1973 New York Jets season
1973 season of NFL team New York Jets
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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.
| 1973 New York Jets season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Leon Hess |
| Head coach | Weeb Ewbank |
| Home stadium | Shea Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–10 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | T Winston Hill WR Jerome Barkum |
The Jets' offense was weakened when quarterback Joe Namath suffered a shoulder injury in the second game. The injury was the third time in four seasons that Namath had been sidelined. Namath did not play again until the second half of the tenth game of the season.
The memorandum of understanding signed by team original owner (as the New York Titans) Harry Wismer gave Shea Stadium's co-tenants, the New York Mets’, exclusive use of the stadium until they had completed their season. The Jets were required to open 1973 with several road games. As the Mets had a long playoff run to the World Series, the Jets' first six games were on the road.[1][2]
The 1973 season would be the last for legendary coach Weeb Ewbank.
Offseason
Draft
| 1973 New York Jets draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Burgess Owens | Defensive back | Miami (FL) | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Roster
Regular season
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 17 | at Green Bay Packers | L 7–23 | 0–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 47,124 | |
| 2 | September 23 | at Baltimore Colts | W 34–10 | 1–1 | Memorial Stadium | 55,942 | |
| 3 | September 30 | at Buffalo Bills | L 7–9 | 1–2 | Rich Stadium | 77,425 | |
| 4 | October 7 | at Miami Dolphins | L 3–31 | 1–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 63,850 | |
| 5 | October 14 | at New England Patriots | W 9–7 | 2–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 58,659 | |
| 6 | October 21 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–26 | 2–4 | Three Rivers Stadium | 48,682 | |
| 7 | October 28 | Denver Broncos | L 28–40 | 2–5 | Shea Stadium | 55,108 | |
| 8 | November 4 | Miami Dolphins | L 14–24 | 2–6 | Shea Stadium | 57,791 | |
| 9 | November 11 | New England Patriots | W 33–13 | 3–6 | Shea Stadium | 51,034 | |
| 10 | November 18 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 14–20 | 3–7 | Riverfront Stadium | 55,745 | |
| 11 | November 25 | Atlanta Falcons | L 20–28 | 3–8 | Shea Stadium | 47,283 | |
| 12 | December 2 | Baltimore Colts | W 20–17 | 4–8 | Shea Stadium | 51,167 | |
| 13 | December 9 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 23–24 | 4–9 | Veterans Stadium | 34,621 | |
| 14 | December 16 | Buffalo Bills | L 14–34 | 4–10 | Shea Stadium | 47,740 | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Schedule notes:
- The October 14 game vs. the Patriots was originally scheduled to be played in New York, but due to the New York Mets’ involvement in the World Series, the sites for that game and the November 11 rematch were switched.
- The October 21 game vs. the Steelers was originally scheduled to be played in New York, but was moved to Pittsburgh due to the Mets' ongoing participation in the World Series.
Season summary
Week 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Jets | 3 | 0 | 10 | 21 | 34 |
| Colts | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
- Date: September 23
- Location: Memorial Stadium • Baltimore, Maryland
- Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
- Game attendance: 55,942
- Game weather: 71 °F (21.7 °C)
Wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) - TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones, Sam DeLuca
| 1 | NYJ | Bobby Howfield 22 yard field goal | Jets 3–0 | |
| 1 | BAL | George Hunt 17 yard field goal | Tie 3–3 | |
| 2 | BAL | Glenn Doughty 23 yard pass from Bert Jones (George Hunt kick) | Colts 10–3 | |
| 3 | NYJ | Eddie Bell 12 yard pass from Al Woodall (Bobby Howfield kick) | Tie 10–10 | |
| 3 | NYJ | Bobby Howfield 16 yard field goal | Jets 13–10 | |
| 4 | NYJ | Emerson Boozer 1 yard pass from Al Woodall (Bobby Howfield kick) | Jets 20–10 | |
| 4 | NYJ | Ralph Baker 22 yard interception return (Bobby Howfield kick) | Jets 27–10 | |
| 4 | NYJ | Rich Sowells 30 yard interception return (Bobby Howfield kick) | Jets 34–10 | |
Week 5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Jets | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| Patriots | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
- Date: October 14
- Location: Schaefer Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
- Game start: 1:00 p.m.
- Game weather: 64 °F (17.8 °C), wind 23 miles per hour (37 km/h; 20 kn)
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones, Sam DeLuca
| 1 | NYJ | Bobby Howfield 40 yard field goal | Jets 3–0 | |
| 3 | NYJ | Bobby Howfield 39 yard field goal | Jets 6–0 | |
| 3 | NE | Will Foster recovered fumble in end zone (Jeff White kick) | Patriots 7–6 | |
| 4 | NYJ | Bobby Howfield 22 yard field goal | Jets 9–7 | |
Week 6 at Steelers
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jets | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Steelers | 0 | 9 | 3 | 14 | 26 |
at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Date: October 21
- Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
- Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C) • Wind 9
- Game attendance: 48,682
- Referee: John McDonough
- TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones, Al DeRogatis
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information | ||
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Standings
| 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 |
