1973 Buffalo Bills (NFL) |
| 2nd place • American Football Conference • Eastern Division • 9-5-0 .643 |
| Head Coach: Lou Saban |
| Billy Atkins | Defensive Backs |
| Ed Cavanaugh | Special Assignments |
| Stan Jones | Defensive Line |
| John Ray | Linebackers |
| Jim Ringo | Offensive Line |
| Bob Shaw | Receivers |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/4/1973 | N | Philadelphia Eagles | 6-13 | L | Jacksonville, FL | Gator Bowl | 15808 | |
| Sat | 8/11/1973 | A | Green Bay Packers | 3-10 | L | Green Bay, WI | Lambeau Field | 56267 | |
| Fri | 8/17/1973 | H | Washington Redskins | 21-37 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 80020 | |
| Sun | 8/26/1973 | H | Chicago Bears | 10-13 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 61165 | |
| Fri | 8/31/1973 | A | Denver Broncos | 14-16 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 42336 | |
| Sat | 9/8/1973 | H | Oakland Raiders | 7-17 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 70128 | |
| Sun | 9/16/1973 | A | New England Patriots | 31-13 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 56119 | |
| Sun | 9/23/1973 | A | San Diego Chargers | 7-34 | L | San Diego, CA | San Diego Stadium | 47588 | |
| Sun | 9/30/1973 | H | New York Jets | 9-7 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 77425 | |
| Sun | 10/7/1973 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 27-26 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 72364 | |
| Sun | 10/14/1973 | H | Baltimore Colts | 31-13 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 78875 | |
| Sun | 10/21/1973 | A | Miami Dolphins | 6-27 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 65241 | |
| Mon | 10/29/1973 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 23-14 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 76071 | |
| Sun | 11/4/1973 | A | New Orleans Saints | 0-13 | L | New Orleans, LA | Tulane Stadium | 74770 | |
| Sun | 11/11/1973 | H | Cincinnati Bengals | 13-16 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 76927 | |
| Sun | 11/18/1973 | H | Miami Dolphins | 0-17 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 77138 | |
| Sun | 11/25/1973 | A | Baltimore Colts | 24-17 | W | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 52250 | |
| Sun | 12/2/1973 | A | Atlanta Falcons | 17-6 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 54607 | |
| Sun | 12/9/1973 | H | New England Patriots | 37-13 | W | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 72470 | |
| Sun | 12/16/1973 | A | New York Jets | 34-14 | W | New York, NY | Shea Stadium | 47790 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Jim Braxton | 34 | RB | 6-1 | 243 | 24 | West Virginia | 6 | 4 |
| Bill Cahill | 22 | S | 5-11 | 180 | 22 | Washington | 5 | 0 |
| Bob Chandler | 81 | WR | 6-0 | 179 | 24 | Southern California | 14 | 14 |
| Jim Cheyunski | 50 | MLB | 6-1 | 223 | 28 | Syracuse | 13 | 12 |
| Bo Cornell | 30 | RB | 6-1 | 215 | 24 | Washington | 14 | 0 |
| Phil Croyle | 54 | LB | 6-3 | 223 | 26 | California | 4 | 0 |
| Joe DeLamielleure | 68 | ROG | 6-3 | 253 | 22 | Michigan State | 14 | 14 |
| Earl Edwards | 73 | RDE-RDT | 6-6 | 264 | 27 | Wichita State | 14 | 14 |
| Dale Farley | 57 | LB | 6-4 | 235 | 24 | West Virginia | 2 | 0 |
| Joe Ferguson | 12 | QB | 6-1 | 190 | 23 | Arkansas | 14 | 14 |
| Dave Foley | 78 | LOT | 6-5 | 252 | 26 | Ohio State | 14 | 14 |
| Fred Forsberg | 57 | LLB | 6-1 | 237 | 29 | Washington | 10 | 2 |
| Wallace Francis | 89 | WR | 5-11 | 190 | 22 | Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 12 | 0 |
| Leon Garror | 47 | RS | 6-0 | 174 | 25 | Alcorn State | 4 | 2 |
| Donnie Green | 74 | ROT | 6-7 | 266 | 25 | Purdue | 14 | 14 |
| Tony Greene | 43 | RS-RCB-LCB | 5-10 | 170 | 24 | Maryland | 14 | 12 |
| Halvor Hagen | 88 | LDE-RDE | 6-5 | 249 | 26 | Shoreline CC; Weber State | 5 | 5 |
| Dwight Harrison | 28 | RCB | 6-1 | 183 | 25 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 14 | 12 |
| J.D. Hill | 40 | WR | 6-1 | 202 | 25 | Arizona State | 14 | 14 |
| Robert James | 20 | LCB | 6-1 | 184 | 26 | Fisk | 13 | 12 |
| Bruce Jarvis | 51 | C | 6-7 | 250 | 25 | Washington | 8 | 8 |
| Ray Jarvis | 80 | WR | 6-0 | 197 | 24 | Norfolk State | 12 | 0 |
| Spike Jones | 11 | P | 6-2 | 193 | 26 | Middle Georgia JC; Georgia | 14 | 0 |
| Steve Jones | 46 | RB | 6-0 | 200 | 22 | Duke | 11 | 0 |
| Mike Kadish | 71 | RDT | 6-5 | 265 | 23 | Notre Dame | 12 | 9 |
| Bob Kampa | 70 | DT | 6-4 | 252 | 22 | Gavilan JC; California | 7 | 0 |
| Ernie Kellermann | 24 | LS | 6-0 | 184 | 30 | Miami (Ohio) | 10 | 10 |
| Rick Kingrea | 54 | LB | 6-1 | 228 | 24 | Tulane | 4 | 0 |
| Ted Koy | 37 | RB | 6-1 | 211 | 26 | Texas | 13 | 1 |
| Merv Krakau | 52 | MLB | 6-1 | 242 | 22 | Iowa State | 14 | 2 |
| Rich Lewis | 56 | RLB-LLB | 6-2 | 223 | 23 | Portland State | 10 | 8 |
| John Leypoldt | 3 | K | 6-2 | 230 | 27 | none | 14 | 0 |
| Brian McConnell | 82 | LB | 6-4 | 207 | 23 | Michigan State | 1 | 0 |
| Reggie McKenzie | 67 | LOG | 6-5 | 255 | 23 | Michigan | 14 | 14 |
| Mike Montler | 53 | C-OT | 6-4 | 260 | 29 | Colorado | 10 | 6 |
| Steve Okoniewski | 79 | RDT | 6-3 | 247 | 24 | Washington; Everett CC; Washington; Montana | 5 | 4 |
| Willie Parker | 61 | C-OG | 6-3 | 245 | 25 | Wharton County JC; North Texas | 14 | 0 |
| Jerry Patton | 77 | LDT | 6-3 | 255 | 27 | Nebraska | 14 | 14 |
| Walt Patulski | 85 | LDE | 6-6 | 267 | 23 | Notre Dame | 14 | 10 |
| Bob Penchion | 69 | OG | 6-5 | 265 | 24 | Alcorn State | 5 | 0 |
| John Pitts | 48 | LS | 6-4 | 219 | 28 | Santa Ana JC; Arizona State | 3 | 2 |
| Paul Seymour | 87 | TE | 6-5 | 250 | 23 | Michigan | 14 | 14 |
| Dennis Shaw | 16 | QB | 6-2 | 213 | 26 | Southern California; Mount San Antonio JC; San Diego State | 4 | 0 |
| O.J. Simpson | 32 | RB | 6-1 | 210 | 26 | San Francisco CC; Southern California | 14 | 14 |
| John Skorupan | 55 | LLB-RLB | 6-3 | 225 | 22 | Penn State | 14 | 14 |
| Ken Stone | 24 | RS-LS | 6-1 | 180 | 23 | Vanderbilt | 6 | 4 |
| Pete Van Valkenberg | 36 | RB | 6-2 | 194 | 23 | Brigham Young | 13 | 0 |
| Donnie Walker | 26 | RS-CB | 6-2 | 195 | 23 | Central State (Ohio) | 11 | 1 |
| Dave Washington | 86 | RLB | 6-5 | 224 | 25 | Alcorn State | 7 | 4 |
| Larry Watkins | 38 | RB | 6-2 | 220 | 27 | Alcorn State | 14 | 10 |
| Jeff Winans | 75 | DT | 6-5 | 265 | 22 | Modesto JC; Southern California | 9 | 0 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 7 | Paul Seymour | T | Michigan |
| 1 | 26 | Joe DeLamielleure | G | Michigan State |
| 2 | 32 | Jeff Winans | DT | Southern California |
| 3 | 57 | Joe Ferguson | QB | Arkansas |
| 3 | 77 | Bob Kampa | DT | California |
| 4 | 87 | Donnie Walker | DB | Central State (Ohio) |
| 4 | 103 | Jeff Yeates | DT | Boston College |
| 5 | 110 | Wallace Francis | WR | Arkansas-Pine Bluff |
| 6 | 136 | John Skorupan | LB | Penn State |
| 7 | 162 | Brian McConnell | LB | Michigan State |
| 7 | 181 | John Ford | TE | Henderson State |
| 8 | 190 | Lee Fobbs | RB | Grambling State |
| 9 | 215 | Mike Reppond | WR | Arkansas |
| 10 | 240 | Matthew Reed | QB | Grambling State |
| 10 | 259 | John LeHeup | LB | South Carolina |
| 11 | 265 | Richard Earl | T | Tennessee |
| 12 | 294 | Ronnie Carroll | DT | Sam Houston State |
| 14 | 344 | Merv Krakau | LB | Iowa State |
| 15 | 369 | Joe Rizzo | LB | Merchant Marine |
| 15 | 379 | Vince O'Neil | RB | Kansas |
| 17 | 423 | John Stearns | DB | Colorado |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 64 | 71 | 61 | 63 | 259 |
| Opponents Totals | 58 | 84 | 38 | 50 | 230 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 219 | 152 | 60 | 7 | 73/190 38.4% | / % | 75 | 744 | |
| Opponents Totals | 231 | 101 | 112 | 18 | 71/194 36.6% | / % | 53 | 485 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Leypoldt | 0 | 27 | 27 | 100.0 | 21 | 30 | 70.0 | 0 | 90 |
| O.J. Simpson | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | ||
| Jim Braxton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Bob Chandler | 3 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | |
| Larry Watkins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Joe Ferguson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Wallace Francis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Bill Cahill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Dwight Harrison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Team Totals | 28 | 28 | 28 | 100.0 | 21 | 30 | 70.0 | 0 | 259 |
| Opponents Totals | 25 | 23 | 25 | 92.0 | 19 | 34 | 55.9 | 0 | 230 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Leypoldt | 21 | 30 | 70.0 | 1 | 52 | 7/7 | 3/5 | 5/6 | 4/8 | 2/4 |
| Team Totals | 21 | 30 | 70.0 | 1 | 52 | 7/7 | 3/5 | 5/6 | 4/8 | 2/4 |
| Opponents Totals | 19 | 34 | 55.9 | 6/6 | 6/9 | 4/7 | 2/8 | 1/4 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O.J. Simpson | 332 | 2003 | 6.0 | 80t | 12 |
| Jim Braxton | 108 | 494 | 4.6 | 36 | 4 |
| Larry Watkins | 98 | 414 | 4.2 | 17 | 2 |
| Joe Ferguson | 48 | 147 | 3.1 | 24 | 2 |
| Pete Van Valkenberg | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Bo Cornell | 4 | 13 | 3.3 | 7 | 0 |
| Steve Jones | 3 | 9 | 3.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Dennis Shaw | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Spike Jones | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Chandler | 5 | -14 | -2.8 | 18 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 605 | 3088 | 5.1 | 80t | 20 |
| Opponents Totals | 455 | 1797 | 3.9 | 45 | 11 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Ferguson | 164 | 73 | 44.5 | 81 | 939 | 5.7 | 12.9 | 42 | 4 | 2.4 | 10 | 6.1 | 20 | 164 | 775 | 45.8 |
| Dennis Shaw | 46 | 22 | 47.8 | 20 | 300 | 6.5 | 13.6 | 40 | 0 | 0.0 | 4 | 8.7 | 11 | 75 | 225 | 32.9 |
| O.J. Simpson | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 1 | -3 | -1.5 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | -3 | 56.3 |
| Bob Chandler | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 213 | 96 | 45.1 | 103 | 1236 | 5.8 | 12.9 | 42 | 4 | 1.9 | 14 | 6.6 | 31 | 239 | 997 | 42.7 |
| Opponents Totals | 368 | 166 | 45.1 | 188 | 2394 | 6.5 | 14.4 | 64 | 12 | 3.3 | 14 | 3.8 | 32 | 276 | 2118 | 61.8 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Chandler | 30 | 427 | 14.2 | 37t | 3 |
| J.D. Hill | 29 | 422 | 14.6 | 42 | 0 |
| Larry Watkins | 12 | 86 | 7.2 | 28 | 1 |
| Paul Seymour | 10 | 114 | 11.4 | 22 | 0 |
| Jim Braxton | 6 | 101 | 16.8 | 37 | 0 |
| O.J. Simpson | 6 | 70 | 11.7 | 24 | 0 |
| Ray Jarvis | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Pete Van Valkenberg | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| Joe Ferguson | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 96 | 1236 | 12.9 | 42 | 4 |
| Opponents Totals | 166 | 2394 | 14.4 | 64 | 12 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwight Harrison | 5 | 117 | 23.4 | 38 | 1 |
| Jim Cheyunski | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 31 | 0 |
| Ernie Kellermann | 2 | 23 | 11.5 | 19 | 0 |
| Donnie Walker | 1 | 22 | 22.0 | 22 | 0 |
| Leon Garror | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Greene | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert James | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Stone | 0 | 31 | 31L | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 14 | 224 | 16.0 | 38 | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 14 | 149 | 10.6 | 25 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spike Jones | 66 | 2660 | 40.3 | 62 | 0 | 312 | ||||
| Team Totals | 66 | 2660 | 40.3 | 62 | 0 | 312 | ||||
| Opponents Totals | 63 | 2507 | 39.8 | 60 | 1 | 279 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Donnie Walker | 25 | 4 | 210 | 8.4 | 23 | 0 |
| Bill Cahill | 4 | 1 | 73 | 18.3 | 51t | 1 |
| Bob Chandler | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2.5 | 3 | 0 |
| J.D. Hill | 1 | 0 | -9 | -9.0 | -9 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 32 | 10 | 279 | 8.7 | 51t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 34 | 19 | 312 | 9.2 | 72t | 1 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallace Francis | 23 | 687 | 29.9 | 101t | 2 | |
| Steve Jones | 6 | 116 | 19.3 | 22 | 0 | |
| Ray Jarvis | 5 | 84 | 16.8 | 25 | 0 | |
| Bill Cahill | 2 | 42 | 21.0 | 24 | 0 | |
| Larry Watkins | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Willie Parker | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Tony Greene | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Bo Cornell | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Jim Braxton | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pete Van Valkenberg | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 42 | 972 | 23.1 | 101t | 2 | |
| Opponents Totals | 44 | 934 | 21.2 | 101t | 1 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Earl Edwards | 8.5 | |
| Walt Patulski | 7.0 | |
| Jerry Patton | 6.0 | |
| Mike Kadish | 3.5 | |
| Jeff Winans | 2.0 | |
| Halvor Hagen | 1.0 | |
| Rich Lewis | 1.0 | |
| Steve Okoniewski | 1.0 | |
| John Skorupan | 1.0 | |
| (Team) | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 32.0 | 276.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 31.0 | 239.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Braxton | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bob Chandler | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Cheyunski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bo Cornell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe DeLamielleure | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Ferguson | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | -3 | 0 | |
| Fred Forsberg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Wallace Francis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Leon Garror | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Tony Greene | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 0 |
| Dwight Harrison | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| J.D. Hill | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Spike Jones | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -16 | 0 | |
| Steve Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Kadish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Kampa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ernie Kellermann | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich Lewis | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Leypoldt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jerry Patton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Walt Patulski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Shaw | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -11 | 0 | |
| O.J. Simpson | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| John Skorupan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 0 |
| Dave Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Larry Watkins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 27 | 15 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 17 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 30 | 19 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 0 |
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