1972 Pittsburgh Steelers

The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 40th in the National Football League.

The team posted a record of 11–3 in 1972, and won their first-ever AFC Central Division title. It was the team's third-ever postseason appearance, their first postseason appearance in ten seasons (the Playoff Bowl for third place in the league), and only it's second playoff game since 1947.

1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season
Head Coach	Chuck Noll
Home Field	Three Rivers Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Place	1st AFC Central
Playoff Finish	Lost to the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship game
Pro Bowlers	6 LB Henry Davis PK Roy Gerela DT Joe Greene RB Franco Harris LB Andy Russell DE Dwight White
Team MVP	Franco Harris
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1971	1973

Offseason

NFL Draft

rd.1.Franco Harris RB.Penn State

Roster

Depth chart

Defense 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers roster FS Ralph Anderson ⋅ WLB MLB SLB ⋅ Henry Davis ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ SS Mike Wagner ⋅ CB John Rowser ⋅ DE DT DT DE Dwight White Ben McGee Joe Greene L.C. Greenwood ⋅ Ernie Holmes ⋅ ⋅ CB Mel Blount ⋅ Offense 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers roster WR Frank Lewis ⋅ LT LG C RG RT Jon Kolb Sam Davis Ray Mansfield Bruce Van Dyke Gerry Mullins ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ TE John McMakin ⋅ WR Ron Shanklin Dave L. Smith QB Terry Bradshaw ⋅ RB Franco Harris ⋅ FB John Fuqua ⋅ Special Teams PK Roy Gerela P Bobby Walden KR Preston Pearson PR Glen Edwards

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record
1	September 17	Oakland	W 34–28	1-0
2	September 24	at Cincinnati	L 15–10	1-1
3	October 1	at St. Louis	W 25–19	2-1
4	October 8	at Dallas	L 17–13	2-2
5	October 15	Houston	W 24–7	3-2
6	October 22	New England	W 33–3	4-2
7	October 29	at Buffalo	W 38–21	5-2
8	November 5	Cincinnati	W 40–17	6-2
9	November 12	Kansas City	W 16–7	7-2
10	November 19	at Cleveland	L 26–24	7-3
11	November 26	Minnesota	W 23–10	8-3
12	December 3	Cleveland	W 30–0	9-3
13	December 10	at Houston	W 9–3	10-3
14	December 17	at San Diego	W 24–2	11-3

Game summaries

Week 1 (Sunday September 17): Oakland Raiders

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Raiders	0	7	0	21		28
Steelers	14	3	10	7		34

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 51,141
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – H. Davis 5 blocked punt return (Gerela kick)7–0
• Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 20 run (Gerela kick)14–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 48 17–0
• Oakland – Chester 26 pass from Blanda (Blanda kick)17–7
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 8 20–7
• Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 2 run (Gerela kick)27–7
• Oakland – Siani 24 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)27–14
• Pittsburgh – Shanklin 57 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)34–14
• Oakland – Highsmith 1 run (Blanda kick)34–21
• Oakland – Siani 70 pass from Lamonica (Blanda kick)34–28

Week 2 (Sunday September 24): Cincinnati Bengals

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Steelers	0	10	0	0		10
Bengals	3	0	6	6		15

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 54,292
• Referee: Dick Jorgensen
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 41 3–0
• Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 12 run (Gerela kick)7–3
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 17 10–3
• Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 32 10–6
• Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 20 10–9
• Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 32 12–10
• Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 34 15–10

Week 3 (Sunday October 1): St. Louis Cardinals

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Steelers	3	12	0	10		25
Cardinals	0	6	6	7		19

at Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 49,140
• Referee: Fred Wyant
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 17 3–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 20 6–0
• St. Louis – FG Bakken 19 6–3
• Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick)13–3
• Pittsburgh – Safety, Anderson tackled Anderson in end zone 15–3
• St. Louis – FG Bakken 44 15–6
• St. Louis – Anderson 8 run (kick failed)15–12
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 15 18–12
• St. Louis – Thompson 8 blocked punt return (Bakken kick)19–18
• Pittsburgh – Lewis 38 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)25–19

Week 4 (Sunday October 8): Dallas Cowboys

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Steelers	6	7	0	0		13
Cowboys	3	7	7	0		17

at Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 65,682
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 3–0
• Dallas – FG Fritsch 40 3–3
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 6–3
• Pittsburgh – Blount 35 fumble recovery return (Gerela kick)13–3
• Dallas – Hill 1 run (Fritsch kick)13–10
• Dallas – Sellers 55 pass from Hill (Fritsch kick)17–13

Week 5 (Sunday October 15): Houston Oilers

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Oilers	7	0	0	0		7
Steelers	0	10	7	7		24

at the Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 42,929
• Referee: Bernie Ulman
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Houston – Walsh recovered blocked punt in end zone (Butler kick)7–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 28 7–3
• Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick)10–7
• Pittsburgh – Lewis 11 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)17–7
• Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 8 run (Gerela kick)24–7

Week 6 (Sunday October 22): New England Patriots

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Patriots	0	3	0	0		3
Steelers	10	7	13	3		33

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 46,081
• Referee: Norm Schachter
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 3–0
• Pittsburgh – Ham 32 interception return (Gerela kick)10–0
• Pittsburgh – Shanklin 30 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)17–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 22 20–0
• New England – FG Gogolak 16 20–3
• Pittsburgh – Steve Davis 28 run (Gerela kick)27–3
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 35 30–3
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 33 33–3

Week 7 (Sunday October 29): Buffalo Bills

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Steelers	0	17	7	14		38
Bills	0	0	7	14		21

at War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 45,882
• Referee: Tommy Bell
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – Harris 2 run (Gerela kick) 7–0
• Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (Gerela kick)14–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 29 17–0
• Buffalo – Simpson 94 run (Leypoldt kick)17–7
• Pittsburgh – Harris 18 run (Gerela kick)24–7
• Buffalo – B. Chandler 11 pass from Shaw (Leypoldt kick)24–14
• Pittsburgh – Harris 17 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)31–14
• Buffalo – B. Chandler 4 pass from Shaw (Leypoldt kick)31–21
• Pittsburgh – Fuqua 4 run (Gerela kick)38–21

Week 8 (Sunday November 5): Cincinnati Bengals

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Bengals	0	0	14	3		17
Steelers	10	16	7	7		40

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 50,350
• Referee: Fred Silva
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – Fuqua 7 run (Gerela kick)7–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 15 10–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 22 13–0
• Pittsburgh – Lewis 28 pass from Bradshaw (kick failed)19–0
• Pittsburgh – Brown 13 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)26–0
• Cincinnati – Carter 1 run (Muhlmann kick)26–7
• Pittsburgh – Lewis 34 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)33–7
• Cincinnati – Myers 2 pass from Carter (Muhlmann kick)33–14
• Pittsburgh – Harris 2 run (Gerela kick)40–14
• Cincinnati – FG Muhlmann 37 40–17

Week 9 (Sunday November 12): Kansas City Chiefs

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Chiefs	0	7	0	0		7
Steelers	0	0	3	13		16

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 54,476
• Referee: Jim Tunney
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Kansas City – Kearney 65 interception return (Stenerud kick)7–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 25 7–3
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 10 7–6
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 49 9–7
• Pittsburgh – Harris 7 run (Gerela kick)16–7

Week 10 (Sunday November 19): Cleveland Browns

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Steelers	3	7	7	7		24
Browns	10	10	3	3		26

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 83,009
• Referee: Dick Jorgensen
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 3–0
• Cleveland – FG Cockroft 26 3–3
• Cleveland – Phipps 1 run (Cockroft kick)10–3
• Cleveland – FG Cockroft 38 13–3
• Cleveland – Pitts 17 pass from Phipps (Cockroft kick)20–3
• Pittsburgh – Mullins 3 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)20–10
• Cleveland – FG Cockroft 12 23–10
• Pittsburgh – Fuqua 1 run (Gerela kick) 23–17
• Pittsburgh – Harris 75 run (Gerela kick)23–24
• Cleveland – FG Cockroft 26 26–24

Week 11 (Sunday November 26): Minnesota Vikings

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Vikings	3	0	0	7		10
Steelers	7	0	3	13		23

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 50,348
• Referee: Fred Swearingen
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Minnesota – FG Cox 24 3–0
• Pittsburgh – Harris 12 run (Gerela kick)7–3
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 17 10–3
• Minnesota – Voigt 5 pass from Tarkenton (Cox kick)10–10
• Pittsburgh – Bradshaw 1 run (kick blocked)16–10
• Pittsburgh – Lewis 17 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)23–10

Week 12 (Sunday December 3): Cleveland Browns

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Browns	0	0	0	0		0
Steelers	3	7	7	13		30

at the Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 50,350
• Referee: Tommy Bell
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 3–0
• Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run (Gerela kick)10–0
• Pittsburgh – Harris 11 run (Gerela kick)17–0
• Pittsburgh – McMakin 78 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)24–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 44 27–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 37 30–0

Franco Harris breaks Jim Brown's record for consecutive 100 yd games.

Week 13 (Sunday December 10): Houston Oilers

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Steelers	3	0	6	0		9
Oilers	0	3	0	0		3

at the Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 36,528
• Referee: John McDonough
• TV announcers:

Scoring Drives:

• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 24 3–0
• Houston – FG Butler 34 3–3
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 6–3
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 13 9–3

Week 14 (Sunday December 17): San Diego Chargers

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Steelers	7	7	3	7		24
Chargers	2	0	0	0		2

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance:
• Referee: Pat Haggerty
• TV announcers:

The Pittsburgh Steelers clinched their first AFC Central Division title (the day before the game Frank Sinatra is inducted into Franco's Italian Army).

Scoring Drives:

• San Diego – Safety, Costa tackled Bradshaw in end zone 2–0
• Pittsburgh – Harris 2 run (Gerela kick)7–2
• Pittsburgh – Fuqua 2 run (Gerela kick)14–2
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 24 17–2
• Pittsburgh – Shanklin 17 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick)24–2

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
Pittsburgh Steelers	11	3	0	.786	343	175	W-4
Cleveland Browns	10	4	0	.714	268	249	W-2
Cincinnati Bengals	8	6	0	.571	299	229	W-1
Houston Oilers	1	13	0	.071	164	380	L-11

Postseason

Game summaries

Week 15 (Saturday December 23): Oakland Raiders

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Raiders	0	0	0	7		7
Steelers	0	0	3	10		13

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Main article: The Immaculate Reception

• Game time:
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 50,350
• Referee: Fred Swearingen
• TV announcers: NBC Curt Gowdy

Scoring Drives:

• PIT – FG Gerela 18 PIT 3–0
• PIT – FG Gerela 29 PIT 6–0
• OAK – Stabler 30 run (Blanda kick) OAK 7–6
• PIT – Harris 60 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) PIT 13–7

Week 16 (Sunday December 31): Miami Dolphins

Team	1	2	3	4		Total
Dolphins	0	7	7	7		21
Steelers	7	0	3	7		17

at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

• Game time: 12:30 pm EST
• Game weather: 67 degrees, partly cloudy
• Game attendance: 50,350
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers: NBC (Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis)

Scoring Drives:

• PIT – Mullins recovered fumble in end zone (Gerela kick) PIT 7–0
• MIA – Csonka 9 pass from Morrall (Yepremian kick) 7–7
• PIT – FG Gerela 14 PIT 10–7
• MIA – Kiick 2 run (Yepremian kick) MIA 14–10
• MIA – Kiick 3 run (Yepremian kick) MIA 21–10
• PIT – Young 12 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) MIA 21–17