1972 Baltimore Colts season

1972 Baltimore Colts season
Head coach	Don McCafferty John Sandusky
Owner	Robert Irsay
Home field	Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	5–9
Division place	3rd AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1972 Baltimore Colts season was the 20th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1972 season with a record of 5 wins and 9 losses, and finished third in the AFC East. Carroll Rosenbloom and Robert Irsay, who had recently taken over the Los Angeles Rams, traded ownership of the two franchises, with players and coaching staffs remaining intact. However, the Colts were getting older and started 1-4 before Coach Don McCafferty was fired. The Colts would go 4-5 in their final nine games under John Sandusky to finish with a 5-9 record, their first losing mark in 16 years.

Offseason

On July 13, 1972, Robert Irsay bought the Los Angeles Rams and transferred ownership to Carroll Rosenbloom, in exchange for ownership of the Baltimore Colts.^[1]

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Regular season

The season began ominously for the Colts when they were defeated at home on opening day by the St. Louis Cardinals and their journeyman quarterback, Tim Van Galder. In week two, Johnny Unitas threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but it was far from enough as Joe Namath threw for 496 yards and six touchdowns to power the New York Jets to a 44–34 victory at Memorial Stadium, the Jets' first victory over the Colts since Super Bowl III.

In October, the Colts' season reached its nadir when it was shut out twice at home in a three-week stretch by the Dallas Cowboys, who undoubtedly wanted revenge for their loss to Baltimore in Super Bowl V, and the Miami Dolphins, who were on their way to a 17–0 season and their first Super Bowl championship under former Colts coach Don Shula.

Unitas made his final start in a Colts uniform in a week 12 victory over Buffalo.

For the third consecutive campaign, the Colts played their season finale in Miami's Orange Bowl. Only this time, it was a humbling 16-0 shutout to the Dolphins in Week 14 in a game which was nowhere near as close as the final score. Baltimore ended its 1970 season by defeating the Cowboys in Super Bowl V, and its 1971 season by losing to the Dolphins for the AFC Championship.

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game Site	Attendance
1	September 17, 1972	St. Louis Cardinals	L 3–10	0–1	Memorial Stadium	53,562
2	September 24, 1972	New York Jets	L 34–44	0–2	Memorial Stadium	56,626
3	October 1, 1972	at Buffalo Bills	W 17–0	1–2	War Memorial Stadium	46,206
4	October 8, 1972	San Diego Chargers	L 20–23	1–3	Memorial Stadium	55,459
5	October 15, 1972	Dallas Cowboys	L 0–21	1–4	Memorial Stadium	58,992
6	October 22, 1972	at New York Jets	L 20–24	1–5	Shea Stadium	62,948
7	October 29, 1972	Miami Dolphins	L 0–23	1–6	Memorial Stadium	60,000
8	November 6, 1972	at New England Patriots	W 24–17	2–6	Schaefer Stadium	60,999
9	November 12, 1972	at San Francisco 49ers	L 21–24	2–7	Candlestick Park	61,214
10	November 19, 1972	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–19	3–7	Riverfront Stadium	49,512
11	November 26, 1972	New England Patriots	W 31–0	4–7	Memorial Stadium	54,907
12	December 3, 1972	Buffalo Bills	W 35–7	5–7	Memorial Stadium	55,390
13	December 10, 1972	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–24	5–8	Arrowhead Stadium	44,175
14	December 16, 1972	at Miami Dolphins	L 0–16	5–9	Miami Orange Bowl	80,010

Standings

AFC East
	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

See also

• History of the Indianapolis Colts
• Indianapolis Colts seasons
• Colts–Patriots rivalry

References

1. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.283