1972 New York Jets season

The 1972 New York Jets season was the 13th season for the team and the third in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 6–8 record from 1971 under head coach Weeb Ewbank. The Jets star quarterback Joe Namath was healthy for a full season for the first time in three years but the rest of the squad was decimated by injuries and, after a strong start, the Jets finished with a record of 7–7.

1972 New York Jets season
Owner	Leon Hess
Head coach	Weeb Ewbank
Home stadium	Shea Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	T Winston Hill WR Jerome Barkum QB Joe Namath
← 1971 Jets seasons 1973 →

During the 1972 preseason, a squad composed of the Jets’ rookies defeated the Long Island Chiefs of the Seaboard Football League, 29–3.^[1](In 1974, the Houston Oilers rookie squad played a preseason game vs the minor league San Antonio Toros) ^[2]

Namath threw for 496 yards and six touchdowns (on 15 of 28 passes) in a 44–34 victory over the Baltimore Colts in his first appearance at Baltimore’s Memorial Stadium in week two, but the next week, the Jets were humbled 26–20 by Houston, the Oilers' only victory of 1972 and their last before embarking on an 18-game losing streak.

The Jets were eliminated from playoff contention in the season’s thirteenth week, a Monday Night Game with the Raiders in which a battered and bruised Namath threw for 403 yards and nearly pulled off the upset. After the game Raiders coach John Madden went into the Jets locker room and shook Namath’s hand out of respect; it was the only time in his coaching career Madden ever did that. Eliminated from postseason play, the Jets’ coaches decided Namath would sit out the final game of the season to make sure no serious injuries were incurred prior to the 1973 season.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1972 NFL draft

1972 New York Jets draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	9	Jerome Barkum *	Wide receiver	Jackson State
1	23	Mike Taylor	Linebacker	Michigan
3	66	Gary Hammond	Wide receiver	SMU
4	89	Ed Galigher	Defensive tackle	UCLA
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

1972 New York Jets roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Bob Davis 12 Joe Namath 18 Al Woodall Running backs (RB) 40 Hank Bjorklund 32 Emerson Boozer 36 Steve Harkey 42 Cliff McClain Wide receivers (WR) 83 Jerome Barkum  7 Eddie Bell 13 Don Maynard 29 Rocky Turner Tight ends (TE) 88 Rich Caster 89 Wayne Stewart

Offensive linemen (OL) 61 Roger Finnie G 75 Winston Hill T 67 Dave Herman G 71 John Mooring T 66 Randy Rasmussen G 52 John Schmitt C 76 Bob Svihus T Defensive linemen (DL) 80 John Elliott DT 86 Joey Jackson DE 57 John Little DT 84 Mark Lomas DE 81 Gerry Philbin DE 53 Bill Zapalac DE

Linebackers (LB) 62 Al Atkinson MLB 51 Ralph Baker OLB 55 John Ebersole MLB 60 Larry Grantham OLB 50 Mike Taylor OLB Defensive backs (DB) 19 Chris Farasopoulos FS 33 W. K. Hicks FS 48 Gus Hollomon SS 46 Rich Sowells CB 21 Steve Tannen CB 45 Earlie Thomas CB 27 Phil Wise SS Special teams (ST)  3 Bobby Howfield K 20 Steve O'Neal P

Practice squad 82 Gary Arthur TE 17 Gary Hammond WR 44 John Riggins RB Reserve -- Richard Ciemny K (Left squad) 56 Paul Crane LB (IR) 85 Ed Galigher DT (IR) 63 Roy Kirksey G (IR) 41 Matt Snell RB (IR) 85 Steve Thompson DT (IR) Rookies in italics

Offseason

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 17	at Buffalo Bills	W 41–24	1–0	War Memorial Stadium	46,206
2	September 24	at Baltimore Colts	W 44–34	2–0	Memorial Stadium	56,626
3	October 1	at Houston Oilers	L 20–26	2–1	Astrodome	51,423
4	October 8	Miami Dolphins	L 17–27	2–2	Shea Stadium	63,841
5	October 15	at New England Patriots	W 41–13	3–2	Schaefer Stadium	60,999
6	October 22	Baltimore Colts	W 24–20	4–2	Shea Stadium	62,948
7	October 29	New England Patriots	W 34–10	5–2	Shea Stadium	62,867
8	November 5	Washington Redskins	L 17–35	5–3	Shea Stadium	63,962
9	November 12	Buffalo Bills	W 41–3	6–3	Shea Stadium	62,853
10	November 19	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–28	6–4	Miami Orange Bowl	80,010
11	November 23	at Detroit Lions	L 20–37	6–5	Tiger Stadium	54,418
12	December 3	New Orleans Saints	W 18–17	7–5	Shea Stadium	62,496
13	December 11	at Oakland Raiders	L 16–24	7–6	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,843
14	December 17	Cleveland Browns	L 10–26	7–7	Shea Stadium	62,614
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 2: at Baltimore Colts

New York Jets at Baltimore Colts

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Jets	6	21	3	14	44
Colts	7	13	0	14	34

• Date: September 24
• Location: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
• Game start: 2:00 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: 63 °F (17.2 °C), wind 8 miles per hour (13 km/h; 7.0 kn)
• Referee: Ben Dreith
• TV announcers (NBC): Charlie Jones and Sam DeLuca

• Source:^[3]

Scoring summary

1		Jets	Eddie Bell 65 yard pass from Joe Namath (kick failed)	Jets 6–0
1		Colts	Sam Havrilak 40 yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Jim O'Brien kick)	Colts 7–6
2		Colts	Jim O'Brien 14 yard field goal	Colts 10–6
2		Colts	Jim O'Brien 32 yard field goal	Colts 13–6
2		Jets	John Riggins 67 yard pass from Joe Namath (Bobby Howfield kick)	Tie 13–13
2		Colts	Don McCauley 93 yard kickoff return (Jim O'Brien kick)	Colts 20–13
2		Jets	Don Maynard 28 yard pass from Joe Namath (Bobby Howfield kick)	Tie 20–20
2		Jets	Rich Caster 10 yard pass from Joe Namath (Bobby Howfield kick)	Jets 27–20
3		Jets	Bobby Howfield 14 yard field goal	Jets 30–20
4		Colts	Don McCauley 1 yard run (Jim O'Brien kick)	Jets 30–27
4		Jets	Rich Caster 79 yard pass from Joe Namath (Bobby Howfield kick)	Jets 37–27
4		Colts	Tom Matte 21 yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Jim O'Brien kick)	Jets 37–34
4		Jets	Rich Caster 80 yard pass from Joe Namath (Bobby Howfield kick)	Jets 44–34

The rivalry between Joe Namath and Johnny Unitas had never resulted in both quarterbacks meeting for a full game until this meeting. Namath and Unitas exploded to a combined 872 passing yards. Namath threw for 496 yards and six touchdowns despite only 15 completions in 28 attempts. Unitas scored twice but was sacked six times. Don McCauley also scored twice for the Colts as the Jets won 44–34.

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins	14	0	0	1.000	8–0	11–0	385	171	W14
New York Jets	7	7	0	.500	6–2	6–5	367	324	L2
Baltimore Colts	5	9	0	.357	4–4	5–6	235	252	L2
Buffalo Bills	4	9	1	.321	2–6	2–9	257	377	W1
New England Patriots	3	11	0	.214	0–8	0–11	192	446	L1