1972 Minnesota Vikings season

The 1972 season was the Minnesota Vikings' 12th in the National Football League. It marked the return of Fran Tarkenton to the Vikings after he had been traded to the New York Giants in 1967. In return, Minnesota sent three players to the Giants (Norm Snead, Bob Grim and Vince Clements), plus first- and second-round draft picks.[1] Tarkenton's return also resulted in Gary Cuozzo, who had been with the team since 1968, being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in a deal that sent wide receiver John Gilliam to the Vikings along with second- and fourth-round draft picks in 1973.[2] Cardinals coach Bob Hollway was familiar with Cuozzo, having served as Minnesota's defensive coordinator under Bud Grant prior to leaving for St. Louis in 1971.

1972 Minnesota Vikings season
Head coachBud Grant
General managerJim Finks
Home fieldMetropolitan Stadium
Results
Record7–7
Division place3rd NFC Central
Playoff finishdid not qualify

The Vikings finished with a record of seven wins and seven losses, 4 games worse than their 11–3 record from 1971. This would be one of only two times during the 1970s in which the Vikings failed to reach the playoffs, as they would win the NFC Central six straight years from 1973–1978 before posting a 7–9 record in 1979. The Vikings started the season with just one win in their first four games, including a surprising 19-17 loss to the lightly-regarded Cardinals in week four, when Gary Cuozzo bested his former team as Vikings kicker Fred Cox hit the upright on a potential game-winning field goal. The team recovered from their slow start, winning five of their next six to sit at 6–4. However, the Vikings would lose three of their final four games to finish the season at an even 7–7.

Offseason

1972 Draft
Pro Bowler
1972 Minnesota Vikings Draft
Draft order Player name Position College Notes
Round Selection
110 Jeff SiemonLinebackerStanfordfrom Patriots[a]
24 Traded to the New York Giants[b]
250 Ed MarinaroRunning backCornell
359 Bart BuetowOffensive tackleMinnesotafrom Packers[c]
76 Traded to the Philadelphia Eagles[d]
4102 Traded to the Denver Broncos[e]
5128 Traded to the Los Angeles Rams[f]
6154 Amos MartinLinebackerLouisville
7181 Bill SlaterDefensive endWestern Michiganoriginally Dolphins pick[g]
8206 Calvin DemeryWide receiverArizona State
9232 Charlie GoodrumGuardFlorida A&M
10258 Willie AldridgeRunning backSouth Carolina State
11284 Willie McKeltonDefensive backSouthern
12310 Bob BanaughDefensive backMontana State
13336 Franklin RobertsRunning backAlcorn A&M
14361 Marv OwensRunning backSan Diego State
15388 Mike SivertGuardEast Tennessee State
16414 Neil GraffQuarterbackWisconsin
17440 Dick SchmalzWide receiverAuburn
^[a] The Vikings received New England's 1st round selection (10th overall), CB John Charles, and cash as compensation for free agent QB Joe Kapp.
^[b] The Vikings traded their first-round selection (24th overall), 1973 second-round selection (40th overall), QB Norm Snead, WR Bob Grim and RB Vince Clements to the Giants in exchange for QB Fran Tarkenton.
^[c] The Vikings traded QB Zeke Bratkowski to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for Green Bay's third-round selection (59th overall).
^[d] The Vikings traded their third-round selection (76th overall), 1971 second- and sixth-round selections (50th and 154th overall) and OL Steve Smith to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for QB Norm Snead.
^[e] The Vikings traded their fourth-round selection (102nd overall) and CB John Charles to the Denver Broncos in exchange for WR Al Denson.
^[f] The Vikings traded their fifth-round selection (128th overall) to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for CB Ted Provost.
^[g] The Vikings originally chose 180th overall but passed allowing Miami to move up and Minnesota to choose 181st overall.

Roster
1972 Minnesota Vikings final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • None.


Practice squad


Rookies in italics
 44 active, inactive, practice squad

Preseason
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance[3]
1August 12San Diego ChargersW 24–131–0Metropolitan Stadium47,900
2August 18at Buffalo BillsL 10–211–1War Memorial Stadium41,006
3August 26at Cleveland BrownsW 20–172–1Cleveland Stadium70,583
4September 4Houston OilersW 26–143–1Metropolitan Stadium47,900
5September 10at Miami DolphinsL 19–213–2Miami Orange Bowl74,298

Regular season

Schedule
WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1September 18Washington RedskinsL 21–240–1Metropolitan Stadium47,900
2September 24at Detroit LionsW 34–101–1Tiger Stadium54,418
3October 1Miami DolphinsL 14–161–2Metropolitan Stadium47,900
4October 8St. Louis CardinalsL 17–191–3Metropolitan Stadium49,687
5October 15at Denver BroncosW 23–202–3Mile High Stadium51,656
6October 23at Chicago BearsL 10–132–4Soldier Field55,701
7October 29at Green Bay PackersW 27–133–4Lambeau Field56,263
8November 5New Orleans SaintsW 37–64–4Metropolitan Stadium49,784
9November 12Detroit LionsW 16–145–4Metropolitan Stadium49,784
10November 19at Los Angeles RamsW 45–416–4Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum77,982
11November 26at Pittsburgh SteelersL 10–236–5Three Rivers Stadium50,348
12December 3Chicago BearsW 23–107–5Metropolitan Stadium49,784
13December 10Green Bay PackersL 7–237–6Metropolitan Stadium49,784
14December 16at San Francisco 49ersL 17–207–7Candlestick Park61,214

Game summaries

Week 11: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 11: Minnesota Vikings at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Vikings 3 0 0710
Steelers 7 0 31323

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Game information

Pittsburgh came into the game 5–0 at home for the season, while Minnesota was riding a four-game win streak. It was quite windy in the stadium at gametime, as the ball blew off the tee twice during the opening kickoff. Once it was kicked, the Vikings began with a good return to their own 45-yard line, but went three-and-out. They got the ball back quickly on the Steelers' opening drive, as John Fuqua fumbled the ball on a bad exchange, recovered by Carl Eller at the Pittsburgh 20. The possession led to a 24-yard field goal after Minnesota only gained three yards. The Vikings followed with a low kickoff due to the wind conditions, and Pittsburgh started again from their own 48, but punted without a first down. The Vikings got the game rolling in an unusual way, extending their possession when Ed Marinaro fumbled a catch and teammate John Gilliam ran it across the 50-yard line. Despite a good drive, the Vikings were held scoreless after failing to gain a foot on a fourth down attempt at the 8. The Steelers then punted again, and late in the first quarter got a turnover at the Vikings' 12 when Bill Brown fumbled. Franco Harris scored untouched on the next play.

The Vikings continued their miscues in the second quarter, as their possession stalled with penalties and the snap was bobbled on the punt, although punter Mike Eischeid performed a fantastic improvised punt while scrambling. It began raining at this point, and after a Steelers punt, the Vikings drove all the way to the 4-yard line, only to settle for a bobbled field goal attempt for a turnover. The Steelers gave it back on an interception by Charlie West, but a field goal attempt by the Vikings from 50 missed badly. The half ended with the Steelers holding a 7–3 lead despite the Vikings holding a 140–84 edge in total yards.

The second half started with a Steelers punt, and then a Vikings punt which the Steelers fumbled at their own 47 after a good return. The Vikings recovered and drove to the 7-yard line but, incredibly, they again bobbled a field goal attempt and again failed to gain any points. On the following Steelers possession, they hit on a big play with a swing pass to Ron Shanklin, which went from their own 39 to the Vikings 19 and set up a field goal. The teams each traded punts twice, until the Vikings neared the goal line again on a 63-yard catch-and-run by John Gilliam. They finally found the end zone with the next play on a swing pass to tight end Stu Voigt, tying the score at 10–10 with about nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.

The Steelers quickly responded with a 61-yard Franco Harris run to the 1-yard line, giving Harris 100-plus rushing yards for the fifth consecutive game. The Steelers scored with a QB sneak by Terry Bradshaw on the following play. The extra point was blocked, and the Steelers led 16–10. They quickly got the ball back, taking Minnesota's punt to the Vikings 39, but were held to a missed field goal attempt. The Vikings then took their last meaningful shot, but failed on fourth down at their own 29. The Steelers then sealed the game with a touchdown catch by Frank Lewis, making the final 23–10.

Standings
NFC Central
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

Awards, records, and honors

All-Pros

First team

Second team

Pro Bowlers

League leaders

Statistics

Team leaders
Category Player(s) Value
Passing yardsFran Tarkenton2,651
Passing touchdownsFran Tarkenton18
Rushing yardsOscar Reed639
Rushing touchdownsBill Brown4
Receiving yardsJohn Gilliam1,035
Receiving touchdownsJohn Gilliam7
PointsFred Cox97
Kickoff return yardsJohn Gilliam369
Punt return yardsCharlie West111
InterceptionsPaul Krause6

League rankings
Category Total yards Yards per game NFL rank
(out of 26)
Passing offense2,523180.24th
Rushing offense1,740124.320th
Total offense4,263304.512th
Passing defense1,699121.41st
Rushing defense2,002143.016th
Total defense3,701264.45th

References
  1. "Scramble Back To The Deep Purple". Sports Illustrated. February 7, 1972.
  2. "Vikes trade Cuozzo". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. April 27, 1972. p. 38.
  3. https://www.profootballarchives.com/1972nflmin.html
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