1972 Pittsburgh Steelers Statistics
National Football League (NFL)
Team Record: 11-3
Finishing 1st in the NFL's Central Division of the American Football Conference
Postseason: 1-1 Lost Conference Championship
Coach: Chuck Noll (11-3)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1972 Pittsburgh Steelers RosterTeam Record: 11-3
Finishing 1st in the NFL's Central Division of the American Football Conference
Postseason: 1-1 Lost Conference Championship
Coach: Chuck Noll (11-3)
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1972 Pittsburgh Steelers Results
The Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League ended the 1972 season with a record of 11 wins and 3 losses, finishing first in the NFL's Central Division of the American Football Conference. The team compiled a postseason mark of 1-1.
The Steelers piled up points with 343 points, and the solid defense yielded 175. Franco Harris carried the ball for a team-best 1,055 yards for Pittsburgh.
Terry Bradshaw threw for 1,887 yards. Ron Shanklin paced all receivers, grabbing 38 passes for 669 yards.
The larcenous defense manufactured 48 turnovers, topping in the league. Jack Ham seized 7 opponent throws.
Chuck Noll coached the team. The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers lost in the Conference Championship.
Click on column headings to sort.
Passing:
| Player | Att | Comp | Comp % | Yds | Yds/Att | TDs | TD % | Ints | Int % | Long | Sacked | Yds Lost | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Bradshaw | 308 | 147 | 47.7 | 1887 | 6.1 | 12 | 3.9 | 12 | 3.9 | 78 | 29 | 237 | 64.1 |
| Joe Gilliam | 11 | 7 | 63.6 | 48 | 4.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 73.3 |
| Terry Hanratty | 4 | 2 | 50.0 | 23 | 5.8 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 67.7 |
| Bobby Walden | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 |
| Totals | 324 | 156 | 48.1 | 1958 | 6.0 | 12 | 3.7 | 12 | 3.7 | 78 | 32 | 247 |
Rushing:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franco Harris | 188 | 1055 | 5.6 | 75 | 10 |
| John Fuqua | 150 | 665 | 4.4 | 47 | 4 |
| Terry Bradshaw | 58 | 346 | 6.0 | 20 | 7 |
| Preston Pearson | 67 | 264 | 3.9 | 21 | 0 |
| Steve Davis | 20 | 85 | 4.2 | 28 | 1 |
| Frank Lewis | 3 | 68 | 22.7 | 41 | 0 |
| Warren Bankston | 7 | 20 | 2.9 | 11 | 0 |
| Rocky Bleier | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 |
| John McMakin | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Gilliam | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 497 | 2520 | 5.1 | 75 | 22 |
Receiving:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Shanklin | 38 | 669 | 17.6 | 57 | 3 |
| Frank Lewis | 27 | 391 | 14.5 | 52 | 5 |
| John McMakin | 21 | 277 | 13.2 | 78 | 1 |
| Franco Harris | 21 | 180 | 8.6 | 29 | 1 |
| John Fuqua | 18 | 152 | 8.4 | 28 | 0 |
| Preston Pearson | 11 | 79 | 7.2 | 15 | 0 |
| Dave Smith | 10 | 98 | 9.8 | 25 | 0 |
| Al Young | 6 | 86 | 14.3 | 33 | 0 |
| Larry Brown | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 1 |
| Warren Bankston | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| Steve Davis | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| Gerry Mullins | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 1 |
| Totals | 156 | 1958 | 12.6 | 78 | 12 |
Kicking:
Punting:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Walden | 65 | 2846 | 43.8 | 72 |
| Roy Gerela | 1 | 29 | 29.0 | 29 |
| Totals | 66 | 2875 | 43.6 | 72 |
Punt Returns:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glen Edwards | 22 | 202 | 9.2 | 54 | 0 |
| Frank Lewis | 5 | 56 | 11.2 | 26 | 0 |
| Preston Pearson | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 |
| Rocky Bleier | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 30 | 262 | 8.7 | 54 | 0 |
Kick Returns:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preston Pearson | 13 | 292 | 22.5 | 42 | 0 |
| Steve Davis | 7 | 207 | 29.6 | 82 | 0 |
| Franco Harris | 8 | 183 | 22.9 | 32 | 0 |
| Rocky Bleier | 2 | 40 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 |
| Warren Bankston | 1 | 20 | 20.0 | 20 | 0 |
| Glen Edwards | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 |
| John McMakin | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 33 | 760 | 23.0 | 82 | 0 |
Interceptions:
| Player | No. | Yds | Avg. | Long | TDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Ham | 7 | 83 | 11.9 | 32 | 1 |
| Mike Wagner | 6 | 77 | 12.8 | 35 | 0 |
| John Rowser | 4 | 30 | 7.5 | 23 | 0 |
| Mel Blount | 3 | 75 | 25.0 | 34 | 0 |
| Ralph Anderson | 3 | 68 | 22.7 | 41 | 0 |
| Henry Davis | 2 | 32 | 16.0 | 28 | 0 |
| Chuck Beatty | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Glen Edwards | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14 | 0 |
| Totals | 28 | 395 | 14.1 | 41 | 1 |
Defense and Fumbles:
| Player | Tackle | Brup | Fum | FRec | FYds | FTD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Ham | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Andy Russell | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ralph Anderson | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Dwight White | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Terry Bradshaw | 4 | 2 | -9 | 0 | |||
| Mel Blount | 0 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 1 | 0 | |
| Joe Greene | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Terry Hanratty | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Franco Harris | 7 | 1 | -5 | 0 | |||
| Warren Bankston | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Preston Pearson | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Larry Brown | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Gerry Mullins | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Sam Davis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Frank Lewis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Glen Edwards | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ben McGee | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Mel Holmes | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Ernie Holmes | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| John Fuqua | 1 | 0 | -2 | 0 | |||
| Steve Davis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Rocky Bleier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 27 | 31 | 28 | 1 | 0 |
Total Scoring:
| Touchdowns | Other | Total | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Rush | Rec | Punt | Kick | MFG | Int | Fum | Other | FG | X/C | Single | 2Pt | Saf | Points |
| Roy Gerela | 28 | 35 | 0 | 119 | ||||||||||
| Franco Harris | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | |||||||
| Terry Bradshaw | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | |||||||||
| Frank Lewis | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | |||||||
| John Fuqua | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||||||||
| Ron Shanklin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | |||||||||
| Steve Davis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||
| Mel Blount | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| Larry Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||
| Jack Ham | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||
| Henry Davis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||
| John McMakin | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||
| Gerry Mullins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |||||||||
| Ralph Anderson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| Totals | 22 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 343 |
