1972 Buffalo Bills (NFL) |
| 4th place • American Football Conference • Eastern Division • 4-9-1 .321 |
| Head Coach: Lou Saban |
| Billy Atkins | Defensive Backs |
| Ed Cavanaugh | Special Assignments |
| Jim Dooley | Linebackers |
| Stan Jones | Defensive Line |
| Jim Ringo | Offensive Line |
| Bob Shaw | Receivers |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Fri | 8/4/1972 | H | St. Louis Cardinals | 10-27 | L | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 38338 | |
| Sat | 8/12/1972 | A | New Orleans Saints | 24-21 | W | New Orleans, LA | Tulane Stadium | 66762 | |
| Fri | 8/18/1972 | H | Minnesota Vikings | 21-10 | W | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 41006 | |
| Sat | 8/26/1972 | A | Oakland Raiders | 13-31 | L | Berkeley, CA | Memorial Stadium | 60046 | |
| Sun | 9/3/1972 | A | Chicago Bears | 24-24 | T | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 51324 | |
| Fri | 9/8/1972 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 34-17 | W | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 30488 | |
| Sun | 9/17/1972 | H | New York Jets | 24-41 | L | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 46206 | |
| Sun | 9/24/1972 | H | San Francisco 49ers | 27-20 | W | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 45845 | |
| Sun | 10/1/1972 | H | Baltimore Colts | 0-17 | L | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 46206 | |
| Sun | 10/8/1972 | H | New England Patriots | 38-14 | W | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 41749 | |
| Sun | 10/15/1972 | A | Oakland Raiders | 16-28 | L | Oakland, CA | Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | 53501 | |
| Sun | 10/22/1972 | A | Miami Dolphins | 23-24 | L | Miami, FL | Orange Bowl | 80010 | |
| Sun | 10/29/1972 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 21-38 | L | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 45882 | |
| Sun | 11/5/1972 | H | Miami Dolphins | 16-30 | L | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 46206 | |
| Sun | 11/12/1972 | A | New York Jets | 3-41 | L | New York, NY | Shea Stadium | 62853 | |
| Sun | 11/19/1972 | A | New England Patriots | 27-24 | W | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 60999 | |
| Sun | 11/26/1972 | A | Cleveland Browns | 10-27 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 70104 | |
| Sun | 12/3/1972 | A | Baltimore Colts | 7-35 | L | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 55390 | |
| Sun | 12/10/1972 | H | Detroit Lions | 21-21 | T | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 41583 | |
| Sun | 12/17/1972 | A | Washington Redskins | 24-17 | W | Washington, DC | RFK Stadium | 53039 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Bill Adams | 60 | OG | 6-2 | 250 | 22 | Holy Cross | 6 | 0 |
| Tom Beard | 54 | C | 6-6 | 280 | 24 | Michigan State | 12 | 1 |
| Jim Braxton | 34 | RB | 6-1 | 243 | 23 | West Virginia | 14 | 13 |
| Bob Chandler | 81 | WR | 6-0 | 179 | 23 | Southern California | 14 | 14 |
| Edgar Chandler | 52 | MLB | 6-3 | 227 | 26 | Georgia | 1 | 0 |
| Bob Christiansen | 83 | OT | 6-4 | 230 | 23 | UCLA | 4 | 0 |
| Linzy Cole | 26 | WR | 5-11 | 170 | 24 | Trinity Valley CC; Texas Christian | 8 | 0 |
| Frank Cornish | 75 | LDT | 6-6 | 285 | 28 | Grambling State | 6 | 1 |
| Paul Costa | 79 | LOT-LOG-ROT | 6-4 | 252 | 31 | Notre Dame | 9 | 6 |
| Al Cowlings | 82 | RDE | 6-5 | 247 | 25 | San Francisco CC; Southern California | 14 | 14 |
| Don Croft | 72 | LDT | 6-3 | 254 | 23 | Texas-El Paso | 14 | 12 |
| Dick Cunningham | 63 | MLB | 6-2 | 239 | 28 | Arkansas | 9 | 7 |
| Jeff Curchin | 73 | ROG | 6-6 | 255 | 25 | Florida State | 1 | 1 |
| Dale Farley | 57 | RLB | 6-4 | 235 | 23 | West Virginia | 7 | 1 |
| Dave Foley | 78 | LOT | 6-5 | 252 | 25 | Ohio State | 12 | 11 |
| Leon Garror | 47 | RS | 6-0 | 174 | 24 | Alcorn State | 12 | 5 |
| Donnie Green | 74 | ROT | 6-7 | 266 | 24 | Purdue | 14 | 14 |
| Tony Greene | 43 | RCB | 5-10 | 170 | 23 | Maryland | 14 | 14 |
| Paul Guidry | 59 | LLB | 6-3 | 229 | 28 | Louisiana State; McNeese State | 14 | 12 |
| Dwight Harrison | 28 | WR | 6-1 | 183 | 24 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 7 | 0 |
| Dick Hart | 63 | ROG | 6-2 | 251 | 29 | none | 5 | 3 |
| Leo Hart | 62 | QB | 6-4 | 203 | 23 | Duke | 2 | 1 |
| J.D. Hill | 40 | WR | 6-1 | 202 | 24 | Arizona State | 14 | 14 |
| Randy Jackson | 33 | RB | 6-0 | 220 | 24 | Texarkana JC; Wichita State | 5 | 0 |
| Robert James | 20 | LCB | 6-1 | 184 | 25 | Fisk | 14 | 14 |
| Bruce Jarvis | 51 | C | 6-7 | 250 | 24 | Washington | 1 | 1 |
| Spike Jones | 11 | P | 6-2 | 193 | 25 | Middle Georgia JC; Georgia | 14 | 0 |
| Ted Koy | 37 | TE | 6-1 | 211 | 25 | Texas | 14 | 0 |
| Ken Lee | 56 | MLB | 6-4 | 220 | 24 | Washington | 12 | 6 |
| John Leypoldt | 3 | K | 6-2 | 230 | 26 | none | 14 | 0 |
| Jeff Lyman | 50 | LB | 6-2 | 233 | 22 | Brigham Young | 1 | 0 |
| John Matlock | 53 | C | 6-4 | 250 | 28 | Miami (Florida) | 11 | 4 |
| Mike McBath | 76 | LDT | 6-4 | 249 | 26 | Penn State | 2 | 1 |
| Reggie McKenzie | 67 | LOG | 6-5 | 255 | 22 | Michigan | 14 | 14 |
| Haven Moses | 25 | WR | 6-2 | 200 | 26 | Los Angeles Harbor JC; San Diego State | 5 | 0 |
| Steve Okoniewski | 60 | OT | 6-3 | 247 | 23 | Washington; Everett CC; Washington; Montana | 10 | 0 |
| Dick Palmer | 50 | LB | 6-2 | 226 | 25 | Kentucky | 4 | 0 |
| Wayne Patrick | 30 | RB | 6-2 | 227 | 26 | Louisville | 13 | 1 |
| Jerry Patton | 77 | RDT | 6-3 | 255 | 26 | Nebraska | 14 | 13 |
| Walt Patulski | 85 | LDE-RDT | 6-6 | 267 | 22 | Notre Dame | 14 | 14 |
| Bob Penchion | 69 | ROG | 6-5 | 265 | 23 | Alcorn State | 12 | 7 |
| John Pitts | 48 | LS-RS | 6-4 | 219 | 27 | Santa Ana JC; Arizona State | 14 | 3 |
| Remi Prudhomme | 68 | C | 6-4 | 251 | 30 | Louisiana State | 8 | 8 |
| Louis Ross | 87 | RDE | 6-6 | 248 | 25 | South Carolina State | 14 | 1 |
| John Saunders | 21 | RS | 6-3 | 198 | 22 | Toledo | 2 | 1 |
| Andy Selfridge | 64 | LB | 6-3 | 220 | 23 | Virginia | 13 | 0 |
| Dennis Shaw | 16 | QB | 6-2 | 213 | 25 | Southern California; Mount San Antonio JC; San Diego State | 14 | 13 |
| O.J. Simpson | 32 | RB | 6-1 | 210 | 25 | San Francisco CC; Southern California | 14 | 14 |
| Mike Stratton | 58 | RLB | 6-3 | 236 | 31 | Tennessee | 10 | 8 |
| Mike Taliaferro | 17 | QB | 6-2 | 205 | 31 | Illinois | 5 | 0 |
| Bob Tatarek | 71 | DT | 6-4 | 260 | 26 | Miami (Florida) | 1 | 0 |
| Maurice Tyler | 42 | LS-RS | 6-0 | 186 | 22 | Baltimore JC; Morgan State | 14 | 13 |
| Dave Washington | 86 | RLB-LLB | 6-5 | 224 | 24 | Alcorn State | 14 | 7 |
| Jan White | 80 | TE | 6-2 | 216 | 24 | Ohio State | 14 | 14 |
| Alvin Wyatt | 41 | RS-LS-RCB | 5-9 | 184 | 25 | Bethune-Cookman | 14 | 6 |
| Willie Young | 68 | OG | 6-4 | 270 | 25 | Alcorn State | 1 | 0 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 1 | Walt Patulski | DE | Notre Dame |
| 2 | 27 | Reggie McKenzie | G | Michigan |
| 3 | 53 | Fred Swendsen | DE | Notre Dame |
| 4 | 79 | Randy Jackson | RB | Wichita State |
| 5 | 105 | Leon Garror | DB | Alcorn State |
| 5 | 108 | Bob Penchion | G | Alcorn State |
| 7 | 157 | Ralph Stepaniak | DB | Notre Dame |
| 8 | 183 | Paul Gibson | WR | Texas-El Paso |
| 9 | 209 | Steve Vogel | LB | Boise State |
| 10 | 235 | Maurice Tyler | DB | Morgan State |
| 11 | 271 | Bill Light | LB | Minnesota |
| 12 | 287 | Jeff Baker | WR | U.S. International |
| 13 | 313 | Eddie Moss | RB | Southeast Missouri State |
| 14 | 340 | Karl Salb | DT | Kansas |
| 16 | 391 | Brian Linstrom | QB | Arizona |
| 17 | 417 | John Shelley | DB | Oklahoma |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 35 | 95 | 38 | 89 | 257 |
| Opponents Totals | 79 | 92 | 89 | 117 | 377 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 221 | 104 | 98 | 19 | 74/206 35.9% | / % | 87 | 900 | |
| Opponents Totals | 249 | 125 | 95 | 29 | 79/192 41.1% | / % | 72 | 685 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Leypoldt | 0 | 29 | 30 | 96.7 | 16 | 24 | 66.7 | 0 | 77 |
| Jim Braxton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| O.J. Simpson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Bob Chandler | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| J.D. Hill | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Jan White | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Tony Greene | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Randy Jackson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Ken Lee | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Haven Moses | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Wayne Patrick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Alvin Wyatt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Team Totals | 30 | 29 | 30 | 96.7 | 16 | 24 | 66.7 | 0 | 257 |
| Opponents Totals | 47 | 47 | 47 | 100.0 | 16 | 27 | 59.3 | 0 | 377 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Leypoldt | 16 | 24 | 66.7 | 0 | 48 | 2/2 | 4/5 | 6/7 | 4/9 | 0/1 |
| Team Totals | 16 | 24 | 66.7 | 0 | 48 | 2/2 | 4/5 | 6/7 | 4/9 | 0/1 |
| Opponents Totals | 16 | 27 | 59.3 | 3/3 | 4/4 | 6/9 | 2/10 | 1/1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| O.J. Simpson | 292 | 1251 | 4.3 | 94t | 6 |
| Jim Braxton | 116 | 453 | 3.9 | 21 | 5 |
| Dennis Shaw | 35 | 138 | 3.9 | 16 | 0 |
| Wayne Patrick | 35 | 130 | 3.7 | 9 | 0 |
| Randy Jackson | 17 | 57 | 3.4 | 15 | 0 |
| Bob Chandler | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Leo Hart | 5 | 19 | 3.8 | 16 | 0 |
| Mike Taliaferro | 5 | 19 | 3.8 | 14 | 0 |
| Spike Jones | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 10 | 0 |
| J.D. Hill | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 |
| Ted Koy | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 512 | 2132 | 4.2 | 94t | 11 |
| Opponents Totals | 532 | 2241 | 4.2 | 35 | 26 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Shaw | 258 | 136 | 52.7 | 105 | 1666 | 6.5 | 12.3 | 58t | 14 | 5.4 | 17 | 6.6 | 38 | 320 | 1346 | 63.5 |
| Mike Taliaferro | 33 | 16 | 48.5 | 13 | 176 | 5.3 | 11.0 | 24 | 1 | 3.0 | 4 | 12.1 | 6 | 48 | 128 | 35.2 |
| Leo Hart | 15 | 6 | 40.0 | 6 | 53 | 3.5 | 8.8 | 13 | 0 | 0.0 | 3 | 20.0 | 4 | 32 | 21 | 10.6 |
| O.J. Simpson | 8 | 5 | 62.5 | 3 | 113 | 14.1 | 22.6 | 34 | 1 | 12.5 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 11 | 102 | 145.8 |
| Spike Jones | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 1 | 4 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 56.3 |
| Team Totals | 316 | 164 | 51.9 | 128 | 2012 | 6.4 | 12.3 | 58t | 16 | 5.1 | 24 | 7.6 | 49 | 411 | 1601 | 57.1 |
| Opponents Totals | 308 | 131 | 42.5 | 154 | 2148 | 7.0 | 16.4 | 63 | 19 | 6.2 | 23 | 7.5 | 22 | 197 | 1951 | 56.0 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.D. Hill | 52 | 754 | 14.5 | 58t | 5 |
| Bob Chandler | 33 | 528 | 16.0 | 43t | 5 |
| O.J. Simpson | 27 | 198 | 7.3 | 25 | 0 |
| Jim Braxton | 24 | 232 | 9.7 | 25 | 1 |
| Jan White | 12 | 148 | 12.3 | 18 | 2 |
| Wayne Patrick | 8 | 42 | 5.3 | 10 | 1 |
| Haven Moses | 3 | 60 | 20.0 | 25 | 1 |
| Randy Jackson | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 13t | 1 |
| Dwight Harrison | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Ted Koy | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Dave Washington | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 164 | 2012 | 12.3 | 58t | 16 |
| Opponents Totals | 131 | 2148 | 16.4 | 63 | 19 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Lee | 6 | 155 | 25.8 | 61 | 1 |
| Maurice Tyler | 4 | 61 | 15.3 | 27 | 0 |
| Alvin Wyatt | 4 | 52 | 13.0 | 49t | 1 |
| Tony Greene | 3 | 45 | 15.0 | 39t | 1 |
| Dale Farley | 1 | 42 | 42.0 | 42 | 0 |
| John Pitts | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Dave Washington | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Paul Guidry | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robert James | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Stratton | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 23 | 369 | 16.0 | 61 | 3 |
| Opponents Totals | 24 | 305 | 12.7 | 36 | 1 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spike Jones | 80 | 3104 | 38.8 | 67 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 329 | 2695 | 33.7 |
| Team Totals | 80 | 3104 | 38.8 | 67 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 329 | 2695 | 34.1 |
| Opponents Totals | 65 | 2570 | 39.5 | 55 | 0 | 164 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alvin Wyatt | 11 | 5 | 85 | 7.7 | 27 | 0 |
| Linzy Cole | 7 | 6 | 35 | 5.0 | 13 | 0 |
| J.D. Hill | 4 | 1 | 24 | 6.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Tony Greene | 2 | 4 | 18 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Dwight Harrison | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 25 | 18 | 164 | 6.6 | 27 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 39 | 17 | 329 | 8.4 | 65 | 1 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linzy Cole | 16 | 415 | 25.9 | 51 | 0 | |
| Alvin Wyatt | 17 | 432 | 25.4 | 43 | 0 | |
| Tony Greene | 15 | 378 | 25.2 | 66 | 0 | |
| Ted Koy | 5 | 63 | 12.6 | 25 | 0 | |
| Andy Selfridge | 3 | 36 | 12.0 | 16 | 0 | |
| J.D. Hill | 2 | 32 | 16.0 | 26 | 0 | |
| O.J. Simpson | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 | |
| Jim Braxton | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 60 | 1389 | 23.2 | 66 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 29 | 644 | 22.2 | 82 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Walt Patulski | 5.0 | |
| Al Cowlings | 4.0 | |
| Don Croft | 3.5 | |
| Paul Guidry | 3.0 | |
| Dave Washington | 2.5 | |
| Tony Greene | 1.0 | |
| Ken Lee | 1.0 | |
| Maurice Tyler | 1.0 | |
| Alvin Wyatt | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 22.0 | 197.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 49.0 | 411.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Braxton | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bob Chandler | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Linzy Cole | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Al Cowlings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Don Croft | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dale Farley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dave Foley | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Greene | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Leo Hart | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| J.D. Hill | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Spike Jones | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ted Koy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Wayne Patrick | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Remi Prudhomme | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dennis Shaw | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -11 | 0 | |
| O.J. Simpson | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mike Taliaferro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -5 | 0 | |
| Maurice Tyler | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| Dave Washington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Alvin Wyatt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 29 | 17 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 5 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 30 | 8 | 20 | 15 | 35 | 0 |
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