| 1973 Atlanta Falcons season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Rankin M. Smith Sr. |
| General manager | Norm Van Brocklin |
| Head coach | Norm Van Brocklin |
| Home stadium | Atlanta Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–5 |
| Division place | 2ndNFC West |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The1973Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's eighth year in theNational Football League (NFL). The team improved on theirprevious season's output of 7–7 and achieved their best record until1980, but failed to reach a maiden playoff berth.
Despite entering the last month of the regular season at 8–3, they were upset by theBuffalo Bills, forcing them into a race with theWashington Redskins for the wild card playoff spot. The NFL's tiebreaker format at the time, which favored teams with the best combined scoring offense and defense, necessitated a blowout win over aCardinals team that had won only one of its last ten and was playing an unknown quarterback,Gary Keithley.[1] However, while Keithley completed only ten of 32 passes (he and Falcons quarterbackBob Lee recorded a0.0 passer rating in the game), the Falcons were instead blown out 32–10 at home courtesy of an unexpected Cardinals rushing game and six field goals fromJim Bakken.[2][3][4] Although the Falcons won the regular season finale to end the season at 9–5, Washington also won and qualified as the wild card with a 10–4 record.[5]
A highlight for the 1973 Falcons was defeatingthe Vikings when that team was 9–0 and looking at emulatingthe previous season‘s Dolphins’perfect season.[6] Despite the Falcons’ success between2008 and2012, this was the last time the Falcons defeated the last unbeaten NFL team until they defeated the 14–0 Carolina Panthers in week 16 of the 2015 season.
| 1973 Atlanta Falcons draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 39 | Greg Marx | Defensive end | Notre Dame | |
| 4 | 94 | Tom Geredine | Wide receiver | Northeast Missouri State | |
| 6 | 142 | Nick Bebout | Offensive tackle | Wyoming | |
| 7 | 170 | Tommy Campbell | Cornerback | Iowa State | |
| 8 | 195 | Tom Reed | Guard | Arkansas | |
| 9 | 220 | Russell Ingram | Center | Texas Tech | |
| 10 | 248 | Nick Mike-Mayer * | Kicker | Temple | |
| 11 | 273 | Byron Buelow | Defensive back | Wisconsin–La Crosse | |
| 12 | 298 | Mike Samples | Linebacker | Drake | |
| 13 | 326 | Chris Stecher | Offensive tackle | Claremont-Mudd | |
| 14 | 351 | John Madeya | Quarterback | Louisville | |
| 15 | 376 | Thomas Gage | Defensive back | Lamar | |
| 16 | 404 | Rufus Ferguson | Running back | Wisconsin | |
| 17 | 428 | Jim Hodge | Wide receiver | Arkansas | |
| Made roster * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB) Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Rookies in italics |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 16 | atNew Orleans Saints | W 62–7 | 1–0 | Tulane Stadium | 66,428 |
| 2 | September 23 | atLos Angeles Rams | L 0–31 | 1–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 61,197 |
| 3 | October 1 | atDetroit Lions | L 6–31 | 1–2 | Tiger Stadium | 45,599 |
| 4 | October 7 | San Francisco 49ers | L 9–13 | 1–3 | Atlanta Stadium | 51,107 |
| 5 | October 14 | Chicago Bears | W 46–6 | 2–3 | Atlanta Stadium | 58,850 |
| 6 | October 21 | atSan Diego Chargers | W 41–0 | 3–3 | San Diego Stadium | 41,527 |
| 7 | October 28 | atSan Francisco 49ers | W 17–3 | 4–3 | Candlestick Park | 56,825 |
| 8 | November 4 | Los Angeles Rams | W 15–13 | 5–3 | Atlanta Stadium | 55,837 |
| 9 | November 11 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | W 44–27 | 6–3 | Veterans Stadium | 63,114 |
| 10 | November 19 | Minnesota Vikings | W 20–14 | 7–3 | Atlanta Stadium | 56,519 |
| 11 | November 25 | atNew York Jets | W 28–20 | 8–3 | Shea Stadium | 47,283 |
| 12 | December 2 | Buffalo Bills | L 6–17 | 8–4 | Atlanta Stadium | 54,607 |
| 13 | December 9 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 10–32 | 8–5 | Atlanta Stadium | 48,030 |
| 14 | December 16 | New Orleans Saints | W 14–10 | 9–5 | Atlanta Stadium | 34,147 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | ||||||
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 5–1 | 9–2 | 388 | 178 | W6 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 4–2 | 7–4 | 318 | 224 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2–4 | 4–7 | 262 | 319 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 1–5 | 4–7 | 163 | 312 | L1 |
| |
| Franchise | |
| Stadiums | |
| Culture | |
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Wild card / First round berths (8) | |
| Division championships (6) | |
| Conference championships (2) | |
| Ring of Honor | |
| Current league affiliations |
|
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