1972 Buffalo Bills season

13th season in franchise history November 2013 February 2026 Buffalo Bills 1972 4–9–1 4th AFC East Lou Saban Ralph Wilson War Memorial Stadium Did not qualify WR J.D. HillCB Robert JamesRB O.J. Simpson Bills seasons 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 Coming off a 1-13 record the previous season, the Bills had the first overall pick in the draft, which they used to select Notre Dame defensive end Walt Patulski. This came after the Bills allowed 394 points the previous season. The 1972 season marked the return of former Bills coach Lou Saban,Saban had coached the Bills from 1962 to 1965 before leaving for the University of Maryland 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,https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SimpO.00.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com O. J. Simpson the second-most in the league behind the Giants' Ron Johnson.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1972/leaders.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com 1972 NFL Leaders and Leaderboards Despite losing two starting offensive lineman – center Bruce Jarvis and guard Jim Reilly—in the season opener,Neft David S. Cohen Richard M. Korch Rich The Sports Encyclopedia Pro Football 12th 234 Martin's Press August 1994 0-312-11073-1 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, nineteenth in the league out of 26 teams.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1972/ Pro-Football-Reference.com 1972 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics Furthermore, Buffalo's defense gave up 377 points (23.5 per game), the third-most in the NFL in 1972.https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1972/opp.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com 1972 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics As of 2023, this season was the most recent in which the Bills recorded a tie game. Offseason NFL draft 1972 NFL draft 1972 Buffalo Bills 1 1 Walt Patulski DE Notre Dame yes 2 27 Reggie McKenzieMade 1973 First Team All-Pro and Second Team All-Pro in 1974 and 1975. G Michigan yes 4 79 Randy Jackson RB Wichita State yes 5 105 Leon Garror DB Alcorn A&M yes 5 108 Bob Penchion G Alcorn A&M yes 8 183 Paul Gibson WR UTEP 10 235 Maurice Tyler DB Morgan State yes 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 Buffalo Bills 1972 NFL Draft Personnel Staff/Coaches 1972 Buffalo Bills President – Ralph Wilson Vice President and General Manager – Bob Lustig Vice President – Pat McGroder Head coach – Lou Saban Receivers – Bob Shaw Offensive Line – Jim Ringo Defensive Line – Stan Jones Linebackers – Jim Dooley Defensive Backfield – Bill Atkins Special Teams – Ed Cavanaugh Roster 1972 Buffalo Bills 10 Leo Hart 16 Dennis Shaw 34 Jim Braxton 33 Randy Jackson running back y 30 Wayne Patrick 32 O. J. Simpson 81 Bob Chandler 26 Linzy Cole 28 Dwight Harrison 40 J. D. Hill 37 Ted Koy 80 Jan White 60 Bill Adams offensive lineman y G 54 Tom Beard C 79 Paul Costa American football G/T 78 Dave Foley American football T 74 Donnie Green T 53 John Matlock C 67 Reggie McKenzie guard y G 66 Bob Penchion y G 68 Remi Prudhomme C 83 Bob Christiansen y DT 82 Al Cowlings DE 72 Don Croft y DT 76 Mike McBath DE 88 Steve Okoniewski y DT 77 Jerry Patton DT 85 Walt Patulski y DE 87 Louis Ross American football DE 63 Dick Cunningham American football MLB 57 Dale Farley OLB 59 Paul Guidry OLB 56 Ken Lee linebacker MLB 50 Jeff Lyman y OLB 64 Andy Selfridge y OLB 58 Mike Stratton OLB 86 Dave Washington OLB 47 Leon Garror y CB/S 43 Tony Greene CB 20 Robert James defensive back CB 48 John Pitts American football SS 21 John Saunders American football FS 42 Maurice Tyler y SS 41 Alvin Wyatt FS 11 Spike Jones American football P  3 John Leypoldt K 52 Edgar Chandler LB IR -- Mike Clark placekicker K IR -- Irv Goode T IR 51 Bruce Jarvis C IR 55 Bill McKinley no LB IR 61 Jim Reilly American football G NF-Inj. October 16 – Haven Moses (WR) was traded to Denver for Dwight Harrison (WR).https://www.nytimes.com/1972/10/17/archives/morrall-perfectly-cast-as-grieses-substitute.html New York Times Wallace William N. Morrall perfectly cast as Griese's substitute October 17, 1972 51 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KWYtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=m4kFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5752%2C406373 Schenectady Gazette New York Associated Press Broncos deal end to Bills October 17, 1972 28 Regular season 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.100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die Armando Salguero Triumph Books Chicago 2020 978-1-62937-722-3 3 Schedule 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 DolphinsL 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. http://www.nfl.com/teams/schedule?team=BUF&season=1972&seasonType=REG 1972 Buffalo Bills Schedule National Football League Season summary Week 2: vs. San Francisco 49ers Buffalo Bills 1972 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Two: San Francisco 49ers (1–0) at Buffalo Bills (0–1) 49ers 3 7 3 7 Bills 0 6 7 14 September 24 War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York 1:00 p.m. EST 60 F 1; wind 12 mph km/h knots https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197209240buf.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com November 27, 2014 San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills — September 24th, 1972 First quarter SF — Gossett 47-yard field goal. 49ers 3–0 Second quarter BUF — Leypoldt 32-yard field goal. 3–3 BUF — Leypoldt 22-yard field goal. Bills 6–3 SF — Kwalick 20-yard pass from Spurrier (Gossett kick). 49ers 10–6 Third quarter SF — Gossett 20-yard field goal. 49ers 13–6 BUF — White 17-yard pass from Shaw (Leypoldt kick). 13–13 Fourth quarter SF — Schreiber 2-yard rush (Gossett kick). 49ers 20–13 BUF — Braxton 2-yard rush (Leypoldt kick). 20–20 BUF — Braxton 1 yard rush (Leypoldt kick). Bills 27–20 Top passers SF — Steve Spurrier, 10/25, 171 yards, TD, 2 INT BUF — Dennis Shaw, 8/20, 105 yards, TD, INT Top rushers SF — Vic Washington, 9 rushes, 18 yards BUF — O. J. Simpson, 29 rushes, 138 yards Top receivers SF — Gene Washington, 3 receptions, 89 yards BUF — J. D. Hill, 2 receptions, 33 yards Week 13: vs Detroit Lions 1972 Detroit Lions season Buffalo Bills 1972 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Thirteen: Detroit Lions (7–5) at Buffalo Bills (3–9) December 10 1:00 p.m. EST Lions 0 7 7 7 Bills 0 7 7 7 War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York 41,583 32 F C, wind 11 mph km/h knots, wind chill 24 F C 1 https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197212100buf.htm Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills — December 10th, 1972 Pro-Football-Reference.com First quarter No scoring Second quarter DET – Earl McCullouch 9-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Lions 7–0. Drive: BUF – J.D. Hill 58-yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick). Tie 7–7. Drive: Third quarter BUF – Bob Chandler 39-yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick). Bills 14–7. Drive: DET – Nick Eddy 36-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Tie 14–14. Drive: Fourth quarter BUF – Jan White 2-yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick). Bills 21–14. Drive: DET – Ron Jessie 37-yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick). Tie 21–21. Drive: Top passers DET – Greg Landry – 8/25, 150 yards, 3 TD BUF – Dennis Shaw – 18/32, 239 yards, 3 TD Top rushers DET – Greg Landry – 9 rushes, 46 yards BUF – O.J. Simpson – 27 rushes, 116 yards Top receivers DET – Ron Jessie – 2 receptions, 51 yards, TD BUF – J.D. Hill – 8 receptions, 129 yards, TD Standings Notes References Bills on Pro Football Reference Bills on jt-sw.com Bills Stats on jt-sw.com Category:Buffalo Bills seasons Buffalo Bills Buffalo