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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 franchise’s third season in the National Football League, and thirteenth overall. It was also their last season at War Memorial Stadium which had been their home field since the franchise started in 1960.

Season summary

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The 1972 season marked the return of former Bills coach Lou Saban,[a] 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,[1] the second-most in the league behind the Giants' Ron Johnson.[2]

Despite losing two starting offensive lineman – center Bruce Jarvis and guard Jim Reilly—in the season opener,[3] O. J. Simpson still led the league in rushing with 1,251 yards. This would be was Simpson’s first of four rushing titles over the next five seasons.

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, ninteeenth in the league out of 26 teams.[4] Furthermore, Buffalo's defense gave up 377 points (23.5 per game), the third-most in the NFL in 1972.[5]

As of 2023, this season was the most recent in which the Bills recorded a tie game.

Offseason

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NFL Draft

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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[b]  G Michigan
4 79 Randy Jackson  RB Wichita State
5 105 Leon Garror  DB Alcorn A&M
5 108 Bob Penchion  G Alcorn A&M
8 183 Paul Gibson  WR UTEP
10 235 Maurice Tyler  DB Morgan State
13 313 Eddie Moss  RB Southeast Missouri State
14 340 Karl Salb  DT Kansas
16 391 Brian Linstrom  QB Arizona
17 417 John Shelley  DB Oklahoma
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[6]

Personnel

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Staff/Coaches

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1972 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches



Roster

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1972 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve


Rookies in italics

Regular season

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In his fourth NFL season, running back O. J. Simpson gained over 1,000 yards rushing for the first time. The 23–24 loss on October 22 was the closest margin of victory for the Dolphins in the NFL’s only perfect season.[9]

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap
1 September 17 New York Jets L 24–41 0–1 War Memorial Stadium Recap
2 September 24 San Francisco 49ers W 27–20 1–1 War Memorial Stadium Recap
3 October 1 Baltimore Colts L 0–17 1–2 War Memorial Stadium Recap
4 October 8 New England Patriots W 38–14 2–2 War Memorial Stadium Recap
5 October 15 at Oakland Raiders L 16–28 2–3 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Recap
6 October 22 at Miami Dolphins L 23–24 2–4 Orange Bowl Recap
7 October 29 Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–38 2–5 War Memorial Stadium Recap
8 November 5 Miami Dolphins L 16–30 2–6 War Memorial Stadium Recap
9 November 12 at New York Jets L 3–41 2–7 Shea Stadium Recap
10 November 19 at New England Patriots W 27–24 3–7 Schaefer Stadium Recap
11 November 26 at Cleveland Browns L 10–27 3–8 Cleveland Stadium Recap
12 December 3 at Baltimore Colts L 7–35 3–9 Memorial Stadium Recap
13 December 10 Detroit Lions T 21–21 3–9–1 War Memorial Stadium Recap
14 December 17 at Washington Redskins W 24–17 4–9–1 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

[10]

Season summary

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Week 2: vs. San Francisco 49ers

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Week Two: San Francisco 49ers (1–0) at Buffalo Bills (0–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
49ers 3 7 3720
Bills 0 6 71427

at War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York

  • Date: September 24
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 60 °F (15.6 °C); wind 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
  • [11]
Game information

Week 13: vs Detroit Lions

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See also: 1972 Detroit Lions season
Week Thirteen: Detroit Lions (7–5) at Buffalo Bills (3–9)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Lions 0 7 7721
Bills 0 7 7721

at War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York

  • Date: December 10
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 32 °F (0 °C), wind 11 miles per hour (18 km/h; 9.6 kn), wind chill 24 °F (−4.4 °C)
  • Game attendance: 41,583
  • [12]
Game information

Standings

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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

Notes

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  1. ^ Saban had coached the Bills from 1962 to 1965 before leaving for the University of Maryland
  2. ^ Made 1973 First Team All-Pro and Second Team All-Pro in 1974 and 1975.

References

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  1. ^ "O. J. Simpson". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1972 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  3. ^ Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; Korch, Rich (August 1994). "Pro Football". The Sports Encyclopedia (12th ed.). Martin's Press. p. 234. ISBN 0-312-11073-1.
  4. ^ "1972 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "1972 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  6. ^ Buffalo Bills 1972 NFL Draft
  7. ^ Wallace, William N. (October 17, 1972). "Morrall perfectly cast as Griese's substitute". New York Times. p. 51.
  8. ^ "Broncos deal end to Bills". Schenectady Gazette. (New York). Associated Press. October 17, 1972. p. 28.
  9. ^ Salguero, Armando (2020). 100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3.
  10. ^ "1972 Buffalo Bills Schedule". National Football League.
  11. ^ "San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills — September 24th, 1972". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  12. ^ "Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills — December 10th, 1972". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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