The 1973 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 4th season in the National Football League, the 11th as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the 14th overall. they finished with a 7–5–2 record and missed the playoffs for the second straight year. This was their last winning season until 1981.
The defense kept the club in contention thanks to a nucleus that still included the bulk of the squad's Super Bowl IV starters. Quarterback Mike Livingston started in a 23–13 Opening Day loss against the Los Angeles Rams on September 16, but Len Dawson returned to rally the club for three consecutive wins to get the club off to a 3–1 start for a third consecutive year. The aging Dawson made his final start of the year in a 23–14 loss at Buffalo on October 29 and was replaced for the remainder of the year by Livingston, beginning a string of three straight seasons in which both players split time at the position.
Livingston led the club to another three straight wins, putting the team in first place in mid-November with a 6–3–1 record. A 1–2–1 ledger over the season's final month ended the club's post-season aspirations as the team finished the year in a second-place tie with Denver at 7–5–2. Dawson became the second Chiefs player in as many years to win the NFL Man of the Year Award. Following Super Bowl VIII, The AFC-NFC Pro Bowl was held at Arrowhead Stadium on January 20 with the AFC claiming a 15–13 win thanks to five field goals from Miami placekicker Garo Yepremian.
To date, the 1973 Chiefs along with the Denver Broncos, Cleveland Browns, 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.
Offseason
NFL draft
Round Pick Player Position School/Club team
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 New Orleans Saints W 12–6 1–0 Arrowhead Stadium 67,216 Recap 2 Detroit Lions L 16–17 1–1 Arrowhead Stadium 67,624 Recap 3 Minnesota Vikings L 10–13 1–2 Arrowhead Stadium 72,676 Recap 4 August 26 Green Bay Packers L 16–21 1–3 Arrowhead Stadium 75,231 Recap 5 at Dallas Cowboys L 16–27 1–4 Texas Stadium 57,468 Recap 6 at St. Louis Cardinals W 16–7 2–4 Busch Memorial Stadium 49,486 Recap
Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 16 Los Angeles Rams L 13–23 0–1 Arrowhead Stadium 62,315 Recap 2 September 23 at New England Patriots W 10–7 1–1 Schaefer Stadium 57,918 Recap 3 September 30 Oakland Raiders W 16–3 2–1 Arrowhead Stadium 72,631 Recap 4 October 7 Denver Broncos W 16–14 3–1 Arrowhead Stadium 71,414 Recap 5 October 14 at Green Bay Packers T 10–10 3–1–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 46,583 Recap 6 October 21 at Cincinnati Bengals L 6–14 3–2–1 Riverfront Stadium 56,397 Recap 7 at Buffalo Bills L 14–23 3–3–1 Rich Stadium 76,071 Recap 8 November 4 at San Diego Chargers W 19–0 4–3–1 San Diego Stadium 50,234 Recap 9 Chicago Bears W 19–7 5–3–1 Arrowhead Stadium 70,664 Recap 10 November 18 Houston Oilers W 38–14 6–3–1 Arrowhead Stadium 68,444 Recap 11 November 25 at Denver Broncos L 10–14 6–4–1 Mile High Stadium 51,331 Recap 12 December 2 Cleveland Browns T 20–20 6–4–2 Arrowhead Stadium 70,296 Recap 13 at Oakland Raiders L 7–37 6–5–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,945 Recap 14 December 16 San Diego Chargers W 33–6 7–5–2 Arrowhead Stadium 43,755 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1 vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 2: at New England Patriots
Week 3: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 4: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 5: at Green Bay Packers
Week 6: at Cincinnati Bengals
Week 7: at Buffalo Bills
Week 8: at San Diego Chargers
Week 9: vs. Chicago Bears
Week 10: vs. Houston Oilers
Week 11 at Denver Broncos
Week 12 vs Cleveland Browns
Week 13: at Oakland Raiders
Week 14: vs. San Diego Chargers
Standings
References
External links 1973 Kansas City Chiefs at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1973 Kansas City Chiefs at ProFootballArchives.com 1973 Kansas City Chiefs at jt-sw.com