1972 Chicago Bears season
Head coachAbe Gibron
Home fieldSoldier Field
Results
Record4–9–1
Division place4th NFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1972 Chicago Bears season was their 53rd regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 4–9–1 record, another below .500 showing, in head coach Abe Gibron's first season. But they had good success on the QB Rushing. QB Bobby Douglass ran on 143 carries for 968 yards and 8 Touchdowns. This would be later broken by Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick who became the first and only Quarterback to run over 1,000 yards in the NFL. But it would be held as a franchise record until Justin Fields broke that in the 2022 season. Only three other QBs have run for over 1,000 yards in one season, but they were all in the CFL.[1]

NFL Draft

Main article: 1972 NFL draft
1972 Chicago Bears draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 3 Lionel Antoine  Offensive tackle Southern Illinois traded from the New York Giants
1 12 Craig Clemons  Safety Iowa
3 62 Johnny Musso  Running back Alabama
5 117 Bob Parsons  Tight end Penn State
6 133 Bob Pifferini  Linebacker UCLA
7 167 Jim Fassel  Quarterback Long Beach State
7 182 Jim Osborne  Defensive tackle Southern
8 192 Ralph Wirtz  Wide receiver North Dakota State
9 219 Larry Horton  Defensive end Iowa
10 247 Jack Turnbull  Center Oregon State
11 272 Ed Wimberly  Defensive back Jackson State
12 297 Doug Neill  Running back Texas A&M
13 322 Jay Rood  Tackle Southern (SD)
14 347 Bob Brown  Wide receiver Rice
15 377 Roger Lawson  Running back Western Michigan
16 402 Bill McKinney  Linebacker West Texas A&M
17 427 LaVerne Dickinson  Defensive back Southern
      Made roster  

[2]

Roster

1972 Chicago Bears final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics
 , 5 practice squad

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 17 Atlanta Falcons L 21–37 0–1 Soldier Field 55,701
2 September 24 Los Angeles Rams T 13–13 0–1–1 Soldier Field 55,701
3 October 1 Detroit Lions L 24–38 0–2–1 Soldier Field 55,701
4 October 8 at Green Bay Packers L 17–20 0–3–1 Lambeau Field 56,263
5 October 15 at Cleveland Browns W 17–0 1–3–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 72,339
6 October 23 Minnesota Vikings W 13–10 2–3–1 Soldier Field 55,701
7 October 29 at St. Louis Cardinals W 27–10 3–3–1 Busch Memorial Stadium 50,464
8 November 5 at Detroit Lions L 0–14 3–4–1 Tiger Stadium 54,418
9 November 12 Green Bay Packers L 17–23 3–5–1 Soldier Field 55,701
10 November 19 San Francisco 49ers L 21–34 3–6–1 Soldier Field 55,701
11 November 26 Cincinnati Bengals L 3–13 3–7–1 Soldier Field 55,701
12 December 3 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–23 3–8–1 Metropolitan Stadium 49,784
13 December 10 at Philadelphia Eagles W 21–12 4–8–1 Veterans Stadium 65,720
14 December 17 at Oakland Raiders L 21–28 4–9–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 54,711
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

[3]

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

References

  1. ^ "1972 Chicago Bears Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1972 Chicago Bears Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  3. ^ "Chicago Bears 1972 Games and Schedule". Pro-Football-Reference.com.


Categories