1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season


The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 40th in the National Football League.
Pittsburgh finished with an 11–3 record in, their first winning season in 9 years, and won their first-ever AFC Central Division title. It was the Steelers' third-ever postseason appearance, first in ten seasons, and only its second playoff game since 1947. This season is famous for the Immaculate Reception, where the Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13–7 in the playoffs on a last second touchdown by rookie running back Franco Harris. But the momentum would not be enough to beat the Dolphins in the AFC Championship despite a strong season.
The rebuilding of the franchise that began in 1969 with the hiring of head coach Chuck Noll finally came to fruition in his fourth year. After winning only once in that first season, the Steelers then showed steady improvement. They broke through in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time since 1947; their three losses were by a combined eleven points. The division title was the first in team history, as was the appearance in the AFC Championship game which they lost to the undefeated Miami Dolphins 21–17. It was the first of eight consecutive playoff appearances for the Steelers that led to four Super Bowl championships.

Regular season

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders

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The Steelers were able to start off against the Raiders at home scoring 17 unanswered points and eventually ended up defeating the team by 6 for a 34–28 victory and a 1–0 start.

Week 2: at Cincinnati Bengals

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Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals

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Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys

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Week 5: vs. Houston Oilers

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Week 6: vs. New England Patriots

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Week 7: at Buffalo Bills

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Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

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Week 9: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

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Scoring drives:
  • Kansas City – Kearney 65 interception return – Chiefs 7–0
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 25 – Chiefs 7–3
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 10 – Chiefs 7–6
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 49 – Steelers 9–7
  • Pittsburgh – Harris 7 run – Steelers 16–7

Week 10: Cleveland Browns

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Scoring drives:
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 – Steelers 3–0
  • Cleveland – FG Cockroft 26 – Tie 3–3
  • Cleveland – Phipps 1 run – Browns 10–3
  • Cleveland – FG Cockroft 38 – Browns 13–3
  • Cleveland – Pitts 17 pass from Phipps – Browns 20–3
  • Pittsburgh – Mullins 3 pass from Bradshaw – Browns 20–10
  • Cleveland – FG Cockroft 12 – Browns 23–10
  • Pittsburgh – Fuqua 1 run – Browns 23–17
  • Pittsburgh – Harris 75 run - Steelers 24–23
  • Cleveland – FG Cockroft 26 – Browns 26–24

Week 12: vs. Cleveland Browns

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Franco Harris breaks Jim Brown's record for consecutive 100 yd games.
Scoring drives:
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 19 – Steelers 3–0
  • Pittsburgh – Harris 1 run – Steelers 10–0
  • Pittsburgh – Harris 11 run – Steelers 17–0
  • Pittsburgh – McMakin 78 pass from Bradshaw – Steelers 24–0
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 44 – Steelers 27–0
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 37 – Steelers 30–0

Week 13: at Houston Oilers

Scoring drives:
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 24 – Steelers 3–0
  • Houston – FG Butler 34 – Tie 3–3
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 39 – Steelers 6–3
  • Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 13 – Steelers 9–3
Steelers clinch their 1st playoff berth.

Week 14: San Diego Chargers

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The Pittsburgh Steelers clinched their first AFC Central Division title. The day before the game Frank Sinatra is inducted into Franco's Italian Army.
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Postseason

Game summaries

AFC Championship: vs. Miami Dolphins

  • PIT – Mullins recovered fumble in end zone PIT 7–0
  • MIA – Csonka 9 pass from Morrall 7–7
  • PIT – FG Gerela 14 11:00 3rd PIT 10–7
  • MIA – Kiick 2 run MIA 14–10
  • MIA – Kiick 3 run MIA 21–10
  • PIT – Young 12 pass from Bradshaw MIA 21–17