1972 New York Jets season

1972 New York Jets season
Head coach	Weeb Ewbank
Owner	Leon Hess
Home field	Shea Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

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 legendary 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 fast start, the Jets finished with a record of 7–7.

The Jets have the distinction of being the last NFL team to play a team from another league. During the 1972 preseason, a squad composed of the Jets' rookies defeated the Long Island Chiefs of the Seaboard Football League 29–3.^[1]

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

They were eliminated from the play-offs 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 post season 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

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Game site	Attendance
1	1972-09-17	at Buffalo Bills	W 41–24	War Memorial Stadium	46,206
2	1972-09-24	at Baltimore Colts	W 44–34	Memorial Stadium	56,626
3	1972-10-01	at Houston Oilers	L 26–20	Astrodome	51,423
4	1972-10-08	Miami Dolphins	L 27–17	Shea Stadium	63,841
5	1972-10-15	at New England Patriots	W 41–13	Schaefer Stadium	60,999
6	1972-10-22	Baltimore Colts	W 24–20	Shea Stadium	62,948
7	1972-10-29	New England Patriots	W 34–10	Shea Stadium	62,867
8	1972-11-05	Washington Redskins	L 35–17	Shea Stadium	63,962
9	1972-11-12	Buffalo Bills	W 41–3	Shea Stadium	62,853
10	1972-11-19	at Miami Dolphins	L 28–24	Miami Orange Bowl	80,010
11	1972-11-23	at Detroit Lions	L 37–20	Tiger Stadium	54,418
12	1972-12-03	New Orleans Saints	W 18–17	Shea Stadium	62,496
13	1972-12-11	at Oakland Raiders	L 24–16	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,843
14	1972-12-17	Cleveland Browns	L 26–10	Shea Stadium	62,614

Game summaries

Week 2: at Baltimore Colts

New York Jets at Baltimore Colts

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 Referee: Ben Dreith Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com

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
	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

References

1. "Hartford Gets Grid Franchise", Reading Eagle – May 31, 1972, p58 The Chiefs played an exhibition game against the New York Jets rookies on July 29, 1972, losing 29-3, "Packer Excels at Quarterback As Jets Top L.I. Chiefs, 29-3", New York Times, July 30, 1972, pS-3; "Rookie QB Fires Jets", Pittsburgh Press, July 30, 1972, pD-8

External links

• 1972 statistics