1972 NFL season
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 17 – December 17, 1972 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | December 23, 1972 |
| AFC Champions | Miami Dolphins |
| NFC Champions | Washington Redskins |
| Super Bowl VII | |
| Date | January 14, 1973 |
| Site | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Champions | Miami Dolphins |
| Pro Bowl | |
| Date | January 21, 1973 |
| Site | Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas |
The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first (and to date the only) NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.
Contents
1 Major rule changes
2 New officials
3 Stadium changes
4 Division races
4.1 National Football Conference
4.2 American Football Conference
5 Final standings
6 Playoffs
7 Awards
8 Draft
9 Coaches
9.1 American Football Conference
9.2 National Football Conference
10 References
11 External links
Major rule changes
- The inbounds lines or hashmarks were moved 10¾ feet closer to the center of the field, to 23 yards, 1 foot, 9 inches from the sidelines. Since the 1945 season, they had been 20 yards from the sideline (40 feet apart).[1] The hashmarks are now 18½ feet apart (the same width as the goalposts), cutting down on severe angles for short field goal attempts, and nearly eliminating the short-side fields for the offense.
- With the hashmarks now the same width as the goalposts, a team punting from inside its 15-yard line could snap the ball from a spot even with the marked field numbers instead of the hashmarks to avoid the punt hitting the goalpost.
- If a legal receiver goes out of bounds, either accidentally or forced out, and returns to touch or catch the pass in bounds, the penalty is a loss of down (but no penalty yardage will be assessed).
- If a punt or missed field goal crosses the receivers' goal line, a member of the receiving team may advance the ball into the field of play. Previously, the ball was dead when a scrimmage kick crossed the goal line and the receivers were awarded an automatic touchback.
- All fouls committed by the offensive team behind the line of scrimmage will be assessed from the previous spot.
- Tie games, previously ignored in computing of winning percentage, were made equal to a half-game win and a half-game loss.
New officials
Referee Jack Vest, the referee for Super Bowl II, the 1969 AFL championship game and 1971 AFC championship game, was killed in a June motorcycle accident. Chuck Heberling was promoted from line judge to fill the vacancy and kept Vest's crew intact. Heberling's line judge vacancy was filled by Red Cashion, who was promoted to referee in 1976 and worked in the league through 1996, earning assignment to Super Bowl XX and Super Bowl XXX.
Stadium changes
The Kansas City Chiefs moved their home games to Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex and became the twelfth team (of 26) to play its home games on artificial turf.
Division races
Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth "wild card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents records, and conference play.
National Football Conference
| Week | Eastern | Central | Western | Wild Card | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas, St. Louis, Washington | 1–0–0 | Detroit, Green Bay | 1–0–0 | Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles | 1–0–0 | St.L, Wash., Atl., San Fran., Green Bay | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | Dallas, Washington | 2–0–0 | Minnesota | 1–1–0 | Los Angeles | 1–0–1 | Dallas, Washington | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | Washington | 2–1–0 | Detroit, Green Bay | 2–1–0 | Atlanta, San Francisco | 2–1–0 | 3 teams | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | Washington | 3–1–0 | Detroit* | 3–1–0 | Los Angeles | 2–1–1 | 2 teams | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | Washington | 4–1–0 | Green Bay | 4–1–0 | Los Angeles | 3–1–1 | Dallas | 4–1–0 |
| 6 | Washington | 5–1–0 | Green Bay* | 4–2–0 | Los Angeles | 4–1–1 | 4 teams | 4–2–0 |
| 7 | Washington | 6–1–0 | Green Bay* | 4–3–0 | Los Angeles | 4–2–1 | Dallas | 5–2–0 |
| 8 | Washington | 7–1–0 | Green Bay* | 5–3–0 | Los Angeles | 5–2–1 | Dallas | 6–2–0 |
| 9 | Washington | 8–1–0 | Green Bay | 6–3–0 | Los Angeles | 5–3–1 | Dallas | 7–2–0 |
| 10 | Washington | 9–1–0 | Green Bay | 7–3–0 | Los Angeles* | 5–4–1 | Dallas | 8–2–0 |
| 11 | Washington | 10–1–0 | Green Bay* | 7–4–0 | San Francisco | 6–4–1 | Dallas | 8–3–0 |
| 12 | Washington | 11–1–0 | Green Bay | 8–4–0 | Atlanta | 7–5–0 | Dallas | 9–3–0 |
| 13 | Washington | 11–2–0 | Green Bay | 9–4–0 | San Francisco | 7–5–1 | Dallas | 10–3–0 |
| 14 | Washington | 11–3–0 | Green Bay | 10–4–0 | San Francisco | 8–5–1 | Dallas | 10–4–0 |
American Football Conference
| Week | Eastern | Central | Western | Wild Card | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami, NY Jets | 1–0–0 | Cincinnati, Pittsburgh | 1–0–0 | Denver | 1–0–0 | Miami, NY Jets | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | Miami, NY Jets | 2–0–0 | Cincinnati | 2–0–0 | Oakland, Denver, Kansas City, San Diego | 1–1–0 | Miami, NY Jets | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | Miami | 3–0–0 | Cleveland | 2–1–0 | Kansas City | 2–1–0 | Pittsburgh, San Diego, Cincinnati, NY Jets | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | Miami | 4–0–0 | Cincinnati | 3–1–0 | Kansas City | 3–1–0 | San Diego* | 2–1–1 |
| 5 | Miami | 5–0–0 | Cincinnati | 4–1–0 | Oakland | 3–1–1 | NY Jets* | 3–2–0 |
| 6 | Miami | 6–0–0 | Cincinnati* | 4–2–0 | Oakland | 3–2–1 | Pittsburgh* | 4–2–0 |
| 7 | Miami | 7–0–0 | Cincinnati* | 5–2–0 | Oakland | 4–2–1 | Pittsburgh* | 5–2–0 |
| 8 | Miami | 8–0–0 | Pittsburgh | 6–2–0 | Kansas City | 5–3–0 | Cleveland* | 5–3–0 |
| 9 | Miami | 9–0–0 | Pittsburgh | 7–2–0 | Oakland | 5–3–1 | Cleveland* | 6–3–0 |
| 10 | Miami | 10–0–0 | Cleveland | 7–3–0 | Oakland | 6–3–1 | Pittsburgh | 7–3–0 |
| 11 | Miami | 11–0–0 | Cleveland | 8–3–0 | Oakland | 7–3–1 | Pittsburgh | 8–3–0 |
| 12 | Miami | 12–0–0 | Pittsburgh | 9–3–0 | Oakland | 8–3–1 | Cleveland | 8–4–0 |
| 13 | Miami | 13–0–0 | Pittsburgh | 10–3–0 | Oakland | 9–3–1 | Cleveland | 9–4–0 |
| 14 | Miami | 14–0–0 | Pittsburgh | 11–3–0 | Oakland | 10–3–1 | Cleveland | 10–4–0 |
Final standings
Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings
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Playoffs
- Note: Prior to the 1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation. Had the playoffs been seeded, the divisional matchups in the AFC would not have changed, but undefeated Miami would have had home field advantage for the AFC championship game. The NFC divisional matchups would have been #4 wild card Dallas, ineligible to play Washington, at #2 Green Bay and #3 San Francisco at #1 Washington.
| Divisional Playoffs | Conf. Championship Games | Super Bowl VII | ||||||||
| December 24 – Miami Orange Bowl | ||||||||||
| Cleveland Browns | 14 | |||||||||
| December 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | ||||||||||
| Miami Dolphins | 20 | |||||||||
| Miami Dolphins | 21 | |||||||||
| December 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | ||||||||||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 17 | |||||||||
| Oakland Raiders | 7 | |||||||||
| January 14 – L.A. Coliseum | ||||||||||
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 13 | |||||||||
| Miami Dolphins | 14 | |||||||||
| December 23 – Candlestick Park | ||||||||||
| Washington Redskins | 7 | |||||||||
| Dallas Cowboys | 30 | |||||||||
| December 31 – RFK Stadium | ||||||||||
| San Francisco 49ers | 28 | |||||||||
| Dallas Cowboys | 3 | |||||||||
| December 24 – RFK Stadium | ||||||||||
| Washington Redskins | 26 | |||||||||
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | |||||||||
| Washington Redskins | 16 | |||||||||
Awards
| Most Valuable Player | Larry Brown, Running Back, Washington |
| Coach of the Year | Don Shula, Miami |
| Offensive Player of the Year | Larry Brown, Running Back, Washington |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Joe Greene, Defensive Tackle, Pittsburgh |
| Offensive Rookie of the Year | Franco Harris, Running Back, Pittsburgh |
| Defensive Rookie of the Year | Willie Buchanon, Cornerback, Green Bay |
| Man of the Year | Willie Lanier, Linebacker,Kansas |
| Comeback Player of the Year | Earl Morrall, Quarterback,Miami |
| Super Bowl Most Valuable Player | Jake Scott, Safety, Miami |
Draft
The 1972 NFL Draft was held from February 1 to 2, 1972 at New York City’s Essex House. With the first pick, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski from the University of Notre Dame.
Coaches
American Football Conference
Baltimore Colts: Don McCafferty (5 games) and John Sandusky (9 games)
Buffalo Bills: Lou Saban
Cincinnati Bengals: Paul Brown
Cleveland Browns: Nick Skorich
Denver Broncos: John Ralston
Houston Oilers: Bill Peterson
Kansas City Chiefs: Hank Stram
Miami Dolphins: Don Shula
New England Patriots: John Mazur (9 games) and Phil Bengston (5 games)
New York Jets: Weeb Ewbank
Oakland Raiders: John Madden
Pittsburgh Steelers: Chuck Noll
San Diego Chargers: Harland Svare
National Football Conference
Atlanta Falcons: Norm Van Brocklin
Chicago Bears: Abe Gibron
Dallas Cowboys: Tom Landry
Detroit Lions: Joe Schmidt
Green Bay Packers: Dan Devine
Los Angeles Rams: Tommy Prothro
Minnesota Vikings: Bud Grant
New Orleans Saints: J. D. Roberts
New York Giants: Alex Webster
Philadelphia Eagles: Ed Khayat
San Francisco 49ers: Dick Nolan
St. Louis Cardinals: Bob Hollway
Washington Redskins: George Allen
References
^ "Owners give offense big seven-yard boost". Rome News-Tribune. Georgia. Associated Press. March 24, 1972. p. 6A..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
NFL Record and Fact Book (
ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (
ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
External links
NFL History 1971–1980 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
