1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Last updated

1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Owner Art Rooney
Head coach Chuck Noll
Home field Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record11–3
Division place1st AFC Central
Playoff finishWon Divisional Playoffs
(vs. Raiders) 13–7
Lost AFC Championship
(vs. Dolphins) 17–21
Pro Bowlers
AP All-Pros
4
Team MVP Franco Harris

The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 40th in the National Football League.

Contents

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.

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
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
113 Franco Harris  *   RB Penn State
238 Gordon Gravelle   OT BYU
363 John McMakin   TE Clemson
480Lorenzo Brinkley  DB Missouri
488 Ed Bradley   LB Wake Forest
5113 Steve Furness   DE Rhode Island
6143 Dennis Meyer  DB Arkansas State
7159Joe Colquitt DE Kansas State
7168Robert Kelly DB Jackson State
8193Stahle Vincent RB Rice
9217Don Kelley DBClemson
10243Bob Brown  DT Tampa
11273 Joe Gilliam   QB Tennessee State
12298Ron Curl OT Michigan State
13323Ernie Messmer OT Villanova
14348Tommy Durrance RB Florida
15368John Hulecki  OG UMass
15373Charles Harrington OG Wichita State
16403Nate Hawkins  WR UNLV
17428Ron Linehan LB Idaho
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Roster

1972 Pittsburgh Steelers final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Head coach
Assistant coaches

Rookies in italics

Source: [2]

Depth chart

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

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenue
1September 17 Oakland Raiders W 34–281–0 Three Rivers Stadium
2September 24at Cincinnati Bengals L 10–151–1 Riverfront Stadium
3October 1at St. Louis Cardinals W 25–192–1 Busch Memorial Stadium
4October 8at Dallas Cowboys L 13–172–2 Texas Stadium
5October 15 Houston Oilers W 24–73–2Three Rivers Stadium
6October 22 New England Patriots W 33–34–2Three Rivers Stadium
7October 29at Buffalo Bills W 38–215–2 War Memorial Stadium
8November 5 Cincinnati Bengals W 40–176–2Three Rivers Stadium
9November 12 Kansas City Chiefs W 16–77–2Three Rivers Stadium
10November 19at Cleveland Browns L 24–267–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium
11November 26 Minnesota Vikings W 23–108–3Three Rivers Stadium
12December 3 Cleveland Browns W 30–09–3Three Rivers Stadium
13December 10at Houston Oilers W 9–310–3 Astrodome
14December 17at San Diego Chargers W 24–211–3 San Diego Stadium
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders

1234Total
Raiders0702128
Steelers14310734
  • References:

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

1234Total
Steelers0100010
Bengals306615
  • References:

Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals

1234Total
Steelers31201025
Cardinals066719
  • References:

Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys

1234Total
Steelers670013
Cowboys377017
  • References:

Week 5: vs. Houston Oilers

1234Total
Oilers70007
Steelers0107724
  • References:

Week 6: vs. New England Patriots

1234Total
Patriots00303
Steelers10713333
  • References:

Week 7: at Buffalo Bills

1234Total
Steelers01771438
Bills0071421
  • References:

Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

1234Total
Bengals0014317
Steelers10167740
  • References:

Week 9: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

1234Total
Chiefs07007
Steelers0031316
  • References:

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

1234Total
Steelers377724
Browns10103326
  • References:

Scoring drives:

Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings (6–4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (7–3)
Period1234Total
Vikings300710
Steelers7031323

at Three Rivers StadiumPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

Week 12: vs. Cleveland Browns

1234Total
Browns00000
Steelers3771330
  • Date: Sunday, December 3
  • Location: Three Rivers Stadium
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. local
  • Game attendance: 50,350
  • Game weather: 44 F, wind 14 mph
  • Referee: Tommy Bell
  • References:

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

1234Total
Steelers30609
Oilers03003
  • Date: Sunday, December 10
  • Location: Houston Astrodome
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. local
  • Game attendance: 36,528
  • Referee: John McDonough

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

1234Total
Steelers773724
Chargers20002
  • References:

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:

Standings

AFC Central
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Pittsburgh Steelers 1130.7864–29–2343175W4
Cleveland Browns 1040.7145–19–2268249W2
Cincinnati Bengals 860.5713–36–5299229W1
Houston Oilers 1130.0710–61–10164380L11

Postseason

Game summaries

AFC Divisional: vs. Oakland Raiders

1234Total
Raiders00077
Steelers0031013

AFC Championship: vs. Miami Dolphins

1234Total
Dolphins077721
Steelers703717

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References

  1. Football Database – 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft. Retrieved 2014-Feb-10.
  2. "Steelers numbers". Pittsburgh Press. October 22, 1972. p. D9.