1973 San Diego Chargers season

The 1973 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's fourth season in the National Football League (NFL), and its 14th overall.

1973 San Diego Chargers season
Owner	Eugene V. Klein
Head coach	Harland Svare
General manager	Harland Svare
Home field	San Diego Stadium
Results
Record	2–11–1
Division place	4th AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The team was 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 would prove to be Harland Svare's final season as the team's head coach.

The team obtained quarterback Johnny Unitas in a trade with the Baltimore Colts, but Unitas was a shell of his former greatness. In the middle of the season he was replaced at quarterback by a rookie Dan Fouts, the team's third-round pick in that year's draft.[1]

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	25	Johnny Rodgers	Wide Receiver	Nebraska
3	64	Dan Fouts	Quarterback	Oregon

Roster

1973 San Diego Chargers final roster

	Quarterbacks 13 Wayne Clark 14 Dan Fouts 19 Johnny Unitas Running backs 35 Cid Edwards FB 21 Mike Garrett 26 Clinton Jones 35 Bob Thomas Wide receivers 81 Ron Holliday 25 Jerry LeVias 28 Willie McGee Tight ends 88 Pettis Norman 80 Gary Parris 86 Jim Thaxton		Offensive linemen 61 Al Dennis G 52 Jay Douglas C 55 Carl Mauck C 76 Terry Owens T 78 Walt Sweeney G 70 Russ Washington T 62 Ralph Wenzel G 63 Doug Wilkerson G Defensive linemen 87 Lionel Aldridge DE 79 Coy Bacon DE 64 Dave Costa DT 77 Ron East DT 75 Deacon Jones DE 51 Pete Lazetich DE 71 Cal Snowden DE 68 Gregory Wojcik DT		Linebackers 54 Carl Gersbach 66 Rick Redman 57 Floyd Rice 53 Mel Rogers 82 Tim Rossovich 58 Mike Stratton Defensive backs 40 Joe Beauchamp CB 39 Lenny Dunlap CB 44 Chris Fletcher FS 24 Bob Howard CB 30 Bryant Salter SS 48 Ron Smith SS Special teams 29 Dennis Partee P 15 Ray Wersching K		Reserve lists 27 Gary Garrison WR (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 16, 1973	at Washington Redskins	L 38–0	53,589
2	September 23, 1973	Buffalo Bills	W 34–7	47,588
3	September 30, 1973	Cincinnati Bengals	L 20–13	46,733
4	October 7, 1973	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 38–21	48,795
5	October 14, 1973	Oakland Raiders	L 27–17	50,672
6	October 21, 1973	Atlanta Falcons	L 41–0	41,527
7	October 28, 1973	at Cleveland Browns	T 16–16	68,244
8	November 4, 1973	Kansas City Chiefs	L 19–0	50,234
9	November 11, 1973	at Denver Broncos	L 30–19	51,034
10	November 18, 1973	New Orleans Saints	W 17–14	34,848
11	November 25, 1973	at Oakland Raiders	L 31–3	40,195
12	December 2, 1973	at New England Patriots	L 30–14	58,150
13	December 9, 1973	Denver Broncos	L 42–28	44,954
14	December 16, 1973	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 33–6	43,755

Week 4

San Diego Chargers (1–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3–0)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	0	0	0	21	21
Steelers	17	21	0	0	38

at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Date: October 7
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 60°F • Wind 7
• Game attendance: 48,795
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• Pro-Football-Reference

Game information
Chargers Dan Fouts 11/21, 174 Yds, TD, INT Cid Edwards 13 Rush, 94 Yds Clint Jones 2 Rec, 51 Yds Steelers Terry Bradshaw 7/16, 99 Yds, TD, INT Preston Pearson 6 Rush, 64 Yds Frank Lewis 4 Rec, 61 Yds

Johnny Unitas was knocked out of the game.

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP SD PIT 1 Steelers Shanklin 12-yard touchdown reception from Bradshaw, Gerela kick good 0 7 1 Steelers Bradshaw 1-yard touchdown run, Gerela kick good 0 14 1 Steelers 38-yard field goal by Gerela 0 17 2 Steelers Davis 1-yard touchdown run, Gerela kick good 0 24 2 Steelers Wagner recovered blocked punt in end zone, Gerela kick good 0 31 3 Steelers Shanklin 37-yard touchdown reception from Hanratty, Gerela kick good 0 38 4 Chargers LeVias 13-yard touchdown reception from Fouts, Wersching kick good 7 38 4 Chargers Jones 3-yard touchdown run, Wersching kick good 14 38 4 Chargers Holmes 1-yard touchdown run, Wersching kick good 21 38 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 21 38

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Oakland Raiders	9	4	1	.679	4–1–1	7–3–1	292	175	W4
Kansas City Chiefs	7	5	2	.571	4–2	6–4–1	231	192	W1
Denver Broncos	7	5	2	.571	3–2–1	7–2–1	354	296	L1
San Diego Chargers	2	11	1	.179	0–6	1–9–1	188	386	L4

References

1. Fouts would go on to play 15 seasons for the Chargers, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993.