1972 Buffalo Bills season

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1972 Buffalo Bills season
OwnerRalph Wilson
Head coachLou Saban
Home fieldWar Memorial Stadium
Results
Record4–9–1
Division place4th AFC East
Playoff finishdid not qualify

The 1972 Buffalo Bills season was the 13th season for the club and its third in the National Football League. It was also their last season at War Memorial Stadium which has been their home field since 1960.

The season also marked the return of former Bills coach Lou Saban,[1] who had previously led the team to two AFL Championships.

Saban had a new offensive philosophy for Buffalo in 1972: in his first three seasons, former number one overall pick O.J. Simpson had only carried the ball an average of 161 times per season. Saban rushed Simpson 292 times in 1972,[2] the second-most in the league.[3]

Despite losing two starting offensive lineman – center Bruce Jarvis and guard Jim Reilly—in the season opener,[4] O.J. Simpson still led the league in rushing with 1,251 yards.[5]

Although the Bills had a potent, yard-gaining rushing attack, they could not put enough points on the scoreboard, scoring only 257 points (18.3 per game) all season, 19th in the league.[6] Furthermore, Buffalo's defense gave up 377 points (23.5 per game), the third-most in the NFL in 1972.[7]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1972 NFL Draft
1972 Buffalo Bills draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 1 Walt Patulski  DE Notre Dame
2 27 Reggie McKenzie[8]  G Michigan
4 79 Randy Jackson  RB Wichita State
5 105 Leon Garror  DB Alcorn State
5 108 Bob Penchion  G Alcorn State
8 183 Paul Gibson  WR UTEP
10 235 Maurice Tyler  DB Morgan State
13 313 Eddie Moss  RB Southeast Missouri State
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[9]

Personnel

Staff

1972 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches


Regular season

O.J. Simpson would have the first 1,000 rushing yard season of his career.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Stadium Result Record Streak Attendance
1 Sep 17 New York Jets War Memorial Stadium L 41–24 0–1 L1 46,206
2 Sep 24 San Francisco 49ers War Memorial Stadium W 27–20 1–1 W1 45,845
3 Oct 1 Baltimore Colts War Memorial Stadium L 17–0 1–2 L1 46,206
4 Oct 8 New England Patriots War Memorial Stadium W 38–14 2–2 W1 41,749
5 Oct 15 at Oakland Raiders Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum L 28–16 2–3 L1 53,501
6 Oct 22 at Miami Dolphins Miami Orange Bowl L 24–23 2–4 L2 80,010
7 Oct 29 Pittsburgh Steelers War Memorial Stadium L 38–21 2–5 L3 45,882
8 Nov 5 Miami Dolphins War Memorial Stadium L 30–16 2–6 L4 46,206
9 Nov 12 at New York Jets Shea Stadium L 41–3 2–7 L5 62,853
10 Nov 19 at New England Patriots Schaefer Stadium W 27–24 3–7 W1 60,999
11 Nov 26 at Cleveland Browns Cleveland Stadium L 27–10 3–8 L1 70,104
12 Dec 3 at Baltimore Colts Memorial Stadium L 35–7 3–9 L2 55,390
13 Dec 10 Detroit Lions War Memorial Stadium T 21–21 3–9–1 T1 41,583
14 Dec 17 at Washington Redskins Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium W 24–17 4–9–1 W1 53,039

[10]

Season summary

Week 1

Week 2

1 234Total
49ers 3 737 20
• Bills 0 6714 27
Scoring summary
Q1SFGossett 47 yard field goalSF 3–0
Q2BUFLeypoldt 32 yard field goalTie 3–3
Q2BUFLeypoldt 22 yard field goalBUF 6–3
Q2SFKwalick 20 yard pass from Spurrier (Gossett kick)SF 10–6
Q3SFGossett 20 yard field goalSF 13–6
Q3BUFWhite 17 yard pass from Shaw (Leypoldt kick)Tie 13–13
Q4SFSchreiber 2 yard run (Gossett kick)SF 20–13
Q4BUFBraxton 2 yard run (Leypoldt kick)Tie 20–20
Q4BUFBraxton 1 yard run (Leypoldt kick)BUF 27–20

[11]

Week 13

1 234Total
Lions 0 777 21
Bills 0 777 21
Scoring summary
2DETEarl McCullouch 9 yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick)Lions 7–0
2BUFJ.D. Hill 58 yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick)Tie 7–7
3BUFBob Chandler 39 yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 14–7
3DETNick Eddy 36 yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick)Tie 14–14
4BUFJan White 2 yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick)Bills 21–14
4DETRon Jessie 37 yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick)Tie 21–21

[12]

Standings

AFC East
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

Roster

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ Saban had coached the Bills from 1962–1965 before leaving for the University of Maryland
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: O.J. Simpson
  3. ^ Behind the Giants' Ron Johnson, Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1972 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards
  4. ^ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 234, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
  5. ^ It was Simpson's first of four rushing titles over the next five seasons.
  6. ^ Out of 26 teams, Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1972 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics
  7. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1972 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics
  8. ^ 1973 All-Pro Team
  9. ^ Buffalo Bills 1972 NFL Draft
  10. ^ 1972 Buffalo Bills Schedule
  11. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-27.
  12. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
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