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 1972, their first winning season in 9 years (1963), and won their first-ever AFC Central Division title. It was the Steelers' third-ever postseason appearance, first in ten seasons (the Playoff Bowl for third place in the league), 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.

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•Lionel Taylor - Receiver Coach

•Charlie Sumner - Linebacker Coach

• - Quarterback Coach

•Dick Hoak – Defensive backfield coach

•Bud Carson – Defensive backfield coach

•Bob Fry – Offensive line coach

•Lou Riecke - Strength Coach

•George Perles – Defensive line coach

The Steelers were able to start off against the Raiders at home scoring 17 unanswered points (2TDs/PATs and a FG) and eventually ended up defeating the team by 6 for a 34–28 victory and a 1–0 start.

Scoring drives:

• Kansas City – Kearney 65 interception return (Stenerud kick) – 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 (Gerela kick) – Steelers 16–7

Scoring drives:

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

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 (Gerela kick) – Steelers 10–0
• Pittsburgh – Harris 11 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 17–0
• Pittsburgh – McMakin 78 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 24–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 44 – Steelers 27–0
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 37 – Steelers 30–0

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.

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

Scoring drives:

• Pittsburgh – Harris 7 yd run (Gerela kick) Steelers 7-0
• San Diego – Safety, Costa tackled Bradshaw in end zone – Steelers 7-2
• Pittsburgh – Fuqua 2 run (Gerela kick) – Steelers 14–2
• Pittsburgh – FG Gerela 24 – Steelers 17–2
• Pittsburgh – Shanklin 17 pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) – Steelers 24–2

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

• Joe Tucker, Steelers Victory After Forty: The Inside Story of the Pittsburgh Steelers and How They Won the AFC Central Championship in 1972. New York: Exposition Press, 1973.

• 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season at Profootballreference.com
• 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season statistics at jt-sw.com