Pittsburgh Steelers 40th US football season
The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 40th in the National Football League .
Pittsburgh finished with an 11–3 record in 1972 , their first winning season in 9 years (1963), and won their first-ever AFC Central Division title. It was the Steelers' third-ever postseason appearance, first in ten seasons (the Playoff Bowl for third place in the league), and only its second playoff game since 1947 . This season is famous for the Immaculate Reception , where the Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13–7 in the playoffs on a last second touchdown by rookie running back Franco Harris .
The rebuilding of the franchise that began in 1969 with the hiring of head coach Chuck Noll finally came to fruition in his fourth year. After winning only once in that first season, the Steelers then showed steady improvement. They broke through in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time since 1947; their three losses were by a combined eleven points. The division title was the first in team history, as was the appearance in the AFC Championship game which they lost to the undefeated Miami Dolphins 21–17. It was the first of eight consecutive playoff appearances for the Steelers that led to four Super Bowl championships.
Staff
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adding to it . (February 2011)
•Lionel Taylor - Receiver Coach
•Charlie Sumner - Linebacker Coach
• - Quarterback Coach
•Dick Hoak – Defensive backfield coach
•Bud Carson – Defensive backfield coach
•Bob Fry – Offensive line coach
•Lou Riecke - Strength Coach
•George Perles – Defensive line coach
Regular season
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders
1
2 3 4 Total
Raiders
0
7 0 21
28
• Steelers
14
3 10 7
34
Scoring summary 1 PIT Henry Davis 5-yard blocked punt return (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 7–0 1 PIT Terry Bradshaw 20-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 14–0 2 PIT Roy Gerela 48-yard field goal PIT 17–0 2 OAK Raymond Chester 26-yard pass from George Blanda (George Blanda kick)PIT 17–7 3 PIT Roy Gerela 8-yard field goal PIT 20–7 3 PIT Terry Bradshaw 2-yard run (Roy Gerela kick) PIT 27–7 4 OAK Mike Siani 24-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)PIT 27–14 4 PIT Ron Shanklin 57-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 34–14 4 OAK Don Highsmith 1-yard run (George Blanda kick)PIT 34–21 4 OAK Mike Siani 70-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick) PIT 34–28
The Steelers were able to start off against the Raiders at home scoring 17 unanswered points (2TDs/PATs and a FG) and eventually ended up defeating the team by 6 for a 34–28 victory and a 1–0 start.
Week 2: at Cincinnati Bengals
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
10 0 0
10
• Bengals
3
0 6 6
15
Scoring summary 1 CIN Horst Muhlmann 41-yard field goalCIN 3–0 2 PIT Terry Bradshaw 12-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 7–3 2 PIT Roy Gerela 17-yard field goal PIT 10–3 3 CIN Horst Muhlmann 32-yard field goal PIT 10–6 3 CIN Horst Muhlmann 20-yard field goal PIT 10–9 4 CIN Horst Muhlmann 32-yard field goal CIN 12–10 4 CIN Horst Muhlmann 34-yard field goal CIN 15–10
Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals
1
2 3 4 Total
• Steelers
3
12 0 10
25
Cardinals
0
6 6 7
19
Scoring summary 1 PIT Roy Gerela 17-yard field goalPIT 3–0 2 PIT Roy Gerela 20-yard field goal PIT 6–0 2 STL Jim Bakken 19-yard field goalPIT 6–3 2 PIT Terry Bradshaw 1-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 13–3 2 PIT Safety, Donny Anderson tackled by Ralph Anderson in end zone PIT 15–3 2 STL Jim Bakken 44-yard field goal PIT 15–6 3 STL Donny Anderson 8-yard run (kick failed) PIT 15–12 3 PIT Roy Gerela 15-yard field goal PIT 18–12 4 STL Norm Thompson 8-yard blocked punt return (Jim Bakken kick)STL 19–18 4 PIT Frank Lewis 38-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 25–19
Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
6
7 0 0
13
• Cowboys
3
7 7 0
17
Scoring summary 1 PIT Roy Gerela 39-yard field goalPIT 3–0 1 DAL Toni Fritsch 40-yard field goalTied 3–3 1 PIT Roy Gerela 39-yard field goal PIT 6–3 2 PIT Mel Blount 35-yard fumble return (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 13–3 2 DAL Calvin Hill 1-yard run (Toni Fritsch kick)PIT 13–10 3 DAL Ron Sellers 55-yard pass from Calvin Hill (Toni Fritsch kick)DAL 17–13
Week 5: vs. Houston Oilers
1
2 3 4 Total
Oilers
7
0 0 0
7
• Steelers
0
10 7 7
24
Week 6: vs. New England Patriots
1
2 3 4 Total
Patriots
0
0 3 0
3
• Steelers
10
7 13 3
33
Scoring summary 1 PIT Roy Gerela 19-yard field goalPIT 3–0 1 PIT Jack Ham 32-yard interception return (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 10–0 2 PIT Ron Shanklin 30-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 17–0 3 PIT Roy Gerela 22-yard field goal PIT 20–0 3 NE Charlie Gogolak 16-yard field goalPIT 20–3 3 PIT Steve Davis 28-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 27–3 3 PIT Roy Gerela 35-yard field goal PIT 30–3 4 PIT Roy Gerela 33-yard field goal PIT 33–3
Week 7: at Buffalo Bills
1
2 3 4 Total
• Steelers
0
17 7 14
38
Bills
0
0 7 14
21
Scoring summary 2 PIT Franco Harris 2-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 7–0 2 PIT Terry Bradshaw 2-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 14–0 2 PIT Roy Gerela 29-yard field goal PIT 17–0 3 BUF O.J. Simpson 94-yard run (John Leypoldt kick)PIT 17–7 3 PIT Franco Harris 18-yard run (Roy Gerela kick) PIT 24–7 4 BUF Bob Chandler 11-yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick)PIT 24–14 4 PIT Franco Harris 17-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick) PIT 31–14 4 BUF Bob Chandler 4-yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick) PIT 31–21 4 PIT John Fuqua 4-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 38–21
Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals
1
2 3 4 Total
Bengals
0
0 14 3
17
• Steelers
10
16 7 7
40
Scoring summary 1 PIT John Fuqua 7-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 7–0 1 PIT Roy Gerela 15-yard field goal PIT 10–0 2 PIT Roy Gerela 22-yard field goal PIT 13–0 2 PIT Frank Lewis 28-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (kick failed)PIT 19–0 2 PIT Larry Brown 13-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 26–0 3 CIN Virgil Carter 1-yard run (Horst Muhlmann kick)PIT 26–7 3 PIT Frank Lewis 34-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick) PIT 33–7 3 CIN Chip Myers 2-yard pass from Virgil Carter (Horst Muhlmann kick)PIT 33–14 4 PIT Franco Harris 2-yard run (Roy Gerela kick)PIT 40–14 4 CIN Horst Muhlmann 37-yard field goal PIT 40–17
Week 9: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
1
2 3 4 Total
Chiefs
0
7 0 0
7
• Steelers
0
0 3 13
16
Scoring drives:
Kansas City – Kearney 65 interception return (Stenerud kick) – Chiefs 7–0
Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 25 – Chiefs 7–3
Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 10 – Chiefs 7–6
Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 49 – Steelers 9–7
Pittsburgh – Harris 7 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 16–7
Week 10: Cleveland Browns
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
3
7 7 7
24
• Browns
10
10 3 3
26
Scoring drives:
Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings
Week 12: vs. Cleveland Browns
1
2 3 4 Total
Browns
0
0 0 0
0
• Steelers
3
7 7 13
30
Date: Sunday, December 3Location: Three Rivers Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. local Game attendance: 50,350Game weather: 44 F, wind 14 mphReferee: Tommy Bell
Franco Harris breaks Jim Brown's record for consecutive 100 yd games.
Scoring drives:
Week 13: at Houston Oilers
1
2 3 4 Total
• Steelers
3
0 6 0
9
Oilers
0
3 0 0
3
Date: Sunday, December 10Location: Houston Astrodome Game start: 1:00 p.m. local Game attendance: 36,528Referee: John McDonough
Scoring drives:
Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 24 – Steelers 3–0
Houston – FG Butler 34 – Tie 3–3
Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 – Steelers 6–3
Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 13 – Steelers 9–3 Steelers clinch their 1st playoff berth.
Week 14: San Diego Chargers
1
2 3 4 Total
• Steelers
7
7 3 7
24
Chargers
2
0 0 0
2
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:
Standings
