# 1972 NFL season

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 14-7 in Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins not only led the NFL in points scored, while their defense led the league in fewest points allowed, the roster also featured two running backs who gained 1,000 rushing yards in the same season.

## Colts and Rams exchange owners

On July 13, Robert Irsay and Willard Keland bought the Los Angeles Rams from the estate of Dan Reeves and transferred ownership to Carroll Rosenbloom, in exchange for ownership of the Baltimore Colts.

## 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.

## 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.

## Major rule changes

* The inbounds lines or hashmarks were moved 10.75 ft (3.28 m) closer to the center of the field, to 70.75 ft (21.56 m) from the sidelines. Since the 1945 season, they had been 20 yd (18.29 m) from the sideline [40 ft (12.19 m) apart]. The hashmarks are now 18.5 ft (5.64 m) 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.
* Field number markings were standardized across the league, both in size and position.
** Prior to 1972, the Oakland Raiders' field numbers were inside a silver shield, and the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers used diamonds to mark numbers.
** The fields for the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints had field numbers closer to the sidelines than most stadiums, since they were marked with both NFL and collegiate hashmarks.
** Yard lines ending in "5" could not be marked. In 1971, the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants were the last teams to mark yard lines every five yards instead of ten.
* 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.
* This was the first season third-down conversions were recorded as an official statistic.

## Division races

From 1970 through 2002, there were three divisions (East, Central and West) 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 | East | | Central | | West | | Wild Card | |
| 1 | Dallas, St. Louis, Washington | 1–0–0 | Detroit, Green Bay | 1–0–0 | Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles | 1–0–0 | 5 teams | 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 | East | | Cent | | West | | 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 | All 4 teams | 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

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Miami Dolphins | 14 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 8–0 | 11–0 | 385 | 171 | W14 |
| New York Jets | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 6–2 | 6–5 | 367 | 324 | L2 |
| Baltimore Colts | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 4–4 | 5–6 | 235 | 252 | L2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4 | 9 | 1 | .321 | 2–6 | 2–9 | 257 | 377 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 0–8 | 0–11 | 192 | 446 | L1 |
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 |
AFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Oakland Raiders | 10 | 3 | 1 | .750 | 3–2–1 | 7–3–1 | 365 | 248 | W6 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 4–2 | 6–5 | 287 | 254 | W3 |
| Denver Broncos | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 325 | 350 | W2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4 | 9 | 1 | .321 | 2–3–1 | 4–6–1 | 264 | 344 | L3 |
NFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Washington Redskins | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 7–1 | 10–1 | 336 | 218 | L2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 7–4 | 319 | 240 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 5–3 | 7–4 | 331 | 247 | W1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 9 | 1 | .321 | 1–6–1 | 3–7–1 | 193 | 303 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 11 | 1 | .179 | 0–7–1 | 0–10–1 | 145 | 352 | L5 |
NFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–1 | 8–3 | 304 | 226 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 5 | 1 | .607 | 2–4 | 6–5 | 339 | 290 | W1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 4–2 | 6–5 | 301 | 252 | L2 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 9 | 1 | .321 | 1–5 | 3–7–1 | 225 | 275 | L1 |
NFC West :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| San Francisco 49ers | 8 | 5 | 1 | .607 | 3–2–1 | 6–4–1 | 353 | 249 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 5–5 | 269 | 274 | L2 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6 | 7 | 1 | .464 | 4–2 | 5–5–1 | 291 | 286 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 2 | 11 | 1 | .179 | 1–4–1 | 2–8–1 | 215 | 361 | L3 |

## 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.
| Dec 24 – Miami Orange Bowl | Dec 24 – Miami Orange Bowl | Dec 24 – Miami Orange Bowl | | | | | | | | |
| WC | Cleveland | 14 | | | | | | | | |
| WC | Cleveland | 14 | Dec 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | | | | | | | |
| East | Miami | 20 | Dec 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | | | | | |
| AFC | AFC | AFC | | | Dec 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 31 – Three Rivers Stadium | | | | | |
| AFC | AFC | AFC | East | Miami | 21 | | | | | |
| Dec 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | | | East | Miami | 21 | | | | | |
| Dec 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | Cent. | Pittsburgh | 17 | | | | | |
| Dec 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | Dec 23 – Three Rivers Stadium | AFC Championship | AFC Championship | AFC Championship | | | | | | | |
| West | Oakland | 7 | AFC Championship | AFC Championship | AFC Championship | | | | | |
| West | Oakland | 7 | AFC Championship | AFC Championship | AFC Championship | | | Jan 14 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Jan 14 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Jan 14 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Cent. | Pittsburgh | 13 | AFC Championship | AFC Championship | AFC Championship | | | Jan 14 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Jan 14 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Jan 14 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Divisional playoffs | Divisional playoffs | Divisional playoffs | | | | | | | | Jan 14 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Jan 14 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Jan 14 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Divisional playoffs | Divisional playoffs | Divisional playoffs | | | | | | AFC | Miami | 14 |
| Dec 23 – Candlestick Park | Dec 23 – Candlestick Park | Dec 23 – Candlestick Park | | | | | | | | AFC | Miami | 14 |
| Dec 23 – Candlestick Park | Dec 23 – Candlestick Park | Dec 23 – Candlestick Park | | | | | | NFC | Washington | 7 |
| Dec 23 – Candlestick Park | Dec 23 – Candlestick Park | Dec 23 – Candlestick Park | | | | | | Super Bowl VII | Super Bowl VII | Super Bowl VII |
| WC | Dallas | 30 | | | | | | Super Bowl VII | Super Bowl VII | Super Bowl VII |
| WC | Dallas | 30 | Dec 31 – RFK Stadium | Dec 31 – RFK Stadium | Dec 31 – RFK Stadium | | | | | Super Bowl VII | Super Bowl VII | Super Bowl VII |
| West | San Francisco | 28 | Dec 31 – RFK Stadium | Dec 31 – RFK Stadium | Dec 31 – RFK Stadium | | | Super Bowl VII | Super Bowl VII | Super Bowl VII |
| NFC | NFC | NFC | | | Dec 31 – RFK Stadium | Dec 31 – RFK Stadium | Dec 31 – RFK Stadium | | |
| NFC | NFC | NFC | WC | Dallas | 3 | | |
| Dec 24 – RFK Stadium | Dec 24 – RFK Stadium | Dec 24 – RFK Stadium | | | WC | Dallas | 3 | | |
| Dec 24 – RFK Stadium | Dec 24 – RFK Stadium | Dec 24 – RFK Stadium | East | Washington | 26 | | |
| Dec 24 – RFK Stadium | Dec 24 – RFK Stadium | Dec 24 – RFK Stadium | NFC Championship | NFC Championship | NFC Championship | | | | |
| Cent. | Green Bay | 3 | NFC Championship | NFC Championship | NFC Championship | | |
| East | Washington | 16 | NFC Championship | NFC Championship | NFC Championship | | |
* view
* talk

## 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 |

## Coaching changes
### Offseason

* Buffalo Bills: After finishing with a 1–13 record in 1971, Harvey Johnson was reassigned to the team's scouting department. Lou Saban then was named as Johnson's replacement, beginning his second stint after serving as the Bills head coach from 1962 to 1965.
* Chicago Bears: Abe Gibron replaced the fired Jim Dooley.
* Denver Broncos: John Ralston joined the Broncos as head coach. Lou Saban left the team after a 2–6–1 start in 1971. Offensive line coach Jerry Smith served as interim for the remaining five games.
* Houston Oilers: Ed Hughes resigned and was replaced by Bill Peterson.
* Philadelphia Eagles: Ed Khayat began his first full season as head coach. He replaced Jerry Williams, who was fired after three games in 1971.

### In-season

* Baltimore Colts: Don McCafferty was fired after going 1-4 to start the season. John Sandusky was named as replacement.
* New England Patriots: John Mazur resigned after going 2-7 to start the season. Phil Bengtson then served as interim.

## Stadium changes

* The Kansas City Chiefs moved their home games from Municipal Stadium to Arrowhead Stadium at the Truman Sports Complex and became the twelfth team (of 26) to play its home games on artificial turf.

## Uniform changes

* The Denver Broncos discontinued wearing orange pants with their white jerseys as they had done from 1968 to 1971. The orange pants returned in 1978 and '79.
* The Detroit Lions added outlines to the jersey numbers
* The Houston Oilers switched from silver to blue helmets. They also discontinued their silver pants in favor of white pants for their blue jerseys, and blue pants for their white jerseys. These uniforms lasted three seasons.
* The Miami Dolphins reinstated their white jersey with alternating aqua and orange stripes on the sleeves, which was discontinued when Don Shula became coach. However, this style was not universally adopted, and several notable players, including Bob Griese and Larry Csonka, continued to wear the 1970-71 white jersey with plain sleeves. The Dolphins' aqua jerseys from 1970 to 1971 with plain sleeves, worn twice in 1972 (vs. Buffalo in week 6 and St. Louis in week 11), remained unchanged.
* The Pittsburgh Steelers switched from white pants to gold pants with their white jerseys.
* The Washington Redskins switched from gold to burgundy helmets, and from the "R" helmet logo (designed by the late Vince Lombardi) to the Native American head logo. The helmet remained unchanged, save for changing from gray face masks to gold in 1978 and a modified logo for 1982 only, until the Redskins nickname was retired prior to the 2020 season.

## Television

This was the third year under the league's four-year broadcast contracts with ABC, CBS, and NBC to televise Monday Night Football, the NFC package, and the AFC package, respectively.
Three games were not televised at all due to an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers strike against CBS: Washington at New York Jets (November 5), Philadelphia at New York Giants (November 26) and New Orleans at New York Jets (December 3).