The 1973 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 24th season in the National Football League and their 28th overall. They began the season hoping to improve on their previous years' output of 8–5–1, and looking to make the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. However, the team finished 5–9 and failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in four years. After the season, quarterback John Brodie retired after 17 years in the NFL, all with the 49ers.

Offseason NFL draft

Personnel Staff / Coaches

Roster

Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 vs. New England Patriots W 20–7 1–0 Fawcett Stadium 19,685 2 at Cleveland Browns W 27–16 2–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 65,707 3 vs. New York Jets L 14–34 2–1 Tampa Stadium 46,477 4 August 19 San Diego Chargers W 19–7 3–1 Candlestick Park 54,977 5 August 26 Denver Broncos W 43–7 4–1 Candlestick Park 59,097 6 at Oakland Raiders L 17–23 4–2 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,612 7 at Los Angeles Rams L 10–38 4–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 57,687

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 16 at Miami Dolphins L 13–21 0–1 Miami Orange Bowl 68,275 2 September 23 at Denver Broncos W 36–34 1–1 Mile High Stadium 50,966 3 September 30 Los Angeles Rams L 20–40 1–2 Candlestick Park 57,487 4 October 7 at Atlanta Falcons W 13–9 2–2 Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium 51,107 5 October 14 Minnesota Vikings L 13–17 2–3 Candlestick Park 56,438 6 October 21 New Orleans Saints W 40–0 3–3 Candlestick Park 52,881 7 October 28 Atlanta Falcons L 3–17 3–4 Candlestick Park 56,825 8 November 4 at Detroit Lions L 20–30 3–5 Tiger Stadium 49,531 9 November 11 at Washington Redskins L 9–33 3–6 RFK Stadium 54,381 10 November 18 at Los Angeles Rams L 13–31 3–7 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 78,358 11 November 26 Green Bay Packers W 20–6 4–7 Candlestick Park 49,244 12 December 2 Philadelphia Eagles W 38–28 5–7 Candlestick Park 51,155 13 December 9 at New Orleans Saints L 10–16 5–8 Tulane Stadium 62,490 14 Pittsburgh Steelers L 14–37 5–9 Candlestick Park 52,252 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2: at Denver Broncos

Standings

References