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1972 Pittsburgh Steelers: 11-3-0
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Home record: 7-0-0 (200 points scored, 72 allowed) Road record: 4-3-0 (143 points scored, 103 allowed) Head Coach: Chuck Noll

343 points scored (5th of 26 teams), 175 points allowed (2nd) NFL Averages: 20.3 points/game (283.5 points/team)

Team stats and rankings:
           ---------------- PASSING ----------------    ----------- RUSHING ----------    --- TOTAL ---
           Cmp   Att   Yards  (Rank) Yd/Att  TD  Int    Att   Yards  (Rank) Yd/Att  TD    Yards   (Rank)  Turnovers
Offense:   156   324   1,711   (22)   4.81   12   12    497   2,520   ( 2)    5.1   22    4,231    (13)      26
Defense:   206   411   2,046   (10)   4.54    9   28    445   1,715   ( 6)    3.9    6    3,761    ( 7)      48

Team roster (starters in bold):
 #   Player              Pos   GP   Hgt   Wgt  Age  Exp   College
 5  Terry Hanratty       QB     7   6'1   210   24    4   Notre Dame
10  Roy Gerela           K     14   5'10  185   24    4   New Mexico State
12  Terry Bradshaw       QB    14   6'3   218   24    3   Louisiana Tech
17  Joe Gilliam          QB     2   6'2   187   21    R   Tennessee State
20  Rocky Bleier         RB    14   5'11  205   26    3   Notre Dame
23  Mike Wagner          DB    14   6'1   196   23    2   Western Illinois
25  Ron Shanklin         WR    14   6'1   180   24    3   North Texas State
26  Preston Pearson      RB    11   6'1   205   27    6   Illinois
27  Glen Edwards         DB    12   6'0   185   25    2   Florida A&M
29  John Dockery         DB     6   6'0   186   28    3   Harvard
31  Al Young             WR    14   6'1   195   23    2   South Carolina State
32  Franco Harris        RB    14   6'2   230   22    R   Penn State
33  Frenchy Fuqua        RB    13   5'11  200   26    4   Morgan State
34  Andy Russell         LB    14   6'3   225   31    8   Missouri
35  Steve Davis          RB    11   6'1   218   23    1   Delaware State
36  Carl Winfrey         LB     1   6'0   230   23    2   Wisconsin
37  Chuck Beatty         DB     8   6'2   205   26    4   North Texas State
38  Ed Bradley           LB    12   6'2   240   22    R   Wake Forest
39  Bobby Walden         P     14   6'0   190   34    9   Georgia
43  Frank Lewis          WR    13   6'1   196   25    2   Grambling
44  Lee Calland          DB     7   6'0   190   31   10   Louisville
46  Warren Bankston      RB     7   6'4   235   25    4   Tulane
47  Mel Blount           DB    14   6'3   205   24    3   Southern
48  John Rowser          DB    14   6'1   185   28    6   Michigan
49  Ralph Anderson       DB    14   6'2   180   23    2   West Texas State
50  Jim Clack            C     14   6'3   250   25    2   Wake Forest
53  Henry Davis          LB    14   6'3   235   29    5   Grambling
55  Jon Kolb             OT    14   6'2   262   25    4   Oklahoma State
56  Ray Mansfield        C     14   6'3   255   31   10   Washington
57  Sam Davis            OG    11   6'1   255   28    6   Allen
59  Jack Ham             LB    14   6'3   220   23    2   Penn State
60  Ben McGee            DT    14   6'2   260   33    9   Jackson State
61  Brian Stenger        LB    14   6'4   230   25    4   Notre Dame
63  Ernie Holmes         DT    14   6'3   260   24    1   Texas Southern
64  Steve Furness        DE     2   6'4   255   21    R   Rhode Island
66  Bruce Van Dyke       OG    13   6'2   255   28    7   Missouri
67  Craig Hanneman       DE    13   6'3   240   23    1   Oregon State
68  L.C. Greenwood       DE    13   6'5   245   26    4   Arkansas-Pine Bluff
71  Gordon Gravelle      OT    14   6'5   250   23    R   Brigham Young
72  Gerry Mullins        OG    14   6'3   235   23    2   Southern California
75  Joe Greene           DT    14   6'4   270   26    4   North Texas State
77  Mel Holmes           OG    14   6'3   250   22    2   North Carolina A&T
78  Dwight White         DE    14   6'4   250   23    2   East Texas State
83  Barry Pearson        WR     0   5'11  185   22    R   Northwestern
87  Larry Brown          TE     9   6'4   225   23    2   Kansas
88  Dave Smith           WR     6   6'2   205   25    3   Indiana (Pa.)
89  John McMakin         TE    14   6'3   232   22    R   Clemson
90  George Webster       LB     6   6'4   223   26    6   Michigan State

                                               Per   Per
Passing              Att  Cmp    Pct  Yards    Att   Cmp  TD   TD%  Int  Int%  Sack  Loss  Rating
Terry Bradshaw       308  147   47.7  1,887   6.13  12.8  12   3.9   12   3.9    29   237    64.1
Joe Gilliam           11    7   63.6     48   4.36   6.9   0   0.0    0   0.0     2     8    73.3
Terry Hanratty         4    2   50.0     23   5.75  11.5   0   0.0    0   0.0     1     2    67.7
Bobby Walden           1    0    0.0      0   0.00   0.0   0   0.0    0   0.0     0     0    39.6
Receiving             Rec  Yards    Avg   TD
Ron Shanklin           38    669   17.6    3
Frank Lewis            27    391   14.5    5
John McMakin           21    277   13.2    1
Franco Harris          21    180    8.6    1
Frenchy Fuqua          18    152    8.4    0
Preston Pearson        11     79    7.2    0
Dave Smith             10     98    9.8    0
Al Young                6     86   14.3    0
Larry Brown             1     13   13.0    1
Steve Davis             1      5    5.0    0
Warren Bankston         1      5    5.0    0
Gerry Mullins           1      3    3.0    1
Rushing               Att  Yards    Avg   TD
Franco Harris         188  1,055    5.6   10
Frenchy Fuqua         150    665    4.4    4
Terry Bradshaw         58    346    6.0    7
Preston Pearson        67    264    3.9    0
Steve Davis            20     85    4.2    1
Frank Lewis             3     68   22.7    0
Warren Bankston         7     20    2.9    0
Rocky Bleier            1     17   17.0    0
John McMakin            1      0    0.0    0
Joe Gilliam             2      0    0.0    0
Kickoff Returns       Att  Yards    Avg   TD
Preston Pearson        13    292   22.5    0
Franco Harris           8    183   22.9    0
Steve Davis             7    207   29.6    0
Rocky Bleier            2     40   20.0    0
Warren Bankston         1     20   20.0    0
Glen Edwards            1     18   18.0    0
John McMakin            1      0    0.0    0
Punt Returns          Att  Yards    Avg   FC   TD
Glen Edwards           22    202    9.2   19    0
Frank Lewis             5     56   11.2    1    0
Rocky Bleier            2      1    0.5    0    0
Preston Pearson         1      3    3.0    0    0
Punting Punts Yards Avg TB In20 Blk Ret Yards Net Bobby Walden 65 2,846 43.8 0 0 2 0 0 42.5 Roy Gerela 1 29 29.0 0 0 0 0 0 29.0 Kicking 0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Total PAT Pts Roy Gerela 9/9 8/10 8/12 3/9 0/1 28/41 35/36 119 Defense Sacks Ints Yards TD Ralph Anderson 1.0 3 68 0 Chuck Beatty 2 16 0 Mel Blount 0.5 3 75 0 Henry Davis 1.0 2 32 0 Glen Edwards 1 14 0 Steve Furness 0.5 Joe Greene 11.0 L.C. Greenwood 4.0 Jack Ham 2.0 7 83 1 Craig Hanneman 1.0 Ernie Holmes 4.0 Ben McGee 2.0 John Rowser 4 30 0 Andy Russell 1.0 Mike Wagner 6 77 0 Dwight White 10.0

1972 Draft:
NFL Rnd Ovr Pos Player Games College 1 13 RB Franco Harris 173 Penn State 2 38 OT Gordon Gravelle 96 Brigham Young 3 63 TE John McMakin 60 Clemson 4 80 DB Lorenzo Brinkley Missouri [pick acquired from NYG] 4 88 LB Ed Bradley 93 Wake Forest 5 113 DE Steve Furness 106 Rhode Island 6 143 DB Dennis Meyer 11 Arkansas State 7 159 DE Joe Colquitt Kansas State [pick acquired from NYG] 7 168 DB Robert Kelly Jackson State 8 193 RB Stahle Vincent Rice 9 217 DB Don Kelley Clemson 10 243 DT Bob Brown Tampa 11 273 QB Joe Gilliam 20 Tennessee State 12 298 OT Ron Curl Michigan State 13 323 OT Ernie Mesmer Villanova 14 348 RB Tommy Durrance Florida 15 368 OG John Hulecki Massachusetts [pick acquired from HOU] 15 373 OG Charles Harrington Wichita State 16 403 WR Nate Hawkins 11 Nevada-Las Vegas 17 428 LB Ron Linehan Idaho

Traded draft picks: none


Transactions:

03-13-1972traded Ocie Austin and John Lanier to Redskins for a conditional pick in the 1973 draft (not exercised)
04-18-1972claimed Dickie Post on waivers from Oilers
06-28-1972traded a #6 pick in the 1973 draft to Patriots for Ron Gardin
08-1972traded Bobby Maples to Broncos for Denver's #6 pick in the 1973 draft
08-01-1972traded Clarence Washington to Bears for a 1973 draft pick
08-02-1972traded Dennis Ferris to Giants for cash
08-03-1972traded Dennis Onkontz to Broncos for a 1973 draft pick
08-04-1972Dolphins claimed Ron Gardin on waivers
08-07-1972traded cash to Patriots for Ernie Holmes
09-06-1972traded Lloyd Voss to Broncos for New Orleans' #5 pick in the 1973 draft
09-07-1972Bills claimed Lorenzo Brinkley on waivers
09-13-1972Packers claimed Jon Staggers on waivers
09-20-1972traded Rick Sharp to Broncos for Denver's #8 pick in the 1973 draft


Playoff Results:   Click on the date to view the game summary.

Date        Opponent                   Result
12/23/72    vs Oakland Raiders         W 13-7
12/31/72    vs Miami Dolphins          L 17-21


1972 Regular Season Game Log:
Click on the date to view the game summary. Date Opponent Result Record
09/17/72 vs Oakland Raiders W 34-28 1-0-0 09/24/72 at Cincinnati Bengals L 10-15 1-1-0 10/01/72 at St. Louis Cardinals W 25-19 2-1-0 10/08/72 at Dallas Cowboys L 13-17 2-2-0 10/15/72 vs Houston Oilers W 24-7 3-2-0 10/22/72 vs New England Patriots W 33-3 4-2-0 10/29/72 at Buffalo Bills W 38-21 5-2-0 11/05/72 vs Cincinnati Bengals W 40-17 6-2-0 11/12/72 vs Kansas City Chiefs W 16-7 7-2-0 11/19/72 at Cleveland Browns L 24-26 7-3-0 11/26/72 vs Minnesota Vikings W 23-10 8-3-0 12/03/72 vs Cleveland Browns W 30-0 9-3-0 12/10/72 at Houston Oilers W 9-3 10-3-0 12/17/72 at San Diego Chargers W 24-2 11-3-0

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