# 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season

The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 40th in the National Football League.
Pittsburgh finished with an 11–3 record in 1972, their first winning season in 9 years (1963), and won their first-ever AFC Central Division title. It was the Steelers' third-ever postseason appearance, first in ten seasons (the Playoff Bowl for third place in the league), and only its second playoff game since 1947. This season is famous for the Immaculate Reception, where the Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13–7 in the playoffs on a last second touchdown by rookie running back Franco Harris. But the momentum would not be enough to beat the Dolphins in the AFC Championship despite a strong season.
The rebuilding of the franchise that began in 1969 with the hiring of head coach Chuck Noll finally came to fruition in his fourth year. After winning only once in that first season, the Steelers then showed steady improvement. They broke through in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time since 1947; their three losses were by a combined eleven points. The division title was the first in team history, as was the appearance in the AFC Championship game which they lost to the undefeated Miami Dolphins 21–17. It was the first of eight consecutive playoff appearances for the Steelers that led to four Super Bowl championships.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1972 Pittsburgh Steelers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 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 | Wichita 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

    Source:

### Depth chart

Defense1972 Pittsburgh Steelers roster :
* FS
* 49 Ralph Anderson
* 27 Glen Edwards
| WLB | MLB | SLB |
| ⋅ | 53 Henry Davis | ⋅ |
| 36 Chuck Winfrey | 38 Ed Bradley | ⋅ |
| 61 Brian Stenger | ⋅ | ⋅ |
* SS
* 23 Mike Wagner
* 37 Chuck Beatty
* CB
* 48 John Rowser
* 29 John Dockery
| DE | DT | DT | DE |
| 78 Dwight White | 60 Ben McGee | 75 Joe Greene | 68 L. C. Greenwood |
| 67 Craig Hanneman | 63 Ernie Holmes | 64 Steve Furness | ⋅ |
* CB
* 47 Mel Blount
* 44 Lee Calland
Offense1972 Pittsburgh Steelers roster :
* WR
* 43 Frank Lewis
* 31 Al Young
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| 55 Jon Kolb | 57 Sam Davis | 56 Ray Mansfield | 66 Bruce Van Dyke | 72 Gerry Mullins |
| 71 Gordon Gravelle | ⋅ | 50 Jim Clack | 77 Mel Holmes | 74 John Brown IR |
* TE
* 89 John McMakin
* 87 Larry Brown
* 85 Bob Adams IR
* WR
* 25 Ron Shanklin
* 88 Dave L. Smith
* QB
* 12 Terry Bradshaw
* 5 Terry Hanratty
* 17 Joe Gilliam
* RB
* 33 John Fuqua
* 20 Rocky Bleier
* 35 Steve Davis
* FB
* 32 Franco Harris
* 26 Preston Pearson
* 46 Warren Bankston
* Special teams
* PK 10 Roy Gerela
* P 39 Bobby Walden
* KR 26 Preston Pearson
* PR 27 Glen Edwards
* LS 55 Jon Kolb
* H 39 Bobby Walden

## Staff

•Lionel Taylor - Receiver Coach
•Charlie Sumner - Linebacker Coach
* - Quarterback Coach
•Dick Hoak – Defensive backfield coach
•Bud Carson – Defensive backfield coach
•Bob Fry – Offensive line coach
•Lou Riecke - Strength Coach
•George Perles – Defensive line coach

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| 1 | September 17 | Oakland Raiders | W 34–28 | 1–0 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 2 | September 24 | at Cincinnati Bengals | L 10–15 | 1–1 | Riverfront Stadium |
| 3 | October 1 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 25–19 | 2–1 | Busch Memorial Stadium |
| 4 | October 8 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 13–17 | 2–2 | Texas Stadium |
| 5 | October 15 | Houston Oilers | W 24–7 | 3–2 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 6 | October 22 | New England Patriots | W 33–3 | 4–2 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 7 | October 29 | at Buffalo Bills | W 38–21 | 5–2 | War Memorial Stadium |
| 8 | November 5 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 40–17 | 6–2 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 9 | November 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 16–7 | 7–2 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 10 | November 19 | at Cleveland Browns | L 24–26 | 7–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium |
| 11 | November 26 | Minnesota Vikings | W 23–10 | 8–3 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 12 | December 3 | Cleveland Browns | W 30–0 | 9–3 | Three Rivers Stadium |
| 13 | December 10 | at Houston Oilers | W 9–3 | 10–3 | Astrodome |
| 14 | December 17 | at San Diego Chargers | W 24–2 | 11–3 | San Diego Stadium |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||

### Game summaries
#### Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 28 |
| • Steelers | 14 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • Bengals | 3 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 15 |

#### Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Steelers | 3 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 25 |
| Cardinals | 0 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |

#### Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| • Cowboys | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

#### Week 5: vs. Houston Oilers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oilers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Steelers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

#### Week 6: vs. New England Patriots

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Patriots | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| • Steelers | 10 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 33 |

#### Week 7: at Buffalo Bills

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Steelers | 0 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |

#### Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 17 |
| • Steelers | 10 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 40 |

#### Week 9: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Chiefs | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Steelers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 16 |
Scoring drives:
* Kansas City – Kearney 65 interception return (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 7–0
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 25 – Chiefs 7–3
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 10 – Chiefs 7–6
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 49 – Steelers 9–7
* Pittsburgh – Harris 7 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 16–7

#### Week 10: Cleveland Browns

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Steelers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| • Browns | 10 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 26 |
Scoring drives:
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 – Steelers 3–0
* Cleveland – FG Cockroft 26 – Tie 3–3
* Cleveland – Phipps 1 run (Cockroft kick) – Browns 10–3
* Cleveland – FG Cockroft 38 – Browns 13–3
* Cleveland – Pitts 17 pass from Phipps (Cockroft kick) – Browns 20–3
* Pittsburgh – Mullins 3 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Browns 20–10
* Cleveland – FG Cockroft 12 – Browns 23–10
* Pittsburgh – Fuqua 1 run (Gerela kick) – Browns 23–17
* Pittsburgh – Harris 75 run (Gerela kick)- Steelers 24–23
* Cleveland – FG Cockroft 26 – Browns 26–24

#### Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vikings | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Steelers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 23 |
at Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Date: Sunday, November 26
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: 38 °F (3 °C) • Wind 18 miles per hour (29 km/h; 16 kn)
* Game attendance: 50,348
* TV announcers (CBS): Jack Drees, George Connor, and Andy Musser
* Pro-Football-Reference.com
Game information :
Vikings
Fran Tarkenton 24/43, 235 Yds, TD, INT
Oscar Reed 16 Rush, 56 Yds
Ed Marinaro 9 Rec, 62 Yds
Steelers
Terry Bradshaw 7/19, 93 Yds, TD, INT
Franco Harris 17 Rush, 128 Yds, TD
Ron Shanklin 2 Rec, 52 Yds :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | MIN | PIT |
| 1 | | | | | Vikings | 24-yard field goal by Fred Cox | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | | | | | Steelers | Franco Harris 12-yard touchdown run, Roy Gerela kick good | 3 | 7 |
| 3 | | | | | Steelers | 17-yard field goal by Roy Gerela | 3 | 10 |
| 4 | | | | | Vikings | Stu Voigt 5-yard touchdown reception from Fran Tarkenton, Fred Cox kick good | 10 | 10 |
| 4 | | | | | Steelers | Terry Bradshaw 1-yard touchdown run, Roy Gerela kick no good (blocked) | 10 | 16 |
| 4 | | | | | Steelers | Frank Lewis 17-yard touchdown reception from Terry Bradshaw, Roy Gerela kick good | 10 | 23 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 10 | 23 |

#### Week 12: vs. Cleveland Browns

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Steelers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 13 | 30 |
Franco Harris breaks Jim Brown's record for consecutive 100 yd games.
Scoring drives:
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 – Steelers 3–0
* Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 10–0
* Pittsburgh – Harris 11 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 17–0
* Pittsburgh – McMakin 78 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 24–0
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 44 – Steelers 27–0
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 37 – Steelers 30–0

#### Week 13: at Houston Oilers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Steelers | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Oilers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Scoring drives:
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 24 – Steelers 3–0
* Houston – FG Butler 34 – Tie 3–3
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 – Steelers 6–3
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 13 – Steelers 9–3
Steelers clinch their 1st playoff berth.

#### Week 14: San Diego Chargers

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Steelers | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
| Chargers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
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:
* Pittsburgh – Harris 7 yd run (Gerela kick) Steelers 7-0
* San Diego – Safety, Costa tackled Bradshaw in end zone – Steelers 7-2
* Pittsburgh – Fuqua 2 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–2
* Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 24 – Steelers 17–2
* Pittsburgh – Shanklin 17 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 24–2

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | 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
#### AFC Divisional: vs. Oakland Raiders

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Raiders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Steelers | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 |

#### AFC Championship: vs. Miami Dolphins

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Dolphins | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Steelers | 7 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
* 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 11:00 3rd 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