1972 Buffalo Bills season

1972 Buffalo Bills season
Head coach Lou Saban
Owner Ralph Wilson
Home field War Memorial Stadium
Results
Record 4–9–1
Division place 4th AFC East
Playoff finish did 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 had been their home field since 1960.

Season summary

The 1972 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

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/Coaches

1972 Buffalo Bills staff
Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Roster

1972 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists



Rookies in italics

Regular season

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

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentStadiumResultRecordStreakAttendance
1Sep 17New York JetsWar Memorial StadiumL 41–240–1L146,206
2Sep 24San Francisco 49ersWar Memorial StadiumW 27–201–1W145,845
3Oct 1Baltimore ColtsWar Memorial StadiumL 17–01–2L146,206
4Oct 8New England PatriotsWar Memorial StadiumW 38–142–2W141,749
5Oct 15at Oakland RaidersOakland–Alameda County ColiseumL 28–162–3L153,501
6Oct 22at Miami DolphinsMiami Orange BowlL 24–232–4L280,010
7Oct 29Pittsburgh SteelersWar Memorial StadiumL 38–212–5L345,882
8Nov 5Miami DolphinsWar Memorial StadiumL 30–162–6L446,206
9Nov 12at New York JetsShea StadiumL 41–32–7L562,853
10Nov 19at New England PatriotsSchaefer StadiumW 27–243–7W160,999
11Nov 26at Cleveland BrownsCleveland StadiumL 27–103–8L170,104
12Dec 3at Baltimore ColtsMemorial StadiumL 35–73–9L255,390
13Dec 10Detroit LionsWar Memorial StadiumT 21–213–9–1T141,583
14Dec 17at Washington RedskinsRobert F. Kennedy Memorial StadiumW 24–174–9–1W153,039

[10]

Season summary

Week 2

1 234Total
49ers 3 737 20
• Bills 0 6714 27

[11]

Week 13

1 234Total
Lions 0 777 21
Bills 0 777 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

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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