1972 Cincinnati Bengals season explained

Team:Cincinnati Bengals
Year:1972
Record:8–6
Division Place:3rd AFC Central
Coach:Paul Brown
Stadium:Riverfront Stadium
Playoffs:Did not qualify
Shortnavlink: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

See main article: 1972 NFL draft. [1]

Personnel

Roster

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueRecap
1September 17W 31–7 1–0 Schaefer StadiumRecap
2September 24Pittsburgh SteelersW 15–10 2–0Riverfront StadiumRecap
3October 1at Cleveland Browns L 6–27 2–1Cleveland StadiumRecap
4October 8W 21–10 3–1Riverfront StadiumRecap
5October 15W 23–16 4–1Arrowhead StadiumRecap
6October 22L 12–15 4–2Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumRecap
7October 29Houston Oilers W 30–7 5–2Riverfront StadiumRecap
8November 5at Pittsburgh SteelersL 17–40 5–3Three Rivers StadiumRecap
9November 12L 14–20 5–4 Riverfront StadiumRecap
10November 19L 19–20 5–5 Riverfront StadiumRecap
11November 26W 13–3 6–5Soldier FieldRecap
12December 3W 13–10 7–5 Riverfront StadiumRecap
13Cleveland Browns L 24–27 7–6 Riverfront StadiumRecap
14December 17at Houston OilersW 61–17 8–6 AstrodomeRecap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 at Patriots

See also: 1972 New England Patriots season.

Team stats

1972 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATSBengalsOpponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 255207
Rushing11298
Passing12292
Penalty2117
TOTAL NET YARDS43173552
Avg Per Game308.4253.7
Total Plays899794
Avg. Per Play4.84.5
NET YARDS RUSHING19961815
Avg. Per Game142.6129.6
Total Rushes491406
NET YARDS PASSING23211737
Avg. Per Game165.8124.1
Sacked Yards Lost24–19238–296
Gross Yards25132033
Att. Completions384–219350–167
Completion Pct.57.047.7
Intercepted1120
PUNTS-AVERAGE66–42.184.42.4
PENALTIES-YARDS76–73869–581
FUMBLES-BALL LOST28–1830–9
TOUCHDOWNS3124
Rushing1611
Passing1011
Returns52
Score by Periods1234Tot
Bengals366299102299
Opponents37794271229

Team leaders

Awards and records

Pro Bowl selections

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1972 Cincinnati Bengals draftees . Pro-Football-Reference.com . October 12, 2014 .
  2. Web site: 1972 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players . Pro-Football-Reference.com . October 20, 2014 .

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