1972 Green Bay Packers season


The Green Bay Packers season was their 54th season overall and their 52nd season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 10–4 record under second-year head coach Dan Devine, earning them the NFC Central division title. The Packers returned to the playoffs after a four-year drought ; their most recent division title was in 1967, completing that postseason with a decisive win in Super Bowl II in January 1968.
In 1972, Green Bay entered the penultimate regular season game at Minnesota on December 10 with an 8–4 record. The Vikings had won the season's earlier game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay by breaking a fourth quarter tie with two interceptions for touchdowns. This time, the Packers overcame a 7–0 halftime deficit at Metropolitan Stadium with 23 unanswered points to clinch the division title. Running back John Brockington became the first in NFL history to rush for 1,000 yards in each of his first two seasons, and did it again the following season.
Placekicker Chester Marcol established an NFL rookie record for field goals in a season. It was the fifteenth and final season of hall of fame linebacker Ray Nitschke.
The Packers' next division title came 23 years later, in 1995.

Offseason

In February, running back Donny Anderson was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for MacArthur Lane. Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr retired as a player in July; he was the quarterbacks coach and play caller in 1972.

NFL Draft

RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool/Club Team
17Willie BuchanonCornerbackSan Diego State
111Jerry Tagge QuarterbackNebraska
234Chester MarcolKickerHillsdale
486Eric PattonLinebackerNotre Dame
6138Nathaniel RossCornerbackBethune-Cookman
6147Bob HudsonRunning BackNortheastern State
7163Bill BushongDefensive TackleKentucky
8190Leland GlassWide ReceiverOregon
10242Keith WortmanGuardNebraska
11266David BaileyWide ReceiverAlabama
12294Mike RichRunning BackFlorida
13319Jesse LakesRunning BackCentral Michigan
14246Larry HefnerLinebackerClemson
15371Rick ThoneWide ReceiverArkansas Tech
16398Charles BurrellDefensive TackleArkansas AM&N

PlayerPositionCollege
Bob KrollDefensive backNorthern Michigan

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Playoffs

Green Bay met the NFC East champion Washington Redskins in the divisional playoffs on Christmas Eve at RFK Stadium. The Packers practiced the week before at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The two teams had played four weeks earlier at the same venue; the Redskins won by five points on November 26, and were favored by in the playoff game by 4½ points. The results were similar, as Green Bay scored first but lost again in D.C., this time by thirteen points, 16–3.
WeekDateOpponentResultVenueAttendance
DivisionalDecember 24, 1972at Washington RedskinsL 16–3RFK Stadium
53,140

Standings

Awards, records, and honors