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1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season
The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 40th in the National Football League.
The team posted a record of 11–3 in 1972, and won their first-ever AFC Central Division title. It was the team's third-ever postseason appearance, its first postseason appearance in ten seasons (the Playoff Bowl for third place in the league), and only its second playoff game since 1947.
| 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Chuck Noll | ||||||
| Owner | Art Rooney | ||||||
| Home field | Three Rivers Stadium | ||||||
| Results | |||||||
| Record | 11–3 | ||||||
| Division place | 1st AFC Central | ||||||
| Playoff finish |
Won Divisional Playoffs (Raiders) 13–7 Lost AFC Championship (Dolphins) 21–17 | ||||||
| Pro Bowlers |
6
| ||||||
| AP All-Pros |
4
| ||||||
| Team MVP | Franco Harris | ||||||
| Timeline | |||||||
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Contents
- 1 Offseason
- 2 Roster
- 3 Staff
- 4 Preseason
- 5 Regular season
- 5.1 Schedule
- 5.2 Game summaries
- 5.2.1 Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders
- 5.2.2 Week 2: at Cincinnati Bengals
- 5.2.3 Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals
- 5.2.4 Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys
- 5.2.5 Week 5: vs. Houston Oilers
- 5.2.6 Week 6: vs. New England Patriots
- 5.2.7 Week 7: at Buffalo Bills
- 5.2.8 Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
- 5.2.9 Week 9: Kansas City Chiefs
- 5.2.10 Week 10: Cleveland Browns
- 5.2.11 Week 11: Minnesota Vikings
- 5.2.12 Week 12: Cleveland Browns
- 5.2.13 Week 13: Houston Oilers
- 5.2.14 Week 14: San Diego Chargers
- 5.3 Standings
- 6 Postseason
- 7 References
Offseason
NFL Draft
| 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | Franco Harris * † | RB | Penn State | |
| 2 | 38 | Gordon Gravelle | OT | BYU | |
| 3 | 63 | John McMakin | TE | Clemson | |
| 4 | 80 | Lorenzo Brinkley | DB | Missouri | |
| 4 | 88 | Ed Bradley | LB | Wake Forest | |
| 5 | 113 | Steve Furness | DE | Rhode Island | |
| 6 | 143 | Dennis Meyer | DB | Arkansas State | |
| 7 | 159 | Joe Colquitt | DE | Kansas State | |
| 7 | 168 | Robert Kelly | DB | Jackson State | |
| 8 | 193 | Stahle Vincent | RB | Rice | |
| 9 | 217 | Don Kelley | DB | Clemson | |
| 10 | 243 | Bob Brown | DT | Tampa | |
| 11 | 273 | Joe Gilliam | QB | Tennessee State | |
| 12 | 298 | Ron Curl | OT | Michigan State | |
| 13 | 323 | Ernie Messmer | OT | Villanova | |
| 14 | 348 | Tommy Durrance | RB | Florida | |
| 15 | 368 | John Hulecki | OG | UMass | |
| 15 | 373 | Charles Harrington | OG | Witchita State | |
| 16 | 403 | Nate Hawkins | WR | UNLV | |
| 17 | 428 | Ron Linehan | LB | Idaho | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Roster
Template:American football roster/Header Template:American football roster/Footer
Depth chart
Staff
| 23px | This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (February 2011) |
Preseason
Schedule
Game summaries
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 17, 1972 | Oakland Raiders | W 34–28 |
| 2 | September 24, 1972 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 15–10 |
| 3 | October 1, 1972 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 25–19 |
| 4 | October 8, 1972 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 17–13 |
| 5 | October 15, 1972 | Houston Oilers | W 24–7 |
| 6 | October 22, 1972 | New England Patriots | W 33–3 |
| 7 | October 29, 1972 | at Buffalo Bills | W 38–21 |
| 8 | November 5, 1972 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 40–17 |
| 9 | November 12, 1972 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 16–7 |
| 10 | November 19, 1972 | at Cleveland Browns | L 26–24 |
| 11 | November 26, 1972 | Minnesota Vikings | W 23–10 |
| 12 | December 3, 1972 | Cleveland Browns | W 30–0 |
| 13 | December 10, 1972 | at Houston Oilers | W 9–3 |
| 14 | December 17, 1972 | at San Diego Chargers | W 24–2 |
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders
See also: 1972 Oakland Raiders season
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The Steelers were able to start off against the Raiders at home scoring 17 unanswered points (2TDs/PATs and a FG) and eventually ended up defeating the team by 6 for a 34–28 victory and a 1–0 start.
Week 2: at Cincinnati Bengals
See also: 1972 Cincinnati Bengals season
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Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals
See also: 1972 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season
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Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys
See also: 1972 Dallas Cowboys season
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Week 5: vs. Houston Oilers
See also: 1972 Houston Oilers season
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Week 6: vs. New England Patriots
See also: 1972 New England Patriots season
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Week 7: at Buffalo Bills
See also: 1972 Buffalo Bills season
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Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
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Week 9: Kansas City Chiefs
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Scoring Drives:
- Kansas City – Kearney 65 interception return (Stenerud kick)7–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 25 7–3
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 10 7–6
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 49 9–7
- Pittsburgh – Harris 7 run (Gerela kick)16–7
Week 10: Cleveland Browns
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Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 3–0
- Cleveland – FG Cockroft 26 3–3
- Cleveland – Phipps 1 run (Cockroft kick)10–3
- Cleveland – FG Cockroft 38 13–3
- Cleveland – Pitts 17 pass from Phipps (Cockroft kick)20–3
- Pittsburgh – Mullins 3 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)20–10
- Cleveland – FG Cockroft 12 23–10
- Pittsburgh – Fuqua 1 run (Gerela kick) 23–17
- Pittsburgh – Harris 75 run (Gerela kick)23–24
- Cleveland – FG Cockroft 26 26–24
Week 11: Minnesota Vikings
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Scoring Drives:
- Minnesota – FG Cox 24 3–0
- Pittsburgh – Harris 12 run (Gerela kick)7–3
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 17 10–3
- Minnesota – Voigt 5 pass from Tarkenton (Cox kick)10–10
- Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (kick blocked)16–10
- Pittsburgh – Lewis 17 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)23–10
Week 12: Cleveland Browns
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Franco Harris breaks Jim Brown's record for consecutive 100 yd games.
Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 3–0
- Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick)10–0
- Pittsburgh – Harris 11 run (Gerela kick)17–0
- Pittsburgh – McMakin 78 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)24–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 44 27–0
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 37 30–0
Week 13: Houston Oilers
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Scoring Drives:
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 24 3–0
- Houston – FG Butler 34 3–3
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 6–3
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 13 9–3
Week 14: San Diego Chargers
|
the pittsburgh steelers clinched their first afc central division title (the day before the game Frank Sinatra is inducted into Franco's Italian Army).
Scoring Drives:
- San Diego – Safety, Costa tackled Bradshaw in end zone 2–0
- Pittsburgh – Harris 2 run (Gerela kick)7–2
- Pittsburgh – Fuqua 2 run (Gerela kick)14–2
- Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 24 17–2
- Pittsburgh – Shanklin 17 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)24–2
Standings
| AFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 4–2 | 9–2 | 343 | 175 | W4 |
| Cleveland Browns | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–1 | 9–2 | 268 | 249 | W2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 3–3 | 6–5 | 299 | 229 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 0–6 | 1–10 | 164 | 380 | L11 |
Postseason
Game summaries
Divisional: vs. Oakland Raiders
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Main article: The Immaculate Reception
See also: 1972 Oakland Raiders season
AFC Championship: vs. Miami Dolphins
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- PIT – Mullins recovered fumble in end zone (Gerela kick) PIT 7–0
- MIA – Csonka 9 pass from Morrall (Yepremian kick) 7–7
- PIT – FG Gerela 14 PIT 10–7
- MIA – Kiick 2 run (Yepremian kick) MIA 14–10
- MIA – Kiick 3 run (Yepremian kick) MIA 21–10
- PIT – Young 12 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) MIA 21–17
References
- ^ Football Database - 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft. Retrieved 2014-Feb-10.
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