1972 Cincinnati Bengals season

NFL team season December 2013 March 2026 Cincinnati Bengals 1972 8–6 3rd AFC Central Paul Brown Riverfront Stadium Did not qualify Bengals seasons The 1972 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 3rd season in the National Football League, and the 5th overall. Starting off the 1972 season winning five of seven games, the Bengals looked primed to win the division as they had in 1970. They lost a key divisional game at Pittsburgh, 40–17, followed by a pair of close losses at home against Oakland (20–14) and Baltimore (20–19). Head coach Paul Brown gave Ken Anderson the starting quarterback job, and the Bengals responded by winning three out of the last four games giving the Bengals an overall 8–6 season, but not good enough for the playoffs once again. Three times in their history, the Bengals have won without scoring a touchdown, including September 24, 1972, when kicker Horst Muhlmann's five field goals (41, 32, 20, 32, 34) fueled a 15–10 victory over Pittsburgh at Riverfront Stadium (later renamed Cinergy Field). Twice in Bengals history, two Cincinnati players have broken the 100-yard rushing mark in the same game, with the first coming October 29, 1972, when fullback Doug Dressler gained 110 yards and halfback Essex Johnson ran for 103 yards in a 30–7 win versus Houston. The latest-drafted player ever to make the Bengals roster for a regular-season game was K-P Dave Green of Ohio University. Green was the 418th selection in the 1972 draft, taken in the 17th round. He did not make the roster in 1972 and had a brief stint (no games played) with Houston in 1973 before being re-acquired by Cincinnati. Offseason NFL draft 1972 NFL draft 1972 Cincinnati Bengals 1 2 Sherman White Defensive end California yes 2 29 Tommy Casanova Defensive back LSU yes yes 3 54 Jim LeClair Linebacker North Dakota yes yes 4 81 Bernard Jackson Defensive back Washington State yes 5 106 Tom DeLeone Center Ohio State yes yes 7 158 Steve Conley Running back Kansas yes 8 185 Dan Kratzer Wide receiver Missouri Valley 9 210 Stan Walters Offensive tackle Syracuse yes yes 10 237 Brian Foster Defensive back Colorado 11 261 Kent Pederson Tight end UC Santa Barbara 12 289 Rick Wegis Defensive back Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 13 314 James Hamilton Quarterback Arizona State 14 341 Steve Porter Wide receiver Indiana 15 366 Hosea Minnieweather Defensive tackle Jackson State 16 393 John Wiegman Wide receiver Cal Poly Pomona 17 418 Dave Green Punter Ohio no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/1972_draft.htm 1972 Cincinnati Bengals draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 12, 2014 Personnel Staff 1972 Cincinnati Bengals President – John Sawyer Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown Head Coach/General Manager – Paul Brown Quarterbacks/Receivers – Bill Walsh Offensive Backfield – Jack Donaldson Offensive Line – Bill Johnson Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backfield – Chuck Weber Defensive Line – Chuck Studley Linebackers – Vince Costello Roster 1972 Cincinnati Bengals 14 Ken Anderson quarterback 11 Virgil Carter 44 Doug Dressler 19 Essex Johnson 26 Reece Morrison 30 Jess Phillips American football 40 Pete Watson American football y 89 Drew Buie 18 Charlie Joiner 25 Chip Myers 17 Speedy Thomas 88 Bruce Coslet 87 Mike Kelly gridiron football, born 1948 84 Bob Trumpy 50 Tom DeLeone y C/G 72 Howard Fest G 76 Vernon Holland T 54 Bob Johnson American football C 68 Steve Lawson American football G 73 Pat Matson G 75 Stan Walters y T 82 Royce Berry DE 70 Ron Carpenter defensive lineman DT 79 Steve Chomyszak DT 80 Ken Johnson defensive end, born 1947 DE/DT 74 Mike Reid singer DT 83 Sherman White American football y DE 52 Doug Adams American football MLB 51 Ken Avery OLB 58 Al Beauchamp OLB 66 Bill Bergey MLB 56 Tim Kearney American football y OLB 55 Jim LeClair y OLB 53 Bill Peterson linebacker OLB 60 Ron Pritchard OLB 37 Tommy Casanova y FS 34 Neal Craig SS 23 Bernard Jackson defensive back y CB 24 Ernie Kellermann FS 20 Lemar Parrish CB 13 Ken Riley CB 15 Dave Lewis punter P 16 Horst Mühlmann K 12 Greg Cook PUP IR 29 Sandy Durko S IR 71 Rufus Mayes T IR 63 Guy Dennis G 41 Dave Green American football y K/P 78 Willie Jones defensive lineman, born 1942 DE -- Dan Kratzer y WR https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/1972_roster.htm 1972 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players Pro-Football-Reference.com October 20, 2014 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 17 at New England Patriots W 31–7 1–0 Schaefer Stadium Recap 2 September 24 Pittsburgh Steelers W 15–10 2–0 Riverfront Stadium Recap 3 October 1 at Cleveland Browns L 6–27 2–1 Cleveland Stadium Recap 4 October 8 Denver Broncos W 21–10 3–1 Riverfront Stadium Recap 5 October 15 at Kansas City Chiefs W 23–16 4–1 Arrowhead Stadium Recap 6 October 22 at Los Angeles Rams L 12–15 4–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap 7 October 29 Houston Oilers W 30–7 5–2 Riverfront Stadium Recap 8 November 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–40 5–3 Three Rivers Stadium Recap 9 November 12 Oakland Raiders L 14–20 5–4 Riverfront Stadium Recap 10 November 19 Baltimore Colts L 19–20 5–5 Riverfront Stadium Recap 11 November 26 at Chicago Bears W 13–3 6–5 Soldier Field Recap 12 December 3 New York Giants W 13–10 7–5 Riverfront Stadium Recap 13 December 9, 1972 Cleveland Browns L 24–27 7–6 Riverfront Stadium Recap 14 December 17 at Houston Oilers W 61–17 8–6 Astrodome Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 1 at Patriots 1972 New England Patriots season Cincinnati Bengals 1972 2; text-align:center collapsed Week One: Cincinnati Bengals (0–0) at New England Patriots (0–0) September 17, 1972 1:00 p.m. EST Bengals 7 3 7 14 Patriots 0 7 0 0 Schaefer Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts 60,999 74 F C • Wind 19 mph km/h knot Box Score First quarter CIN – Essex Johnson 14-yard run (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 7–0. Drive: Second quarter CIN – Horst Muhlmann 38-yard field goal. Bengals 10–0. Drive: NE – Larry Carwell 45-yard blocked field goal return (Mike Walker kick). Bengals 10–7. Third quarter CIN – Jess Phillips 1-yard run (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 17–7. Drive: Fourth quarter CIN – Lemar Parrish 51-yard punt return (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 24–7. CIN – Bob Trumpy 11-yard pass from Ken Anderson (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 31–7. Drive: Top passers CIN – Ken Anderson – 10/15, 102 yards, TD NE – Jim Plunkett – 9/17, 117 yards, 2 INT Top rushers CIN – Essex Johnson – 15 rushes, 82 yards, TD NE – Carl Garrett – 12 rushes, 34 yards Top receivers CIN – Chip Myers – 3 receptions, 42 yards NE – Carl Garrett – 1 reception, 35 yards Standings Team stats 1972 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats TEAM STATS Bengals Opponents TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 255 207 Rushing 112 98 Passing 122 92 Penalty 21 17 TOTAL NET YARDS 4317 3552 Avg Per Game 308.4 253.7 Total Plays 899 794 Avg. Per Play 4.8 4.5 NET YARDS RUSHING 1996 1815 Avg. Per Game 142.6 129.6 Total Rushes 491 406 NET YARDS PASSING 2321 1737 Avg. Per Game 165.8 124.1 Sacked Yards Lost 24–192 38–296 Gross Yards 2513 2033 Att. Completions 384–219 350–167 Completion Pct. 57.0 47.7 Intercepted 11 20 PUNTS-AVERAGE 66–42.1 84.42.4 PENALTIES-YARDS 76–738 69–581FUMBLES-BALL LOST 28–18 30–9 TOUCHDOWNS 31 24 Rushing 16 11 Passing 10 11 Returns 5 2 Score by Periods 1 2 3 4 Tot Bengals 36 62 99 102 299 Opponents 37 79 42 71 229 Team leaders Passing: Ken Anderson (301 Att, 171 Comp, 1918 Yds, 56.8 Pct, 7 TD, 7 Int, 74.0 Rating) Rushing: Essex Johnson (212 Att, 825 Yds, 3.9 Avg, 19 Long, 4 TD) Receiving: Chip Myers (57 Rec, 792 Yds, 13.9 Avg, 42 Long, 3 TD) Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 111 points (27 FG; 30 PAT) Awards and records Pro Bowl selections DT Mike Reid WR Chip Myers References External links 1972 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com Cincinnati Bengals Category:Cincinnati Bengals seasons Cincinnati