1972 Chicago Bears season
The 1972 Chicago Bears season was their 53rd regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a 4–9–1 record, another below .500 showing, in head coach Abe Gibron's first season. But they had good success on the QB Rushing. QB Bobby Douglass ran on 143 carries for 968 yards and 8 Touchdowns. This would be later broken by Atlanta Falcons QB Michael Vick who became the first and only Quarterback to run over 1,000 yards in the NFL. But it would be held as a franchise record until Justin Fields broke that in the 2022 season. Only three other QBs ran for over 1,000 yards in one season, but they were all in the CFL.[1]
| 1972 Chicago Bears season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Abe Gibron |
| Home field | Soldier Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 4–9–1 |
| Division place | 4th NFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
NFL Draft
| 1972 Chicago Bears draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Lionel Antoine | Offensive tackle | Southern Illinois | traded from the New York Giants |
| 1 | 12 | Craig Clemons | Safety | Iowa | |
| 3 | 62 | Johnny Musso | Running back | Alabama | |
| 5 | 117 | Bob Parsons | Tight end | Penn State | |
| 6 | 133 | Bob Pifferini | Linebacker | UCLA | |
| 7 | 167 | Jim Fassel | Quarterback | Long Beach State | |
| 7 | 182 | Jim Osborne | Defensive tackle | Southern | |
| 8 | 192 | Ralph Wirtz | Wide receiver | North Dakota State | |
| 9 | 219 | Larry Horton | Defensive end | Iowa | |
| 10 | 247 | Jack Turnbull | Center | Oregon State | |
| 11 | 272 | Ed Wimberly | Defensive back | Jackson State | |
| 12 | 297 | Doug Neill | Running back | Texas A&M | |
| 13 | 322 | Jay Rood | Tackle | Southern (SD) | |
| 14 | 347 | Bob Brown | Wide receiver | Rice | |
| 15 | 377 | Roger Lawson | Running back | Western Michigan | |
| 16 | 402 | Bill McKinney | Linebacker | West Texas A&M | |
| 17 | 427 | LaVerne Dickinson | Defensive back | Southern | |
| Made roster | |||||
Roster
| Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
Rookies in italics | ||||||
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 17 | Atlanta Falcons | L 21–37 | 0–1 | 55,701 |
| 2 | September 24 | Los Angeles Rams | T 13–13 | 0–1–1 | 55,701 |
| 3 | October 1 | Detroit Lions | L 24–38 | 0–2–1 | 55,701 |
| 4 | October 8 | at Green Bay Packers | L 17–20 | 0–3–1 | 56,263 |
| 5 | October 15 | at Cleveland Browns | W 17–0 | 1–3–1 | 72,339 |
| 6 | October 23 | Minnesota Vikings | W 13–10 | 2–3–1 | 55,701 |
| 7 | October 29 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 27–10 | 3–3–1 | 50,464 |
| 8 | November 5 | at Detroit Lions | L 0–14 | 3–4–1 | 54,418 |
| 9 | November 12 | Green Bay Packers | L 17–23 | 3–5–1 | 55,701 |
| 10 | November 19 | San Francisco 49ers | L 21–34 | 3–6–1 | 55,701 |
| 11 | November 26 | Cincinnati Bengals | L 3–13 | 3–7–1 | 55,701 |
| 12 | December 3 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–23 | 3–8–1 | 49,784 |
| 13 | December 10 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 21–12 | 4–8–1 | 65,720 |
| 14 | December 17 | at Oakland Raiders | L 21–28 | 4–9–1 | 54,711 |
Standings
| NFC Central | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Green Bay Packers | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–1 | 8–3 | 304 | 226 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 5 | 1 | .607 | 2–4 | 6–5 | 339 | 290 | W1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 4–2 | 6–5 | 301 | 252 | L2 |
| Chicago Bears | 4 | 9 | 1 | .321 | 1–5 | 3–7–1 | 225 | 275 | L1 |
References
- "1972 Chicago Bears Statistics & Players".
- "1972 Chicago Bears Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- "Chicago Bears 1972 Games and Schedule".