1973 Cleveland Browns season

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.

1973 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Nick Skorich
Owner	Art Modell
Home field	Cleveland Municipal Stadium
Local radio	WHK
Results
Record	7–5–2
Division place	3rd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1973 NFL Draft

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 Webster	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

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Roster

1973 Cleveland Browns roster

	Quarterbacks 13 Don Horn 15 Mike Phipps 17 Brian Sipe Running backs 30 Ken Brown 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 (American football) DE 71 Walter Johnson DT 80 Joe Jones DE 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 Nomaniszyn 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 Practice squad Rookies in italics

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

Season summary

Week 1

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; wind 9

Scoring summary 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

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Week 2

Week 3

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; wind 9

Scoring summary 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

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Week 4

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; wind 4

Scoring summary 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

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Week 5

Week 6

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; wind 6

Scoring summary 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

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Week 7

Week 8

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; wind 11

Scoring summary 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

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Week 9

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)

Scoring summary 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

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Week 10

1 2 3 4 Total • Browns 0 7 0 0 7 Raiders 0 0 0 3 3 Date: November 18 Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 53°F; wind 18

Scoring summary Q2 CLE Hooker 7 yard pass from Phipps (Cockroft kick) CLE 7–0 Q4 OAK Blanda 23 yard field goal CLE 7–3

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Week 11

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; wind 15

Scoring summary 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

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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

References

1. "1973 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on 2009-07-25. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-05.
3. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-06.
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-09.
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-13.
6. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-May-6.
7. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-19.
8. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-19.
9. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-Apr-19.