1973 Los Angeles Rams season

1973 Los Angeles Rams season
Head coach	Chuck Knox
Owner	Carroll Rosenbloom
Home field	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	12–2
Division place	1st NFC West
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional
Uniform

The 1973 Los Angeles Rams season was the team's 36th year with the National Football League and the 28th season in Los Angeles. The Rams were 7–0 at home for the first time since 1945.^[1] On the road, the Rams were 5–2.

The Rams donned new uniforms, which remained in use until 1994, their final season in Los Angeles, and though they moved to St. Louis in 1995, the uniform tradition continued until 1999, where they won Super Bowl XXXIV.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player drafted or Traded for	Position	College	Trade notes, what Rams traded away
1	11	Fred Dryer (via trade)	Defensive End	San Diego State	Rams #1 Pick sent to New England Patriots for Dryer
2	31	Cullen Bryant	Running Back	Colorado	Chargers #2 Pick acquired for Deacon Jones, Greg Wojic and Lee White
2	37	Ron Jaworski	Quarterback	Youngstown State
2	42	Jim Youngblood	Linebacker	Tennessee Tech	Chiefs #2 Pick acquired for Willie Ellison
3	60	Tim Stokes	Tackle	Oregon	#3 pick from Chargers in D. Jones deal.
4	95	Eddie McMillan	Cornerback	Florida State	#4 Pick acquired from Chiefs for Pete Beathard

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 16, 1973	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 23–13	62,315
2	September 23, 1973	Atlanta Falcons	W 31–0	61,197
3	September 30, 1973	at San Francisco 49ers	W 40–20	57,487
4	October 7, 1973	at Houston Oilers	W 31–26	34,875
5	October 14, 1973	Dallas Cowboys	W 37–31	81,428
6	October 21, 1973	Green Bay Packers	W 24–7	80,558
7	October 28, 1973	at Minnesota Vikings	L 10–9	47,787
8	November 4, 1973	at Atlanta Falcons	L 15–13	55,837
9	November 11, 1973	New Orleans Saints	W 29–7	70,358
10	November 18, 1973	San Francisco 49ers	W 31–13	78,358
11	November 25, 1973	at New Orleans Saints	W 24–13	67,192
12	December 2, 1973	at Chicago Bears	W 26–0	47,620
13	December 10, 1973	New York Giants	W 40–6	73,328
14	December 16, 1973	Cleveland Browns	W 30–17	73,948

Game summaries

Week 6

	1	2	3	4	Total
Packers	0	0	7	0	7
Rams	0	10	3	11	24

Newly acquired quarterback John Hadl, the NFC Player of the Year in 1973, and a stingy Los Angeles defense led the 6–0 Rams to a 10–0 lead in the first half on the way to a 24–7 victory over the 2–2–2 Green Bay Packers. After a scoreless first quarter, the Rams took the lead on kicker David Ray's 44-yard field goal. The next score came on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Hadl to former Eagles wide receiver Harold Jackson. Green Bay cut the deficit to 10–7 on wide receiver Barry Smith's 23-yard touchdown catch from MacArthur Lane on a halfback option pass.

Los Angeles gained momentum in the third quarter on a 40-yard field goal by David Ray. A 1-yard touchdown run by running back Larry Smith in the fourth quarter put the Rams ahead 20–7. Later in the game, the Packers found themselves deep in their own territory. Moments later, Dryer came storming in from the right side of the defense and chased down Green Bay quarterback Scott Hunter, dropping him in the end zone for a safety. On the Packers' following possession near their own goal line, Dryer attacked again. He looped through the middle of the Packers' offensive line and dragged backup quarterback Jim Del Gaizo down for his second safety of the game, setting a new NFL record.

For his efforts, Dryer was named the Associated Press NFL Defensive Player of the Week.

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total • Rams 10 3 0 13 26 Bears 0 0 0 0 0 Date: December 2 Location: Soldier Field, Chicago Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game weather: 45°F, wind 16 mph

Scoring summary 1 LA David Ray 30 yard field goal Rams 3–0 1 LA Jim Bertelsen 3 yard run (David Ray kick) Rams 10–0 2 LA David Ray 16 yard field goal Rams 13–0 4 LA David Ray 39 yard field goal Rams 16–0 4 LA David Ray 26 yard field goal Rams 19–0 4 LA Les Josephson 9 yard run (David Ray kick) Rams 26–0

^[2]

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	December 23, 1973	at Dallas Cowboys	L 27–16	64,291

Standings

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

References

1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 267
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com