The San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's fourth season in the National Football League (NFL), and its 14th overall.
The Chargers were coming off a season that ended with a 4–9–1 record. Although he was offered a five-year contract toward the end of the previous season, 1973 was Harland Svare's final season as head coach; he stepped down in early November at 1–6–1, and special teams coach Ron Waller led the team for the final six games.
Veteran quarterback Johnny Unitas was acquired in a trade with the Baltimore Colts, but at age forty he was a shell of his former greatness. In October, Unitas was benched in favor of rookie Dan Fouts, their third-round pick in that year's draft. Fouts played fifteen seasons for the Chargers, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in .
Offseason
NFL draft
Roster
Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 4 New York Giants L 3–28 0–1 San Diego Stadium 2 August 11 St. Louis Cardinals L 13–17 0–2 San Diego Stadium 3 August 19 at San Francisco 49ers L 7–19 0–3 Candlestick Park 4 August 25 Philadelphia Eagles W 24–17 1–3 San Diego Stadium 5 August 31 at Los Angeles Rams L 17–30 1–4 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 6 September 8 Minnesota Vikings L 16–24 1–5 San Diego Stadium
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 16 at Washington Redskins L 0–38 0–1 RFK Stadium 53,589 Recap 2 September 23 Buffalo Bills W 34–7 1–1 San Diego Stadium 47,588 Recap 3 September 30 Cincinnati Bengals L 13–20 1–2 San Diego Stadium 46,733 Recap 4 October 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–38 1–3 Three Rivers Stadium 48,795 Recap 5 October 14 Oakland Raiders L 17–27 1–4 San Diego Stadium 50,672 Recap 6 October 21 Atlanta Falcons L 0–41 1–5 San Diego Stadium 41,527 Recap 7 October 28 at Cleveland Browns T 16–16 1–5–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 68,244 Recap 8 November 4 Kansas City Chiefs L 0–19 1–6–1 San Diego Stadium 50,234 Recap 9 November 11 at Denver Broncos L 19–30 1–7–1 Mile High Stadium 51,034 Recap 10 November 18 New Orleans Saints W 17–14 2–7–1 San Diego Stadium 34,848 Recap 11 November 25 at Oakland Raiders L 3–31 2–8–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 40,195 Recap 12 December 2 at New England Patriots L 14–30 2–9–1 Schaefer Stadium 58,150 Recap 13 December 9 Denver Broncos L 28–42 2–10–1 San Diego Stadium 44,954 Recap 14 December 16 at Kansas City Chiefs L 6–33 2–11–1 Arrowhead Stadium 43,755 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1: at Washington Redskins
Week 2: vs. Buffalo Bills
Week 3: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Week 4: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 5: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 6: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week 7: at Cleveland Browns
Week 8: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 9: at Denver Broncos
Week 10: vs. New Orleans Saints
Week 11: at Oakland Raiders
Week 12: at New England Patriots
Week 13: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 14: at Kansas City Chiefs
Standings
Awards The AFC Pro Bowl squad did not feature any Chargers. Also, no Chargers were named All-Pro by the Associated Press, nor were any named the best in his Conference.
References