1972 New England Patriots season
| 1972 New England Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach |
John Mazur (fired) Phil Bengtson (interim) |
| General manager |
Upton Bell (fired) Peter Hadhazy (interim) |
| Owner | Billy Sullivan |
| Home field | Schaefer Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–11 |
| Division place | 5th AFC East |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | none |
| AP All-Pros | none |
| Uniform | |
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| Scoring summary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 | WSH | Charley Taylor 30 yard pass from Billy Kilmer (Curt Knight kick) | WSH 7–0 | |
| Q2 | WSH | Charley Taylor 4 yard pass from Billy Kilmer (Curt Knight kick) | WSH 14–0 | |
| Q2 | NE | Josh Ashton 2 yard run (Charlie Gogolak kick) | WSH 14–7 | |
| Q3 | NE | Reggie Rucker 11 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Charlie Gogolak kick) | Tie 14–14 | |
| Q3 | NE | Charlie Gogolak 42 yard field goal | NE 17–14 | |
| Q4 | WSH | Jerry Smith 9 yard pass from Billy Kilmer (Curt Knight kick) | WSH 21–17 | |
| Q4 | NE | Josh Ashton 24 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Charlie Gogolak kick) | NE 24–21 | |
| Q4 | WSH | Malinchak blocked punt through end zone | NE 24–23 | |
The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1972 season with a record of three wins and eleven losses, and finished last in the AFC East Division. The Patriots continued their period of futility as they slumped to another horrendous record of 3-11, and missed the playoffs for the 9th straight season. After getting embarrassed 31-7 in their home opener against Cincinnati, the Patriots would win their next 2 games against Atlanta and Washington. However, the Patriots would continue their midseason misery, as they would lose 9 straight games to slide to 2-10 before winning their first (and only) road game against the New Orleans Saints. New England went winless against AFC opponents. Besides their embarrassing home opening loss, the Patriots had plenty of other bad moments during the season. One good example was a 52-0 thrashing given to them by the powerful Miami Dolphins. The loss went down as the worst loss in Patriots history and the most points they've ever allowed in a game in franchise history.
Although they managed to win three games, the 1972 Patriots had the second-worst point differential of any team in a 14-game NFL season, ahead of only the expansion 1976 Buccaneers. They lost eight of their fourteen games by three touchdowns or more, and their first two wins were by a single point.
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