Английская Википедия:1972 Cleveland Browns season

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Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Use mdy dates Шаблон:Infobox NFL team season The 1972 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 23rd season with the National Football League.

Season summary

1972 marked the end of a nine-year span in which the Browns made the playoffs seven times; it would be the Browns' last playoff appearance until 1980.

The 1972 Cleveland Browns not only made it to the postseason as a wild card team with a 10–4 record, but also nearly pulled off what would have been one of the biggest upsets in team and NFL playoff history. Playing in the AFC divisional round in Miami against a Dolphins team that would go 17–0 and win the Super Bowl, the Browns lost 20–14 after blowing a 14–13 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

The Browns started the year with veteran quarterback Bill Nelsen as their starter; Nelsen had arrived from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 1968 trade. But Nelsen, who had knee problems, struggled early, and the team followed suit by getting off to a rocky 2–3 start. The move was made to start Mike Phipps, drafted in 1970 with the No.3 overall pick the Browns obtained by trading Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Paul Warfield to Miami. Although Phipps didn't have a very good year statistically—he completed only 47.2 percent of his passes and threw for just 13 touchdowns with 16 interceptions—he was able to make plays when he had to.

The Browns were only 2–3 and had been outscored 48–7 in their last two games, and 74–17 in their three losses, before a six-game winning streak ensued. Included in the streak was a last-second, 26–24 comeback win at home over the Steelers, who were trying to win the AFC Central title and make the playoffs for the second time in franchise history and first time since 1947. The Browns finished second to the Steelers (11–3) by a game after winning eight of their last nine contests, the only loss being a 30–0 decision in the rematch in Pittsburgh. The Browns also turned back the Denver Broncos on the road 27–20.

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Leroy Kelly, in his last productive season, rushed for 811 yards. Wide receiver Frank Pitts led the team in receptions with 36, good for eight touchdowns—or 62 percent of the team total of 13. But it was primarily the defense that saved the season for the Browns. The unit gave up over 30 points only twice all year, posted a shutout and kept foes to 17 points or less eight times.

Exhibition schedule

style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance
1	Шаблон:Dow tooltip	at Los Angeles Rams	L 3–13	0–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	64,803
2	August 13	at San Francisco 49ers	L 13–20	0–2	Candlestick Park	58,364
3	August 20	at Detroit Lions	L 7–34	0–3	Tiger Stadium	58,422
4	Шаблон:Dow tooltip	Minnesota Vikings	L 17–20	0–4	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	70,583
5	September 3	vs. Cincinnati Bengals	L 17–27	0–5	Ohio Stadium	84,816
6	September 10	at New York Giants	L 13–27	0–6	Yankee Stadium	60,152

Schedule

style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Recap
1	September 17	Green Bay Packers	L 10–26	0–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	75,771	Recap
2	September 24	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 27–17	1–1	Veterans Stadium	65,720	Recap
3	October 1	Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–6	2–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	81,564	Recap
4	October 8	Kansas City Chiefs	L 7–31	2–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	83,819	Recap
5	October 15	Chicago Bears	L 0–17	2–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	72,339	Recap
6	October 22	at Houston Oilers	W 23–17	3–3	Houston Astrodome	38,113	Recap
7	October 29	at Denver Broncos	W 27–20	4–3	Mile High Stadium	51,656	Recap
8	November 5	Houston Oilers	W 20–0	5–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	61,985	Recap
9	Шаблон:Dow tooltip	at San Diego Chargers	W 21–17	6–3	San Diego Stadium	54,205	Recap
10	November 19	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 26–24	7–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	83,009	Recap
11	November 26	Buffalo Bills	W 27–10	8–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	70,104	Recap
12	December 3	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 0–30	8–4	Three Rivers Stadium	50,350	Recap
13	Шаблон:Dow tooltip	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–24	9–4	Riverfront Stadium	59,524	Recap
14	December 17	at New York Jets	W 26–10	10–4	Shea Stadium	62,614	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Round	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance	style="Шаблон:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Recap
Divisional	December 24	at Miami Dolphins	L 14–20	0–1	Miami Orange Bowl	78,196	Recap

External links

• 1972 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference
• 1972 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
• 1972 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
• 1972 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com