1972 Buffalo Bills season
| 1972 Buffalo Bills season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Lou Saban |
| Owner | Ralph Wilson |
| Home field | War Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–9–1 |
| Division place | 4th AFC East |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
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| Scoring summary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | SF | Gossett 47 yard field goal | SF 3–0 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Leypoldt 32 yard field goal | Tie 3–3 | |
| Q2 | BUF | Leypoldt 22 yard field goal | BUF 6–3 | |
| Q2 | SF | Kwalick 20 yard pass from Spurrier (Gossett kick) | SF 10–6 | |
| Q3 | SF | Gossett 20 yard field goal | SF 13–6 | |
| Q3 | BUF | White 17 yard pass from Shaw (Leypoldt kick) | Tie 13–13 | |
| Q4 | SF | Schreiber 2 yard run (Gossett kick) | SF 20–13 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Braxton 2 yard run (Leypoldt kick) | Tie 20–20 | |
| Q4 | BUF | Braxton 1 yard run (Leypoldt kick) | BUF 27–20 | |
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| Scoring summary | ||||
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| 2 | DET | Earl McCullouch 9 yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick) | Lions 7–0 | |
| 2 | BUF | J.D. Hill 58 yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| 3 | BUF | Bob Chandler 39 yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick) | Bills 14–7 | |
| 3 | DET | Nick Eddy 36 yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick) | Tie 14–14 | |
| 4 | BUF | Jan White 2 yard pass from Dennis Shaw (John Leypoldt kick) | Bills 21–14 | |
| 4 | DET | Ron Jessie 37 yard pass from Greg Landry (Errol Mann kick) | Tie 21–21 | |
The 1972 Buffalo Bills season was the 13th season for the club and its third in the National Football League. It was also their last season at War Memorial Stadium which had been their home field since 1960.
The season also marked the return of former Bills coach Lou Saban, who had previously led the team to two AFL Championships.
Saban had a new offensive philosophy for Buffalo in 1972: in his first three seasons, former number one overall pick O.J. Simpson had only carried the ball an average of 161 times per season. Saban rushed Simpson 292 times in 1972, the second-most in the league.
Despite losing two starting offensive lineman – center Bruce Jarvis and guard Jim Reilly—in the season opener, O.J. Simpson still led the league in rushing with 1,251 yards.
Although the Bills had a potent, yard-gaining rushing attack, they could not put enough points on the scoreboard, scoring only 257 points (18.3 per game) all season, 19th in the league. Furthermore, Buffalo's defense gave up 377 points (23.5 per game), the third-most in the NFL in 1972.
O.J. Simpson would have the first 1,000 rushing yard season of his career.
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