1973 New York Jets season

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 field	Shea Stadium
Results
Record	4–10
Division place	4th AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T Winston Hill WR Jerome Barkum
← 1972 Jets seasons 1974 →

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.

The Jets playing host to the Buffalo Bills at Shea Stadium during a 1973 home game.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1973 NFL 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

1973 New York Jets roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 6 Bill Demory 12 Joe Namath 16 Tim Van Galder Running backs (RB) 1 Mike Adamle 40 Hank Bjorklund 32 Emerson Boozer 42 Cliff McClain 35 Jim Nance 44 John Riggins FB Wide receivers (WR) 26 Margene Adkins 83 Jerome Barkum 7 Eddie Bell 82 David Knight Tight ends (TE) 30 Dennis Cambal 88 Rich Caster

Offensive linemen (OL) 54 Rick Harrell C 67 Dave Herman G 75 Winston Hill T 71 John Mooring T 78 Garry Puetz G 66 Randy Rasmussen G 52 John Schmitt C 72 Robert Woods T Defensive linemen (DL) 80 John Elliott DT 85 Ed Galigher DE 86 Joey Jackson DT 57 John Little DT 84 Mark Lomas DE 81 Richard Neal DE 87 Steve Thompson DT 53 Bill Zapalac DE

Linebackers (LB) 62 Al Atkinson 51 Ralph Baker 55 John Ebersole 58 Bill Ferguson 59 Rob Spicer 50 Mike Taylor Defensive backs (DB) 19 Chris Farasopoulos FS 20 Delles Howell CB 22 Burgess Owens FS 21 Steve Tannen CB 29 Rocky Turner 45 Earlie Thomas CB 27 Phil Wise SS Special teams 3 Bobby Howfield K 10 Julian Fagan P

Practice squad Currently vacant Reserve 18 Al Woodall QB (IR) Rookies in italics

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

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)

Scoring summary 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

^[3]

Week 5

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)

Scoring summary 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

^[4]

Week 6 at Steelers

See also: 1973 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	7	7	0	0	14
Steelers	0	9	3	14	26

Game information
Jets Bill Demory 6/15, 84 Yds, TD, 3 INT John Riggins 15 Rush, 42 Yds, TD Rich Caster 1 Rec, 28 Yds, TD Steelers Terry Bradshaw 8/18, 119 Yds, INT Franco Harris 25 Rush, 102 Yds, TD Ron Shanklin 3 Rec, 68 Yds, TD

New York Jets (2–3) at Pittsburgh Steelers (4–1)

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
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NYJ PIT 1 Jets Riggins 1-yard touchdown run, Howfield kick good 7 0 2 Steelers 27-yard field goal by Gerela 7 3 2 Steelers 29-yard field goal by Gerela 7 6 2 Jets Caster 28-yard touchdown reception from Demory, Howfield kick good 14 6 2 Steelers 36-yard field goal by Gerela 14 9 3 Steelers 13-yard field goal by Gerela 14 12 4 Steelers Shanklin 16-yard touchdown reception from Hanratty, Gerela kick good 14 19 4 Steelers Harris 2-yard touchdown run, Gerela kick good 14 26 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 14 26

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	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

^[5]

References

1. Ryczek, pp. 158-159
2. Chastain, pp. 87–88
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com
4. "New York Jets at New England Patriots - October 14th, 1973". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
5. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 296

Bibliography

Ryczek, William J. (2009). Crash of the Titans: The Early Years of the New York Jets and the AFL (revised ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 978-0-7864-4126-6. Chastain, Bill (2010). 100 Things Jets Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-60078-522-1.

External links

• 1973 statistics