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1972 Denver Broncos

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Record: 5-9-0, Finished 3rd in AFC West Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 325 points (23.2/g), 9th of 26 in the NFL.
 Allowed 350 points (25.0/g), 21st.
 Differential of -25 points (-1.8/g), 18th.
 Expected W-L: 6.4-7.6.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -12 (-0.9/g), 23rd.

Coached by John Ralston (5-9-0)

1972 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Team Games & Schedule

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Score Offense Defense
Week Day Date Rec Opp Tm Opp 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO 1stD TotYd PassY RushY TO
1 Sun September 17 box W 1-0 Houston Oilers 30 17 18 478 239 239 3 12 196 142 54 2
2 Sun September 24 box L 1-1 @ San Diego Chargers 14 37 17 313 218 95 6 18 317 175 142 2
3 Sun October 1 box L 1-2 Kansas City Chiefs 24 45 21 332 184 148 4 14 305 175 130 1
4 Sun October 8 box L 1-3 @ Cincinnati Bengals 10 21 11 167 37 130 13 199 109 90 1
5 Sun October 15 box L 1-4 Minnesota Vikings 20 23 15 336 175 161 2 21 305 177 128 1
6 Sun October 22 box W 2-4 @ Oakland Raiders 30 23 15 409 396 13 1 23 316 189 127 1
7 Sun October 29 box L 2-5 Cleveland Browns 20 27 17 272 126 146 1 26 343 171 172 1
8 Sun November 5 box L 2-6 @ New York Giants 17 29 17 330 147 183 3 23 316 178 138 1
9 Sun November 12 box W 3-6 @ Los Angeles Rams 16 10 13 245 112 133 2 9 183 110 73 3
10 Sun November 19 box L 3-7 Oakland Raiders 20 37 13 208 170 38 3 25 337 140 197 2
11 Sun November 26 box L 3-8 @ Atlanta Falcons 20 23 17 315 213 102 1 13 250 170 80 1
12 Sun December 3 box L 3-9 @ Kansas City Chiefs 21 24 22 328 191 137 5 12 189 76 113 1
13 Sun December 10 box W 4-9 San Diego Chargers 38 13 15 257 85 172 3 20 335 236 99 5
14 Sun December 17 box W 5-9 New England Patriots 45 21 26 482 341 141 22 260 135 125

Team Stats and Rankings

Glossary · CSV · PRE
Passing Rushing
Pts Yds Ply Y/P 1stD Cmp Att Yds TD Int NY/A 1stD Att Yds TD Y/A 1stD TO FL 1stPy
Team Offense 325 4472 831 5.4 237 201 384 2634 19 23 6.2 132 409 1838 17 4.5 87 34 11 18
Team Defense 350 3851 877 4.4 251 206 397 2183 19 10 5.0 123 439 1668 15 3.8 102 22 12 26
Lg Rank Offense 9 5 12 4 3 7 19 7 21 18 6 5 15 8
Lg Rank Defense 21 9 20 25 16 20 24 6 8 4 17 5 26 19

Passing

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS QBrec Cmp Att Cmp% Yds TD TD% Int Int% Lng Y/A AY/A Y/C Y/G Rate Sk Yds NY/A ANY/A Sk%
12 Charley Johnson 34 QB 12 9 4-5-0 132 238 55.5 1783 14 5.9 14 5.9 60 7.5 6.0 13.5 148.6 74.6 12 82 6.8 5.4 4.8
10 Steve Ramsey 24 qb 9 5 1-4-0 65 137 47.4 1050 3 2.2 9 6.6 55 7.7 5.1 16.2 116.7 53.5 26 184 5.3 3.2 16.0
16 Mike Ernst 22 1 0 1 4 25.0 10 0 0.0 0 0.0 10 2.5 2.5 10.0 10.0 39.6 0 0 2.5 2.5 0.0
11 Bobby Anderson 25 FB 9 9 1 3 33.3 14 1 33.3 0 0.0 14 4.7 11.3 14.0 1.6 88.9 0 0 4.7 11.3 0.0
44 Floyd Little 30 RB 14 14 2 2 100.0 43 1 50.0 0 0.0 35 21.5 31.5 21.5 3.1 158.3 0 0 21.5 31.5 0.0
Team Total 26.4 14 5-9-0 201 384 52.3 2900 19 4.9 23 6.0 60 7.6 5.8 14.4 207.1 68.7 38 266 6.2 4.7 9.0
Opp Total 14 206 397 51.9 2540 19 4.8 10 2.5 6.4 6.2 12.3 181.4 77.4 41 357 5.0 4.8

Rushing & Receiving

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Rushing Receiving
No. Age Pos G GS Att Yds TD Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Rec Yds Y/R TD Lng R/G Y/G YScm RRTD Fmb
44 Floyd Little 30 RB 14 14 216 859 9 55 4.0 61.4 15.4 28 367 13.1 4 40 2.0 26.2 1226 13 4
11 Bobby Anderson 25 FB 9 9 72 319 1 40 4.4 35.4 8.0 23 215 9.3 1 40 2.6 23.9 534 2 2
33 Joe Dawkins 24 fb 14 5 56 243 2 19 4.3 17.4 4.0 18 242 13.4 0 60 1.3 17.3 485 2 3
22 Fran Lynch 27 14 0 34 164 2 28 4.8 11.7 2.4 7 75 10.7 0 17 0.5 5.4 239 2 2
10 Steve Ramsey 24 qb 9 5 6 15 2 8 2.5 1.7 0.7 15 2 5
88 Riley Odoms 22 14 0 5 72 0 27 14.4 5.1 0.4 21 320 15.2 1 48 1.5 22.9 392 1 1
35 Clem Turner 27 12 0 5 16 0 13 3.2 1.3 0.4 1 10 10.0 0 10 0.1 0.8 26 0 0
81 Billy Masters 28 TE 14 14 3 -15 0 0 -5.0 -1.1 0.2 25 393 15.7 3 27 1.8 28.1 378 3 1
42 Billy Van Heusen 26 P 14 0 3 76 1 66 25.3 5.4 0.2 4 59 14.8 0 25 0.3 4.2 135 1 0
12 Charley Johnson 34 QB 12 9 3 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0 0 4
25 Haven Moses 26 wr 8 6 2 11 0 14 5.5 1.4 0.3 15 224 14.9 5 33 1.9 28.0 235 5 0
84 Rod Sherman 28 WR 14 13 1 2 0 2 2.0 0.1 0.1 38 661 17.4 3 55 2.7 47.2 663 3 1
86 Jim Krieg 23 6 0 1 63 0 63 63.0 10.5 0.2 4 99 24.8 0 37 0.7 16.5 162 0 0
16 Mike Ernst 22 1 0 1 4 0 4 4.0 4.0 1.0 4 0 0
82 Dwight Harrison 24 2 1 1 9 0 9 9.0 4.5 0.5 9 0 0
80 Jerry Simmons 30 WR 9 8 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 17 235 13.8 2 35 1.9 26.1 235 2 0
Team Total 26.4 14 409 1838 17 66 4.5 131.3 29.2 201 2900 14.4 19 60 14.4 207.1 4738 36 25
Opp Total 14 439 1668 15 3.8 119.1 31.4 206 2183 10.6 19 14.7 155.9 3851 34 27

Kick & Punt Returns

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Punt Returns Kick Returns
No. Age Pos G GS Ret Yds TD Lng Y/R Rt Yds TD Lng Y/Rt APYd
21 Randy Montgomery 25 RCB 14 8 29 756 1 94 26.1 756
33 Joe Dawkins 24 fb 14 5 15 357 0 31 23.8 842
44 Floyd Little 30 RB 14 14 8 64 0 29 8.0 3 48 0 22 16.0 1338
84 Rod Sherman 28 WR 14 13 10 89 0 18 8.9 752
20 Charlie Greer 26 SS 14 14 4 67 1 65 16.8 67
36 Bill Thompson 26 rcb 8 8 4 82 0 59 20.5 82
22 Fran Lynch 27 14 0 3 45 0 17 15.0 284
86 Jim Krieg 23 6 0 1 3 0 3 3.0 1 18 0 18 18.0 183
51 Mike Simone 22 14 0 1 5 0 5 5.0 1 -6 0 -6 -6.0 -1
11 Bobby Anderson 25 FB 9 9 1 13 0 13 13.0 547
23 Steve Preece 25 FS 13 8 1 0 0 0 0.0 0
35 Clem Turner 27 12 0 1 25 0 25 25.0 51
Team Total 26.4 14 28 310 1 65 11.1 55 1256 1 94 22.8 6304
Opp Total 14 28 1 54 1246 0 23.1

Kicking & Punting

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
0-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Tot PAT Punting
No. Age Pos G GS FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Pnt Yds Lng Blck Y/P
15 Jim Turner 31 K 14 0 6 6 3 2 8 6 11 6 1 29 20 69.0% 37 37 100.0%
42 Billy Van Heusen 26 P 14 0 60 2408 60 1 40.1
Team Total 26.4 14 6 6 3 2 8 6 11 6 1 29 20 69.0% 37 37 100.0% 60 2408 60 1 40.1
Opp Total 14 33 21 63.6% 41 39 95.1% 66 2983 45.2

Defense & Fumbles

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Def Interceptions Fumbles Tackles
No. Age Pos G GS Sk Int Yds TD Lng PD FF Fmb FR Yds TD Tkl Ast Sfty
77 Lyle Alzado 23 RDE 14 14 0 5 6 0
11 Bobby Anderson 25 FB 9 9 2 1 0 0
33 Joe Dawkins 24 fb 14 5 3 0 0 0
52 Fred Forsberg 28 LLB 9 6 0 1 0 0
83 Tom Graham 22 MLB 14 9 2 10 0 7 0 1 0 0
20 Charlie Greer 26 SS 14 14 2 18 0 17 0 1 0 0
68 Larron Jackson 23 LG 14 14 0 2 -10 0
12 Charley Johnson 34 QB 12 9 4 3 -4 0
44 Floyd Little 30 RB 14 14 4 0 -6 0
22 Fran Lynch 27 14 0 2 1 0 0
61 Tommy Lyons 24 RG 10 9 0 1 0 0
81 Billy Masters 28 TE 14 14 1 0 0 0
41 Leroy Mitchell 28 LCB 14 14 3 27 0 27
21 Randy Montgomery 25 RCB 14 8 1 20 0 20 2 2 0 0
88 Riley Odoms 22 14 0 1 1 0 0
23 Steve Preece 25 FS 13 8 1 30 0 30 0 2 4 0
10 Steve Ramsey 24 qb 9 5 5 2 -4 0
84 Rod Sherman 28 WR 14 13 1 1 0 0
51 Mike Simone 22 14 0 0 1 0 0
36 Bill Thompson 26 rcb 8 8 1 4 0 4
Team Total 26.4 14 10 109 0 30 25 25 -14 0
Opp Total 14 38 27 15 1

Scoring Summary

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
No. Age Pos G GS RshTD RecTD PR TD KR TD FblTD IntTD OthTD AllTD 2PM XPM FGM Sfty Pts
15 Jim Turner 31 K 14 0 37 20 97
44 Floyd Little 30 RB 14 14 9 4 13 78
25 Haven Moses 26 wr 8 6 5 5 30
81 Billy Masters 28 TE 14 14 3 3 18
84 Rod Sherman 28 WR 14 13 3 3 18
11 Bobby Anderson 25 FB 9 9 1 1 2 12
33 Joe Dawkins 24 fb 14 5 2 2 12
22 Fran Lynch 27 14 0 2 2 12
10 Steve Ramsey 24 qb 9 5 2 2 12
80 Jerry Simmons 30 WR 9 8 2 2 12
20 Charlie Greer 26 SS 14 14 1 1 6
21 Randy Montgomery 25 RCB 14 8 1 1 6
88 Riley Odoms 22 14 0 1 1 6
42 Billy Van Heusen 26 P 14 0 1 1 6
Team Total 26.4 14 17 19 1 1 38 37 20 325
Opp Total 14 15 19 1 39 21 1 350