1972 Philadelphia Eagles season
The 1972 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 40th season in the National Football League. They failed to improve on their previous output of 6–7–1, winning only two games.[1] The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the twelfth consecutive season.
| 1972 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Leonard Tose |
| Head coach | Ed Khayat |
| Home field | Veterans Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–11–1 |
| Division place | 5th NFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Both of the Eagles' victories were one-point decisions on the road vs. AFC teams, 21–20 over the Kansas City Chiefs and 18–17 over the Houston Oilers. The meeting with the Chiefs was the last until 1992, and Kansas City did not come to Philadelphia until 1998.
Following the disastrous season, the third with three wins or fewer since 1968, general manager Pete Retzlaff resigned, and coach Ed Khayat was fired by owner Leonard Tose.
Offseason
The Eagles will hold training camp at Albright College in Reading, Pennsylvania. This is the last year there, next year they would move camp to Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania only 7 miles from Veterans Stadium where they played their home games in Philadelphia.
NFL Draft
The 1972 NFL Draft was held on February 1–2, 1972. the draft was 17 rounds and a total of 443 players were chosen
The Eagle chose John Reaves a quarterback from the University of Florida with the 14th pick in the 1st round. They would have the pick 14th in the 17 rounds. They chose 17 players in this year's draft.
The number 1 overall pick went to the Buffalo Bills who chose Walt Patulski a Defensive end out of the University of Notre Dame In the 2nd round with the 40th pick, Atlanta Falcons took 1971 Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan [2] a Quarterback out of Auburn University
Player selections
The table shows the Eagles selections and what picks they had that were traded away and the team that ended up with that pick. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.
| = Pro Bowler [3] | = Hall of Famer |
| Rd | Pick | Player | Position | School |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | John Reaves | Quarterback | Florida |
| 2 | 37 | Dan Yochum Acquired Pick via Trade | Tackle | Syracuse |
| 2 | 40 | Pick taken by Atlanta Falcons | ||
| 3 | 66 | Pick taken by New York Jets | ||
| 3 | 68 | Tom Luken Acquired Pick via Trade | Guard | Purdue |
| 3 | 76 | Bobby Majors | Defensive back | Tennessee |
| 4 | 92 | Po James | Running back | New Mexico State |
| 5 | 118 | Pick taken by Denver Broncos | ||
| 6 | 144 | Vernon Winfield | Guard | Minnesota |
| 7 | 170 | Will Foster | Linebacker | Eastern Michigan |
| 8 | 196 | Larry Ratcliff | Running back | Eastern Michigan |
| 9 | 222 | Pat Gibbs | Defensive back | Lamar University |
| 10 | 246 | John Bunting | Linebacker | North Carolina |
| 11 | 274 | Dennis Sweeney | Defensive end | Western Michigan |
| 12 | 300 | Don Zimmerman | Wide receiver | N.E. Louisiana |
| 13 | 326 | Preston Carpenter | Defensive end | Mississippi |
| 14 | 352 | Bill Overmeyer | Linebacker | Ashland |
| 15 | 378 | Tom Sullivan | Running back | Miami (FL) |
| 16 | 404 | Steve Bielenberg | Linebacker | Oregon State |
| 17 | 430 | Tom Nash | Tackle | Georgia |
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
{{{reserve_lists}}}
| ||||||
Regular season
On November 12, Tom Dempsey kicked six field goals in one game.[4]
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 17, 1972 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 28–6 | |
| 2 | September 24, 1972 | Cleveland Browns | L 27–17 | |
| 3 | October 2, 1972 | New York Giants | L 27–12 | |
| 4 | October 8, 1972 | at Washington Redskins | L 14–0 | |
| 5 | October 15, 1972 | Los Angeles Rams | L 34–3 | |
| 6 | October 22, 1972 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 21–20 | |
| 7 | October 29, 1972 | at New Orleans Saints | L 21–3 | |
| 8 | November 5, 1972 | St. Louis Cardinals | T 6–6 | |
| 9 | November 12, 1972 | at Houston Oilers | W 18–17 | |
| 10 | November 19, 1972 | Dallas Cowboys | L 28–7 | |
| 11 | November 26, 1972 | at New York Giants | L 62–10 | |
| 12 | December 3, 1972 | Washington Redskins | L 23–7 | |
| 13 | December 10, 1972 | Chicago Bears | L 21–12 | |
| 14 | December 17, 1972 | at St. Louis Cardinals | L 24–23 |
Game recaps
A recap of the scoring plays and the game scores by quarters during the year. The record after the team's name reflects this games outcome also.[5]
Week 9
Sunday, November 12, 1972
Played at Houston Astrodome on AstroTurf in 72F degrees indoors
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
| Philadelphia Eagles (2–6–1) | 6 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 18 |
| Houston Oilers (1–8–0) | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| SCORING PLAYS | PHI | HOU | ||
| 1st | Eagles | Tom Dempsey 33-yard field goal | 3 | 0 |
| Eagles | Tom Dempsey 52-yard field goal | 6 | 0 | |
| 2nd | Oilers | Skip Butler 38-yard field goal | 6 | 3 |
| Eagles | Tom Dempsey 22-yard field goal | 9 | 3 | |
| Eagles | Tom Dempsey 12-yard field goal | 12 | 3 | |
| Eagles | Tom Dempsey 38-yard field goal | 15 | 3 | |
| 3rd | Oilers | Dan Pastorini 1-yard rush (Skip Butler kick) | 15 | 10 |
| 4th | Eagles | Tom Dempsey 20-yard field goal | 18 | 10 |
| Oilers | Paul Robinson 30-yard rush (Skip Butler kick) | 18 | 17 |
Week 11
Sunday, November 26, 1972
Played at Yankee Stadium on grass in 50F degrees with a 15 MPH wind
| 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | Total | |
| Philadelphia Eagles (2–8–1) | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| New York Giants (7–4–0) | 14 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 62 |
| SCORING PLAYS | PHI | NYG | ||
| 1st | Giants | Bob Tucker 15-yard pass from Norm Snead (Pete Gogolak kick) | 0 | 7 |
| Giants | Ron A. Johnson 35-yard rush (Pete Gogolak kick) | 0 | 14 | |
| Eagles | Tom Dempsey 13-yard field goal | 3 | 14 | |
| 2nd | Giants | Joe Orduna 5-yard pass from Norm Snead (Pete Gogolak kick) | 3 | 21 |
| Giants | Pete Gogolak 25-yard field goal | 3 | 24 | |
| Giants | Bob Tucker 29-yard pass from Norm Snead (Pete Gogolak kick) | 3 | 31 | |
| Eagles | Harold Jackson 77-yard pass from John Reaves (Tom Dempsey kick) | 10 | 31 | |
| Giants | Ron A. Johnson 1-yard rush (Pete Gogolak kick) | 10 | 38 | |
| 3rd | Giants | Pete Gogolak 29-yard field goal | 10 | 41 |
| Giants | Don Herrmann 32-yard pass from Randy Johnson (Pete Gogolak kick) | 10 | 48 | |
| 4th | Giants | Don Herrmann 63-yard pass from Randy Johnson (Pete Gogolak kick) | 10 | 55 |
| Giants | Randy Johnson 2-yard rush (Pete Gogolak kick) | 10 | 62 |
Standings
| NFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Washington Redskins | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 7–1 | 10–1 | 336 | 218 | L2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 6–2 | 7–4 | 319 | 240 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 5–3 | 7–4 | 331 | 247 | W1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 4 | 9 | 1 | .321 | 1–6–1 | 3–7–1 | 193 | 303 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2 | 11 | 1 | .179 | 0–7–1 | 0–10–1 | 145 | 352 | L5 |
Postseason
At the 1972 season end head coach Ed Khayat is fired. Mike McCormack, a Washington Redskins assistant coach from 1965 to 1972, was hired in his place. Khayat was never an NFL head coach again, although he was head coach of the New Orleans Night of the Arena Football League in 1991.
References
- 1972 Philadelphia Eagles
- Pat Sullivan, 1971 Heisman Trophy winner "Heisman Trophy". Heisman. Archived from the original on June 9, 2009. Retrieved August 4, 2008.
- Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their career.
- NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.134
- https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/phi/1972.htm