1972 NFL season

1972 National Football League 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	L.A. Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
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.

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.

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). 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.
• 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.

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

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

 x  – clinched wild card berth,  y  – clinched division title

Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings

AFC East
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
y-Miami Dolphins	14	0	0	1.000	385	171
New York Jets	7	7	0	.500	367	324
Baltimore Colts	5	9	0	.357	235	252
Buffalo Bills	4	9	1	.321	257	377
New England Patriots	3	11	0	.214	192	446
AFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
y-Pittsburgh Steelers	11	3	0	.786	343	175
x-Cleveland Browns	10	4	0	.714	268	249
Cincinnati Bengals	8	6	0	.571	299	229
Houston Oilers	1	13	0	.071	164	380
AFC West
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
y-Oakland Raiders	10	3	1	.750	365	248
Kansas City Chiefs	8	6	0	.571	287	254
Denver Broncos	5	9	0	.357	325	350
San Diego Chargers	4	9	1	.321	264	344

NFC East
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
y-Washington Redskins	11	3	0	.786	336	218
x-Dallas Cowboys	10	4	0	.714	319	240
New York Giants	8	6	0	.571	331	247
St. Louis Cardinals	4	9	1	.321	193	303
Philadelphia Eagles	2	11	1	.179	145	352
NFC Central
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
y-Green Bay Packers	10	4	0	.714	304	226
Detroit Lions	8	5	1	.607	339	290
Minnesota Vikings	7	7	0	.500	301	252
Chicago Bears	4	9	1	.321	225	275
NFC West
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
y-San Francisco 49ers	8	5	1	.607	353	249
Atlanta Falcons	7	7	0	.500	269	274
Los Angeles Rams	6	7	1	.464	291	286
New Orleans Saints	2	11	1	.179	215	361

Playoffs

Main article: 1972–73 NFL playoffs

Note: Prior to the 1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.

	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

References

• 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)