1972 NFL season
The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.
Major rule changes
- The inbounds lines or hashmarks were moved closer to the center of the field, 23 yards, 1 foot, 9 inches from the sidelines. The hashmarks are now 18 feet, 6 inches apart (the same width as the goalposts), cutting down on severe angles for short field goal attempts.
- 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.
| Week |
Eastern |
|
Central |
|
Western |
|
Wild Card |
|
| 1 |
3 teams |
1–0–0 |
2 teams |
1–0–0 |
3 teams |
1–0–0 |
5 teams |
1–0–0 |
| 2 |
2 teams |
2–0–0 |
MINNESOTA |
1–1–0 |
LOS ANGELES |
1–0–1 |
2 teams |
2–0–0 |
| 3 |
WASHINGTON |
2–1–0 |
2 teams |
2–1–0 |
2 teams |
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 |
| Week |
Eastern |
|
Central |
|
Western |
|
Wild Card |
|
| 1 |
2 teams |
1–0–0 |
2 teams |
1–0–0 |
DENVER |
1–0–0 |
2 teams |
1–0–0 |
| 2 |
2 teams |
2–0–0 |
CINCINNATI |
2–0–0 |
4 teams |
1–1–0 |
2 teams |
2–0–0 |
| 3 |
MIAMI |
3–0–0 |
CLEVELAND |
2–1–0 |
KANSAS CITY |
2–1–0 |
4 teams |
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 |
N.Y. 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
Playoffs
- Note: Prior to the 1975 season, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.
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 End, 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
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