The National Football League playoffs for the 1973 season began on December 22, 1973. The postseason tournament concluded with the Miami Dolphins defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl VIII, 24–7, on January 13, 1974, at Rice Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Like the previous NFL seasons, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly divisional rotation, excluding the wild card teams who would always play on the road.
This was the first NFL postseason in which none of the twelve "old guard" NFL teams played in the conference championship games.
Participants
Bracket
Schedule
In the United States, NBC broadcast the AFC playoff games, while CBS televised the NFC games and Super Bowl VIII.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:92%; text-align:center;"
! Away team !! Score !! Home team !! Date !! Kickoff<br>(ET / UTC–5) !! TV
|-
! colspan="6"|Divisional playoffs
|-
| Washington Redskins || 20–27 || Minnesota Vikings || December 22, 1973 || 1:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Pittsburgh Steelers || 14–33 || Oakland Raiders || December 22, 1973 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Cincinnati Bengals || 16–34 || Miami Dolphins || December 23, 1973 || 1:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
| Los Angeles Rams || 16–27 || Dallas Cowboys || December 23, 1973 || 4:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
! colspan="6"|Conference Championships
|-
| Minnesota Vikings || 27–10 || Dallas Cowboys || December 30, 1973 || 1:00 p.m. || CBS
|-
| Oakland Raiders || 10–27 || Miami Dolphins || December 30, 1973 || 4:00 p.m. || NBC
|-
! colspan="6"|Super Bowl VIII<br><small>Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas</small>
|-
| Minnesota Vikings || 7–24 || Miami Dolphins || January 13, 1974 || 3:30 p.m. || CBS
|}
Divisional playoffs
Saturday, December 22, 1973
NFC: Minnesota Vikings 27, Washington Redskins 20
Minnesota scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to overcome a 13–10 deficit, including two touchdowns in a span of 1:05.
Both offenses struggled in the first quarter. The Vikings were completely unable to move the ball, finishing the quarter without any first downs, while Washington kicker Curt Knight missed two field goal attempts. One miss was from 49 yards and the other from 17, spoiling an impressive drive that saw the Redskins drive from their own 14 to inside the Vikings 10-yard line.
Minnesota finally managed to get rolling in the second quarter, with a 50-yard completion from Tarkenton to running back Oscar Reed setting up Fred Cox's 19-yard field goal. But with 3:30 left in the half, Vikings cornerback Bobby Bryant fumbled a punt return that was recovered by Redskins running back Bob Brunet on the Minnesota 21-yard line. Billy Kilmer then completed a 17-yard pass to Charley Taylor before Larry Brown scored on a 3-yard touchdown run to give the Redskins a 7–3 lead. Minnesota responded with a drive into field goal range, but Mike Bass intercepted a pass from Tarkenton to maintain Washington's lead going into halftime.
The Vikings then took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 79 yards, including a 46-yard run by Reed, to score on fullback Bill Brown's 2-yard rushing touchdown. To make matters worse for Washington, star cornerback Pat Fischer suffered cracked ribs on the drive and was replaced by Speedy Duncan, an 11-year veteran who normally only played as a kick returner. Still, the Redskins managed to take back the lead with Knight's two third quarter field goals, first tying a playoff record from 52 yards, and the second from 46 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Now facing a 13–10 fourth quarter deficit, the Vikings stormed back with two quick touchdowns. First they drove 71 yards in 8 plays to score on Tarkenton's pass to John Gilliam, who beat single coverage by Duncan for a 28-yard touchdown catch. Then on the first play of Washington's ensuing drive, Nate Wright intercepted a pass from Kilmer and returned it 26 yards to the Redskins 8-yard line, setting up a 6-yard touchdown pass from Tarkenton to Gilliam that made the score 24–13. With 5:28 left, Washington got back to within four points, getting good field position due to Ken Stone blocking a Vikings punt and converting it into Kilmer's 28-yard touchdown pass to Roy Jefferson. But the Vikings managed to burn up 4 minutes with their ensuing drive, finishing it off with a 30-yard Cox field goal that gave them a 27–20 lead. The Redskins had less than two minutes to drive for a tying touchdown, and ended up turning the ball over on downs at the Vikings 42-yard line.
Tarkenton completed 16/28 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns, with 1 interception. Reed had 17 carries for 95 yards and caught 4 passes for 76. Brown rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown, while also catching 2 passes for 13 yards.
“Sometimes they’re not concentrating on me,” said Oscar Reed, in reference to his big plays in the game. “Since early in the season they’ve been keying on Chuck Foreman. I’m not the world’s greatest pass catcher or runner, but given a little room, I’ll use what I’ve got.”
This was the first postseason meeting between the Redskins and Vikings.
AFC: Oakland Raiders 33, Pittsburgh Steelers 14
The Raiders outgained Pittsburgh in total yards 361 to 223, forced three turnovers without losing any on their side, and scored 16 unanswered points in the second half to defeat the Steelers.
After forcing the Steelers to punt on the game's opening drive, Oakland drove 82 yards in 16 plays, including a 20-yard burst by running back Marv Hubbard, to go up 7–0 on Hubbard's 1-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, Pittsburgh drove into Raiders territory, only to lose the ball when Terry Bradshaw's pass was deflected by Otis Sistrunk into the arms of linebacker Phil Villapiano for an interception. A 21-yard completion from Ken Stabler to receiver Mike Siani on the ensuing drive set up a 25-yard field goal by George Blanda, increasing the Raiders lead to 10–0 with 8 minutes left in the half. The Steelers were forced to punt on their next drive, but their defense subsequently forced the Raiders to go three-and-out. Then safety Glen Edwards returned Ray Guy's 40-yard punt 20 yards to the Oakland 45-yard line. On the next play, Bradshaw completed a 24-yard pass to running back Preston Pearson. Bradshaw eventually threw an incomplete pass on third down, but a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty gave the Steelers a first down on the Oakland 7. Following a 3-yard running play, Bradshaw finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown toss to Pearson, cutting the score to 10–7 going into halftime.
Oakland dominated the second half with 16 consecutive points. After Clarence Davis returned the second half kickoff 30 yards to the Raiders 32, a 15-yard roughing the passer penalty against Pittsburgh and a 17-yard completion from Stabler to Hubbard led to Blanda's 31-yard field goal. The Steelers had to punt on their next drive, and George Atkinson returned the ball 13 yards to the Oakland 43, sparking a drive that ended with another Blanda field goal that gave the Raiders a 16–7 lead. Pittsburgh seemed primed to respond when Frank Lewis caught a 17-yard reception that put them in Raiders territory, but on the next play, Willie Brown intercepted a pass from Bradshaw and returned it 54 yards for a touchdown. With the Steelers now facing a 23–7 deficit, the situation continued to unravel as Bradshaw was intercepted again on the next drive, this time by Atkinson, who returned it 8 yards to the Raiders 37. Oakland running back Charlie Smith then took off on a 40-yard run to the Steelers 22, setting up Blanda's third field goal that gave them a 26–7 lead.
With 9:12 left in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh got one last chance to get back in the game as Bradshaw's 26-yard touchdown pass to Lewis cut the score to 26–14. But after a punt from each team, Oakland put the game away, mainly due to Hubbard, who rushed for gains of 16, 15, 9, and 2 yards before finishing the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Raiders a 33–14 lead with 14 seconds left on the clock.
Stabler completed 14/17 passes for 142 yards. Hubbard rushed for 91 yards and two touchdowns, while also catching a 17-yard pass. Smith added 73 yards rushing and 10 yards receiving. Bradshaw was held to just 12/25 completions for 167 yards, with 2 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Future Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris was held to 29 yards on 10 carries.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Steelers and Raiders, with Pittsburgh winning last year's meeting.
This was the first postseason meeting between the Bengals and Dolphins.
Both teams combined for a net total of just 163 passing yards. Tarkenton completed only 10/21 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown with one interception, while also rushing for 16 yards. Staubach had one of the worst postseason performances of his career, completing just 10/21 passes for 89 yards and throwing 4 interceptions, though he did rush for 30 yards. Foreman was the top offensive performer of the day with 76 rushing yards and 4 receptions for 28, while fullback Oscar Reed added 18 carries for 75 yards and an 8-yard catch.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Vikings and Cowboys, with Dallas winning the only previous meeting.
Oakland managed to get on the board in the third quarter with a 21-yard George Blanda field goal, but this was quickly countered with a 42-yard Garo Yepremian field goal set up by Charlie Leigh's 53-yard kickoff return. Oakland then drove 78 yards and scored on Ken Stabler's 25-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Siani, cutting the lead to 17–10. In the fourth quarter, after Griese's 17-yard run on a QB draw set up Yepremian's 26-yard field goal, the Raiders were faced with fourth down and inches on the Dolphins 42 and were forced to "go for it". But running back Marv Hubbard fumbled the ball while trying to get through the line. The ball bounced into the hands of Stabler, who was tackled for a loss by defensive back Dick Anderson, and the Dolphins used their running game to take time off the clock and set up Csonka's third touchdown to clinch the game.
This was the second postseason meeting between the Raiders and Dolphins, with Oakland winning the only previous meeting.