1973 Houston Oilers (NFL) |
| 4th place • American Football Conference • Central Division • 1-13-0 .071 |
| Head Coach: Bill Peterson (0-5-0); Sid Gillman (1-8-0) |
| Bruce Beatty | Defensive Line |
| Andy Bourgeois | Special Teams |
| Garland Boyette | Special Assistant |
| Lew Carpenter | Receivers |
| Earnel Durden | Offensive Backs |
| King Hill | Quarterbacks |
| Joe Madro | Offensive Line |
| Burnie Miller | Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs |
| Larry Peccatiello | Linebackers |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Fri | 8/3/1973 | H | New York Jets | 13-16 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 45775 | |
| Sat | 8/11/1973 | H | Chicago Bears | 7-34 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 41514 | |
| Sat | 8/18/1973 | A | Green Bay Packers | 14-33 | L | Milwaukee, WI | County Stadium | 47302 | |
| Thu | 8/23/1973 | H | Dallas Cowboys | 27-24 | W | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 46942 | |
| Sat | 9/1/1973 | H | Baltimore Colts | 20-9 | W | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 41571 | |
| Sat | 9/8/1973 | A | New Orleans Saints | 10-16 | L | New Orleans, LA | Tulane Stadium | 62339 | |
| Sun | 9/16/1973 | A | New York Giants | 14-34 | L | New York, NY | Yankee Stadium | 57979 | |
| Sun | 9/23/1973 | A | Cincinnati Bengals | 10-24 | L | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 51823 | |
| Sun | 9/30/1973 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-36 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 39331 | |
| Sun | 10/7/1973 | H | Los Angeles Rams | 26-31 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 34875 | |
| Sun | 10/14/1973 | H | Denver Broncos | 20-48 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 32801 | |
| Sun | 10/21/1973 | A | Cleveland Browns | 13-42 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 61146 | |
| Sun | 10/28/1973 | A | Chicago Bears | 14-35 | L | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 43755 | |
| Sun | 11/4/1973 | A | Baltimore Colts | 31-27 | W | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 46207 | |
| Sun | 11/11/1973 | H | Cleveland Browns | 13-23 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 37230 | |
| Sun | 11/18/1973 | A | Kansas City Chiefs | 14-38 | L | Kansas City, MO | Arrowhead Stadium | 68444 | |
| Sun | 11/25/1973 | H | New England Patriots | 0-32 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 27344 | |
| Sun | 12/2/1973 | H | Oakland Raiders | 6-17 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 25801 | |
| Sun | 12/9/1973 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 7-33 | L | Pittsburgh, PA | Three Rivers Stadium | 38004 | |
| Sun | 12/16/1973 | H | Cincinnati Bengals | 24-27 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 21955 | |
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Willie Alexander | 19 | LCB-RCB | 6-3 | 192 | 24 | Alcorn State | 11 | 10 |
| Mack Alston | 82 | TE | 6-2 | 230 | 26 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | 14 | 14 |
| George Amundson | 12 | RB | 6-3 | 215 | 22 | Iowa State | 9 | 2 |
| Bob Atkins | 48 | FS | 6-3 | 211 | 27 | Grambling State | 5 | 4 |
| Jim Beirne | 81 | WR | 6-2 | 200 | 27 | Purdue | 1 | 1 |
| Elvin Bethea | 65 | RDE | 6-3 | 255 | 27 | North Carolina A&T State | 14 | 14 |
| Gregg Bingham | 54 | MLB | 6-1 | 227 | 22 | Purdue | 14 | 14 |
| Joe Blahak | 27 | FS | 5-9 | 181 | 23 | Nebraska | 12 | 4 |
| Ken Burrough | 00 | WR | 6-3 | 215 | 25 | Texas Southern | 14 | 12 |
| Skip Butler | 2 | K-P | 6-1 | 200 | 26 | Texas-Arlington | 14 | 0 |
| Levert Carr | 63 | ROT-ROG | 6-5 | 258 | 29 | Independence CC; North Central | 13 | 8 |
| John Charles | 25 | SS | 6-1 | 199 | 29 | Purdue | 4 | 4 |
| Ralph Cindrich | 55 | LLB-MLB | 6-1 | 227 | 24 | Pittsburgh | 13 | 4 |
| Al Cowlings | 76 | LDT | 6-5 | 247 | 26 | San Francisco CC; Southern California | 14 | 13 |
| Phil Croyle | 59 | LB | 6-3 | 223 | 26 | California | 1 | 0 |
| Dick Cunningham | 49 | LB | 6-2 | 239 | 29 | Arkansas | 1 | 0 |
| Bill Curry | 50 | C | 6-2 | 235 | 31 | Georgia Tech | 4 | 4 |
| Lynn Dickey | 10 | QB | 6-3 | 214 | 24 | Kansas State | 12 | 4 |
| Elbert Drungo | 75 | ROT-LOT | 6-5 | 265 | 30 | Tennessee State | 14 | 9 |
| Larry Eaglin | 26 | RCB-LCB | 6-3 | 195 | 25 | Stephen F. Austin State | 11 | 2 |
| Mike Fanucci | 67 | LDE-RDE | 6-4 | 236 | 24 | Arizona State | 13 | 0 |
| Solomon Freelon | 68 | LOG-ROG | 6-1 | 250 | 22 | Grambling State | 11 | 9 |
| Tom Funchess | 66 | LOT | 6-5 | 264 | 29 | Jackson State | 14 | 14 |
| Brian Goodman | 68 | LOG | 6-2 | 250 | 24 | Los Angeles Valley JC; UCLA | 3 | 2 |
| Wes Grant | 71 | DE | 6-3 | 250 | 27 | Santa Monica JC; UCLA | 3 | 0 |
| Bob Gresham | 36 | RB | 5-11 | 195 | 25 | West Virginia | 13 | 10 |
| Sam Gruneisen | 57 | C | 6-1 | 248 | 32 | Villanova | 10 | 9 |
| Paul Guidry | 58 | LLB-RLB | 6-3 | 229 | 29 | Louisiana State; McNeese State | 14 | 6 |
| Edd Hargett | 14 | QB | 5-11 | 187 | 26 | Texas A&M | 5 | 0 |
| Alvin Haymond | 13 | S | 6-0 | 193 | 31 | Southern University | 6 | 0 |
| Eddie Hinton | 87 | WR | 6-0 | 200 | 26 | Oklahoma | 11 | 1 |
| Calvin Hunt | 52 | C | 6-3 | 244 | 26 | Baylor | 4 | 0 |
| Kevin Hunt | 72 | OT | 6-5 | 260 | 25 | Doane | 4 | 0 |
| Al Jenkins | 60 | ROG-LOG | 6-2 | 245 | 27 | Southern Illinois; Tulsa | 13 | 6 |
| Al Johnson | 15 | RB | 6-0 | 200 | 23 | Cincinnati | 5 | 0 |
| Benny Johnson | 33 | RCB-LCB | 5-11 | 175 | 25 | Johnson C. Smith | 13 | 4 |
| Lewis Jolley | 40 | RB | 5-11 | 210 | 24 | North Carolina | 10 | 0 |
| Harris Jones | 61 | ROG | 6-5 | 255 | 28 | Johnson C. Smith | 5 | 4 |
| Ron Lou | 51 | C | 6-2 | 240 | 22 | Arizona State | 9 | 1 |
| John Matuszak | 78 | RDT | 6-8 | 290 | 23 | Iowa Central CC; Missouri; Tampa | 14 | 14 |
| Ron Mayo | 80 | TE | 6-3 | 223 | 23 | Morgan State | 13 | 0 |
| Brian McConnell | 59 | LB | 6-4 | 207 | 23 | Michigan State | 7 | 0 |
| Clifton McNeil | 86 | WR | 6-2 | 186 | 33 | Grambling State | 3 | 0 |
| Ralph Miller | 62 | ROG | 6-3 | 260 | 25 | Alabama State; California Lutheran | 1 | 1 |
| Zeke Moore | 22 | LCB-LS | 6-1 | 195 | 30 | Lincoln (Missouri) | 13 | 11 |
| Billy Parks | 20 | WR | 6-1 | 185 | 25 | Santa Monica JC; Long Beach State | 14 | 14 |
| Dave Parks | 83 | TE | 6-2 | 202 | 32 | Texas Tech | 5 | 0 |
| Dan Pastorini | 7 | QB-P | 6-3 | 205 | 24 | Santa Clara | 14 | 10 |
| Floyd Rice | 85 | LLB | 6-3 | 225 | 24 | Alcorn State | 7 | 6 |
| Guy Roberts | 56 | RLB | 6-1 | 230 | 23 | Maryland | 14 | 12 |
| Paul Robinson | 18 | RB | 6-0 | 199 | 29 | Eastern Arizona JC; Arizona | 11 | 1 |
| Greg Sampson | 91 | LDT-RDT-ROT | 6-6 | 270 | 23 | Stanford | 13 | 1 |
| Ron Saul | 64 | LOG | 6-2 | 254 | 25 | Michigan State | 3 | 3 |
| Jeff Severson | 36/27 | SS-FS | 6-1 | 183 | 24 | Long Beach State | 14 | 14 |
| Tody Smith | 70 | LDE | 6-5 | 248 | 25 | Michigan State; Southern California | 14 | 14 |
| Bill Thomas | 28 | RB | 6-2 | 225 | 24 | Boston College | 6 | 1 |
| Vern Vanoy | 73 | DT | 6-8 | 270 | 25 | Kansas | 1 | 0 |
| Ted Washington | 53 | MLB | 6-1 | 250 | 25 | Mississippi Valley State | 1 | 0 |
| Fred Willis | 44 | RB | 6-0 | 209 | 26 | Boston College | 14 | 14 |
| Alvin Wyatt | 41 | RCB | 5-9 | 184 | 26 | Bethune-Cookman | 4 | 3 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 1 | John Matuszak | DE | Tampa |
| 1 | 14 | George Amundson | RB | Iowa State |
| 4 | 79 | Gregg Bingham | LB | Purdue |
| 5 | 105 | Edesel Garrison | WR | Southern California |
| 6 | 131 | Ron Mayo | TE | Morgan State |
| 7 | 157 | Shelby Jordan | T | Washington-St. Louis |
| 8 | 183 | Joe Blahak | DB | Nebraska |
| 9 | 209 | Mark Williams | K-P | Rice |
| 10 | 235 | Darrell Vaughn | DT | Northern Colorado |
| 11 | 261 | Larry Eaglin | DB | Stephen F. Austin State |
| 12 | 287 | Brad Lyman | WR | UCLA |
| 13 | 313 | Willie Martin | G | Northeastern State |
| 14 | 339 | Ron Lou | C | Arizona State |
| 15 | 365 | Roger Goree | LB | Baylor |
| 16 | 391 | Tim Dameron | WR | East Carolina |
| 17 | 417 | Randy Braband | LB | Texas |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 37 | 50 | 50 | 62 | 199 |
| Opponents Totals | 87 | 138 | 101 | 121 | 447 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 42:51 | 193 | 89 | 93 | 11 | 52/191 27.2% | 0/3 0.0% | 95 | 900 |
| Opponents Totals | 17:09 | 274 | 138 | 114 | 22 | 88/203 43.3% | 1/2 50.0% | 90 | 811 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skip Butler | 0 | 21 | 21 | 100.0 | 15 | 24 | 62.5 | 0 | 66 |
| Fred Willis | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Mack Alston | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Bob Gresham | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Ken Burrough | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Paul Robinson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Larry Eaglin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Eddie Hinton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Billy Parks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Dave Parks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Lynn Dickey | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Team Totals | 22 | 22 | 22 | 100.0 | 15 | 24 | 62.5 | 0 | 199 |
| Opponents Totals | 53 | 52 | 53 | 98.1 | 25 | 42 | 59.5 | 1 | 447 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skip Butler | 15 | 24 | 62.5 | 2 | 49 | 4/4 | 2/2 | 6/8 | 3/8 | 0/2 |
| Team Totals | 15 | 24 | 62.5 | 2 | 49 | 4/4 | 2/2 | 6/8 | 3/8 | 0/2 |
| Opponents Totals | 25 | 42 | 59.5 | 5/5 | 6/8 | 6/11 | 8/15 | 0/3 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Willis | 171 | 579 | 3.4 | 25 | 4 |
| Bob Gresham | 104 | 400 | 3.8 | 52 | 2 |
| Paul Robinson | 34 | 151 | 4.4 | 22 | 2 |
| Dan Pastorini | 31 | 102 | 3.3 | 17 | 0 |
| George Amundson | 15 | 56 | 3.7 | 10 | 0 |
| Bill Thomas | 10 | 39 | 3.9 | 17 | 0 |
| Ken Burrough | 5 | 38 | 7.6 | 34 | 1 |
| Mack Alston | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Lynn Dickey | 6 | 9 | 1.5 | 6 | 0 |
| Lewis Jolley | 7 | 6 | 0.9 | 3 | 0 |
| Eddie Hinton | 1 | -2 | -2.0 | -2 | 0 |
| Al Johnson | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 386 | 1388 | 3.6 | 52 | 9 |
| Opponents Totals | 576 | 2410 | 4.2 | 53t | 19 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dan Pastorini | 290 | 154 | 53.1 | 119 | 1482 | 5.1 | 9.6 | 50 | 5 | 1.7 | 17 | 5.9 | 30 | 313 | 1169 | 49.0 |
| Lynn Dickey | 120 | 71 | 59.2 | 39 | 888 | 7.4 | 12.5 | 66t | 6 | 5.0 | 10 | 8.3 | 13 | 138 | 750 | 64.2 |
| Fred Willis | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 411 | 225 | 54.7 | 159 | 2370 | 5.8 | 10.5 | 66t | 11 | 2.7 | 27 | 6.6 | 43 | 451 | 1919 | 53.3 |
| Opponents Totals | 326 | 178 | 54.6 | 131 | 2466 | 7.6 | 13.9 | 77t | 26 | 8.0 | 17 | 5.2 | 27 | 229 | 2237 | 84.0 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Willis | 57 | 371 | 6.5 | 50 | 1 |
| Billy Parks | 43 | 581 | 13.5 | 66t | 1 |
| Ken Burrough | 43 | 577 | 13.4 | 49t | 2 |
| Bob Gresham | 28 | 244 | 8.7 | 62t | 1 |
| Mack Alston | 19 | 195 | 10.3 | 39t | 4 |
| Eddie Hinton | 13 | 202 | 15.5 | 34t | 1 |
| George Amundson | 7 | 60 | 8.6 | 18 | 0 |
| Paul Robinson | 7 | 46 | 6.6 | 19 | 0 |
| Lewis Jolley | 3 | 56 | 18.7 | 48 | 0 |
| Dave Parks | 3 | 31 | 10.3 | 12 | 1 |
| Bill Thomas | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Clifton McNeil | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 225 | 2370 | 10.5 | 66t | 11 |
| Opponents Totals | 178 | 2466 | 13.9 | 77t | 26 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guy Roberts | 4 | 55 | 13.8 | 27 | 0 |
| Jeff Severson | 4 | 24 | 6.0 | 19 | 0 |
| Willie Alexander | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Joe Blahak | 2 | 120 | 60.0 | 87 | 0 |
| John Charles | 2 | 74 | 37.0 | 39 | 0 |
| Gregg Bingham | 2 | 22 | 11.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 17 | 298 | 17.5 | 87 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 27 | 357 | 13.2 | 86t | 4 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skip Butler | 36 | 1344 | 37.3 | 55 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Dan Pastorini | 27 | 1087 | 40.3 | 59 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Dave Green | 22 | 868 | 39.5 | 61 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| Team Totals | 85 | 3299 | 38.8 | 61 | 0 | 4 | 343 | 2876 | 33.8 | |
| Opponents Totals | 62 | 2457 | 39.6 | 72 | 2 | 8 | 227 | 2070 | 34.5 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Severson | 16 | 2 | 126 | 7.9 | 74 | 0 |
| Alvin Haymond | 14 | 6 | 101 | 7.2 | 44 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 30 | 8 | 227 | 7.6 | 74 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 44 | 16 | 343 | 7.8 | 46 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Gresham | 27 | 723 | 26.8 | 103t | 1 | |
| Alvin Haymond | 28 | 703 | 25.1 | 47 | 0 | |
| Eddie Hinton | 8 | 141 | 17.6 | 30 | 0 | |
| Larry Eaglin | 3 | 76 | 25.3 | 39 | 0 | |
| Mike Fanucci | 3 | 40 | 13.3 | 14 | 0 | |
| Joe Blahak | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 23 | 0 | |
| Lewis Jolley | 2 | 41 | 20.5 | 21 | 0 | |
| Floyd Rice | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 9 | 0 | |
| Jeff Severson | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 76 | 1799 | 23.7 | 103t | 1 | |
| Opponents Totals | 37 | 811 | 21.9 | 95t | 1 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Elvin Bethea | 16.0 | |
| John Matuszak | 4.0 | |
| Al Cowlings | 3.5 | |
| Tody Smith | 3.5 | |
| Team Totals | 27.0 | 229.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 43.0 | 451.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Alexander | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| George Amundson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Elvin Bethea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Blahak | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Burrough | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Levert Carr | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lynn Dickey | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -11 | 0 | |
| Elbert Drungo | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 |
| Larry Eaglin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Solomon Freelon | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Gresham | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Alvin Haymond | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Eddie Hinton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Al Jenkins | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lewis Jolley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ron Lou | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brian McConnell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Zeke Moore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Billy Parks | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dan Pastorini | 17 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -37 | 0 | |
| Guy Roberts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeff Severson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tody Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Fred Willis | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 43 | 28 | 15 | 10 | 25 | -41 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 29 | 10 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 3 |
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| Last Updated: March 31, 2025 |