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1972 Cincinnati Bengals season

NFL team season

NFL team season

FieldValue
teamCincinnati Bengals
year1972
record8–6
division_place3rd AFC Central
coachPaul Brown
stadiumRiverfront Stadium
playoffs*Did not qualify*
shortnavlinkBengals 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

Main article: 1972 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

  • 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

Regular season

Schedule

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September 17at [New England Patriots](1972-new-england-patriots-season)**W** 31–71–0Schaefer Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197209170nwe.htm)
September 24**[Pittsburgh Steelers](1972-pittsburgh-steelers-season)****W** 15–102–0Riverfront Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197209240cin.htm)
October 1at **[Cleveland Browns](1972-cleveland-browns-season)****L** 6–272–1Cleveland Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197210010cle.htm)
October 8[Denver Broncos](1972-denver-broncos-season)**W** 21–103–1Riverfront Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197210080cin.htm)
October 15at [Kansas City Chiefs](1972-kansas-city-chiefs-season)**W** 23–164–1Arrowhead Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197210150kan.htm)
October 22at [Los Angeles Rams](1972-los-angeles-rams-season)**L** 12–154–2Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197210220ram.htm)
October 29**[Houston Oilers](1972-houston-oilers-season)****W** 30–75–2Riverfront Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197210290cin.htm)
November 5at **[Pittsburgh Steelers](1972-pittsburgh-steelers-season)****L** 17–405–3Three Rivers Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197211050pit.htm)
November 12[Oakland Raiders](1972-oakland-raiders-season)**L** 14–205–4Riverfront Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197211120cin.htm)
November 19[Baltimore Colts](1972-baltimore-colts-season)**L** 19–205–5Riverfront Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197211190cin.htm)
November 26at [Chicago Bears](1972-chicago-bears-season)**W** 13–36–5Soldier Field[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197211260chi.htm)
December 3[New York Giants](1972-new-york-giants-season)**W** 13–107–5Riverfront Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197212030cin.htm)
**[Cleveland Browns](1972-cleveland-browns-season)****L** 24–277–6Riverfront Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197212090cin.htm)
December 17at **[Houston Oilers](1972-houston-oilers-season)****W** 61–178–6Astrodome[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197212170oti.htm)
**Note:** Intra-division opponents are in **bold** text.

Season summary

Week 1 at Patriots

;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 StatsTEAM STATSBengalsOpponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS255207
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

  • 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

References

  1. "1972 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  2. "1972 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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