | CLE | Phipps 13 yard run (Cockroft kick) | CLE 35–13 | |
| Q4 | CLE | Scott 2 yard pass from Horn (Cockroft kick) | CLE 42–13 | |
Week 7
Week 8
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browns | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Vikings | 3 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 26 |
- Date: November 4
- Location: Metropolitan Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. CST
- Game weather: 27 °F (−3 °C); wind 11 mph (18 km/h)
| Q1 | CLE | Don Cockroft 27 yard field goal | CLE 3–0 | |
| Q1 | MIN | Fred Cox 16 yard field goal | Tied 3–3 | |
| Q2 | MIN | Fred Cox 23 yard field goal | MIN 6–3 | |
| Q2 | MIN | Fred Cox 33 yard field goal | MIN 9–3 | |
| Q3 | MIN | Oscar Reed 3 yard rush (Cox kick) | MIN 16–3 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Stu Voigt 7 yard pass from Fran Tarkenton (Cox kick) | MIN 23–3 | |
| Q4 | MIN | Fred Cox 41 yard field goal | MIN 26–3 | |
Week 9
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Browns | 17 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 23 |
| Oilers | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
- Date: November 11
- Location: Houston Astrodome
- Game start: 2:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Indoors (dome)
| Q1 | CLE | Cockroft 30 yard field goal | CLE 3–0 | |
| Q1 | CLE | Phipps 1 yard run (Cockroft kick) | CLE 10–0 | |
| Q1 | CLE | Pruitt 53 yard run (Cockroft kick) | CLE 17–0 | |
| Q2 | HOU | Butler 27 yard field goal | CLE 17–3 | |
| Q3 | HOU | Butler 46 yard field goal | CLE 17–6 | |
| Q3 | CLE | Cockroft 22 yard field goal | CLE 20–6 | |
| Q4 | CLE | Cockroft 45 yard field goal | CLE 23–6 | |
| Q4 | HOU | Alston 39 yard pass from Dickey (Butler kick) | CLE 23–13 | |
Week 10
Week 11
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steelers | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| • Browns | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
- Date: November 25
- Location: Cleveland Municipal Stadium
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C); wind 15 mph (24 km/h)
| Q1 | PIT | Shanklin 9 yard pass from Gilliam (Gerela kick) | PIT 7–0 | |
| Q1 | CLE | Phipps 1 yard run (Cockroft kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q2 | CLE | Pruitt 15 yard pass from Phipps (Cockroft kick) | CLE 14–7 | |
| Q2 | PIT | Gerela 24 yard field goal | CLE 14–10 | |
| Q3 | PIT | Gerela 14 yard field goal | CLE 14–13 | |
| Q4 | PIT | Gerela 20 yard field goal | PIT 16–14 | |
| Q4 | CLE | Pruitt 19 yard run (Cockroft kick) | CLE 21–16 | |
Week 12
Week 13
Week 14
Standings
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 4–2 | 8–3 | 286 | 231 | W6 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 4–2 | 7–4 | 347 | 210 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 5 | 2 | .571 | 4–2 | 6–3–2 | 234 | 255 | L2 |
| Houston Oilers | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 0–6 | 1–10 | 199 | 447 | L6 |