1972 Washington Redskins season

1972 Washington Redskins season
Head coach	George Allen
Home field	RFK Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	1st NFC East
Playoff finish	Won Divisional Playoffs (Packers) 16–3 Won Conference Championship (Cowboys) 26–3 Lost Super Bowl VII (Dolphins) 14–7

The 1972 Washington Redskins season was the team's 41st season, and 36th in Washington, D.C. The Redskins were trying to build on the success of the previous season, in which they had made the postseason for the first time in 26 seasons.

Head coach George Allen, in just his second season with the team, took the Redskins to their first Super Bowl. The team, who had missed the postseason in the entirety of the 1950s and 1960s, won their first postseason game since 1943, and appeared in their first league championship game since 1945.

The NFC Champion Redskins would ultimately lose a very close Super Bowl VII, 14–7, to the undefeated Miami Dolphins.

The 1972 season was the first in which the team wore their current logo, which features a Native American head in profile within a gold circle. It remains the team's primary logo to this day.^[1]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
8	203	Moses Denson	Running Back	Maryland-Eastern Shore
9	229	Steve Boekholder	Defensive End	Drake
10	255	Mike Oldham	Wide Receiver	Michigan
11	281	Jeff Welch	Defensive Back	Arkansas Tech
12	307	Don Bunce	Quarterback	Stanford
13	332	Frank Grant	Wide Receiver	Southern Colorado
15	365	Mike O'Quinn	Guard	McNeese State
15	385	Carl Taibi	Defensive End	Colorado
16	411	Steve Higginbotham	Defensive Back	Alabama
17	437	Kevin Clemente	Linebacker	Boston College

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 18, 1972	at Minnesota Vikings	W 24–21	47,900
2	September 24, 1972	St. Louis Cardinals	W 24–10	53,039
3	October 1, 1972	at New England Patriots	L 24–23	60,999
4	October 8, 1972	Philadelphia Eagles	W 14–0	53,039
5	October 15, 1972	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 33–3	50,454
6	October 22, 1972	Dallas Cowboys	W 24–20	53,039
7	October 29, 1972	at New York Giants	W 23–16	62,878
8	November 5, 1972	at New York Jets	W 35–17	63,962
9	November 12, 1972	New York Giants	W 27–13	53,039
10	November 20, 1972	Atlanta Falcons	W 24–13	53,034
11	November 26, 1972	Green Bay Packers	W 21–16	53,039
12	December 3, 1972	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 23–7	65,720
13	December 9, 1972	at Dallas Cowboys	L 34–24	65,136
14	December 17, 1972	Buffalo Bills	L 24–17	53,039

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

Playoffs

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
Divisional	December 24, 1972	Green Bay Packers	W 16–3	53,140
Conference Championship	December 31, 1972	Dallas Cowboys	W 26–3	53,129
Super Bowl	January 14, 1973	N Miami Dolphins	L 14–7	90,182

Awards and records

• Larry Brown, NFL MVP ^[2]
• Larry Brown, Bert Bell Award^[3]
• Larry Brown, AP Offensive Player of the Year
• Billy Kilmer, NFL Leader (Tied), Touchdown Passes (19).^[4] NFL Leader in Passer Rating (84.8).

References

1. Washington Redskins at Gridiron Uniform Database
2. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 400
3. http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/bell/past_bell.htm
4. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 451