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1972 Detroit Lions

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Record: 8-5-1, Finished 2nd in NFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 339 points (24.2/g), 6th of 26 in the NFL.
 Allowed 290 points (20.7/g), 17th.
 Differential of 49 points (3.5/g), 10th.
 Expected W-L: 8.3-5.7.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential +2 (0.1/g), 9th.

Simple Rating System: Total 4.4, Offense: 4.4, Defense: 0.0, SoS: 0.9, versus averages of 0.0.

Coached by Joe Schmidt (8-5-1)

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 New York Giants 30 16 18 392 200 192 14 245 133 112 2
2 Sun September 24 box L 1-1 Minnesota Vikings 10 34 16 213 124 89 5 13 286 156 130
3 Sun October 1 box W 2-1 @ Chicago Bears 38 24 21 312 115 197 21 327 74 253 3
4 Sun October 8 box W 3-1 @ Atlanta Falcons 26 23 15 314 134 180 4 15 278 79 199 1
5 Mon October 16 box L 3-2 Green Bay Packers 23 24 18 229 83 146 2 16 265 140 125 2
6 Sun October 22 box W 4-2 San Diego Chargers 34 20 24 324 142 182 2 17 225 143 82 3
7 Mon October 30 box L 4-3 @ Dallas Cowboys 24 28 14 283 224 59 19 365 206 159 2
8 Sun November 5 box W 5-3 Chicago Bears 14 0 21 326 135 191 4 9 146 24 122 1
9 Sun November 12 box L 5-4 @ Minnesota Vikings 14 16 9 228 126 102 1 17 298 121 177 3
10 Sun November 19 box W 6-4 New Orleans Saints 27 14 21 330 207 123 17 319 242 77 3
11 Thu November 23 box W 7-4 New York Jets 37 20 19 385 125 260 19 394 165 229 1
12 Sun December 3 box L 7-5 @ Green Bay Packers 7 33 6 189 162 27 6 19 309 76 233 1
13 Sun December 10 box T 7-5-1 @ Buffalo Bills 21 21 14 260 144 116 23 418 231 187 3
14 Sun December 17 box W 8-5-1 @ Los Angeles Rams 34 17 24 370 213 157 1 20 333 214 119 2

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 339 4155 804 5.2 240 155 305 2134 19 18 6.4 97 473 2021 20 4.3 120 25 7 23
Team Defense 290 4208 824 5.1 239 171 312 2004 18 12 6.0 103 491 2204 14 4.5 126 27 15 10
Lg Rank Offense 6 15 10 21 14 7 12 6 14 12 3 8 2 1
Lg Rank Defense 17 19 16 4 9 16 22 18 18 21 15 23 19 10

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%
11 Greg Landry 26 QB 14 14 8-5-1 134 268 50.0 2066 18 6.7 17 6.3 82 7.7 6.2 15.4 147.6 71.8 25 149 6.5 5.2 8.5
19 Bill Munson 31 2 0 20 35 57.1 194 1 2.9 1 2.9 29 5.5 4.8 9.7 97.0 70.4 1 0 5.4 4.7 2.8
89 Ron Jessie 24 WR 14 0 0 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 39.6 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0
25 Earl McCullouch 26 10 0 1 1 100.0 23 0 0.0 0 0.0 23 23.0 23.0 23.0 2.3 118.7 0 0 23.0 23.0 0.0
Team Total 26.7 14 8-5-1 155 305 50.8 2283 19 6.2 18 5.9 82 7.5 6.1 14.7 163.1 71.8 26 149 6.4 5.1 7.9
Opp Total 14 171 312 54.8 2146 18 5.8 12 3.8 6.9 6.3 12.5 153.3 79.6 21 142 6.0 5.5

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
42 Altie Taylor 25 RB 13 0 154 658 4 38 4.3 50.6 11.8 29 250 8.6 2 40 2.2 19.2 908 6 2
36 Steve Owens 25 FB 10 0 143 519 4 18 3.6 51.9 14.3 15 100 6.7 0 15 1.5 10.0 619 4 0
11 Greg Landry 26 QB 14 14 81 524 9 38 6.5 37.4 5.8 524 9 3
24 Mel Farr 28 10 0 62 216 3 22 3.5 21.6 6.2 10 132 13.2 0 42 1.0 13.2 348 3 0
38 Bill Triplett 32 14 0 17 48 0 9 2.8 3.4 1.2 48 0 0
40 Nick Eddy 28 2 0 8 28 0 10 3.5 14.0 4.0 2 46 23.0 1 36 1.0 23.0 74 1 0
34 Mickey Zofko 23 RET 14 0 7 28 0 9 4.0 2.0 0.5 2 14 7.0 0 17 0.1 1.0 42 0 3
19 Bill Munson 31 2 0 1 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0 0 1
88 Charlie Sanders 26 TE 9 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 27 416 15.4 2 38 3.0 46.2 416 2 1
89 Ron Jessie 24 WR 14 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 24 424 17.7 4 82 1.7 30.3 424 4 2
49 Larry Walton 25 WR 14 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 24 485 20.2 6 48 1.7 34.6 485 6 2
87 Craig Cotton 25 14 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 8 129 16.1 1 35 0.6 9.2 129 1 0
81 John Hilton 30 5 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 5 133 26.6 1 66 1.0 26.6 133 1 0
25 Earl McCullouch 26 10 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 5 96 19.2 1 33 0.5 9.6 96 1 0
86 Al Barnes 23 9 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 4 58 14.5 1 17 0.4 6.4 58 1 0
Team Total 26.7 14 473 2021 20 38 4.3 144.4 33.8 155 2283 14.7 19 82 11.1 163.1 4304 39 17
Opp Total 14 491 2204 14 4.5 157.4 35.1 171 2004 11.7 18 12.2 143.1 4208 32 32

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
34 Mickey Zofko 23 RET 14 0 26 616 0 49 23.7 658
89 Ron Jessie 24 WR 14 0 23 558 0 62 24.3 982
20 Lem Barney* 27 LCB 14 0 15 108 0 26 7.2 1 17 0 17 17.0 125
49 Larry Walton 25 WR 14 0 3 -8 0 -1 -2.7 573
80 Herb Orvis 26 14 2 1 5 0 5 5.0 5
38 Bill Triplett 32 14 0 1 12 0 12 12.0 60
Team Total 26.7 14 18 100 0 26 5.6 52 1304 0 62 25.1 5708
Opp Total 14 26 1 68 1593 1 23.4

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
12 Errol Mann 31 K 14 0 3 3 5 5 11 8 9 3 1 1 29 20 69.0% 39 38 97.4%
18 Herman Weaver 24 P 14 0 43 1734 55 0 40.3
34 Mickey Zofko 23 RET 14 0 1 1 100.0%
Team Total 26.7 14 3 3 5 5 11 8 9 3 1 1 29 20 69.0% 40 39 97.5% 43 1734 55 0 40.3
Opp Total 14 34 18 52.9% 34 32 94.1% 46 1785 38.8

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
20 Lem Barney* 27 LCB 14 0 3 88 0 64 1 1 20 0
73 Bob Bell 24 RDT 14 0 0 1 0 0
87 Craig Cotton 25 14 0 0 2 0 0
24 Mel Farr 28 10 0 0 1 0 0
54 Ed Flanagan 28 C 14 0 0 1 0 0
74 Larry Hand 32 RDE 14 0 0 2 0 0
89 Ron Jessie 24 WR 14 0 2 3 0 0
11 Greg Landry 26 QB 14 14 3 0 0 0
44 Dick LeBeau 35 FS 14 0 0 1 0 0
53 Mike Lucci 33 MLB 14 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 2 0
83 Jim H. Mitchell 24 LDE 14 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
19 Bill Munson 31 2 0 1 0 0 0
50 Paul Naumoff 27 LLB 14 14 1 4 0 4
45 Al Randolph 28 6 0 0 1 0 0
47 Wayne Rasmussen 30 7 0 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
46 Rudy Redmond 25 RCB 14 0 2 91 1 88 0 1 0 0
88 Charlie Sanders 26 TE 9 0 1 0 0 0
42 Altie Taylor 25 RB 13 0 2 1 0 0
65 Dave Thompson 23 7 0 1 0 0 0
55 Wayne H. Walker 36 RLB 14 0 0 2 14 0
49 Larry Walton 25 WR 14 0 2 1 0 0
59 Charlie Weaver 23 14 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
70 Larry Woods 24 LDT 12 0 0 1 0 0
75 Jim Yarbrough 26 LT 13 0 0 1 0 0
34 Mickey Zofko 23 RET 14 0 3 0 0 0
Team Total 26.7 14 12 184 1 88 17 25 36 0
Opp Total 14 26 32 17

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
12 Errol Mann 31 K 14 0 38 20 98
11 Greg Landry 26 QB 14 14 9 9 54
42 Altie Taylor 25 RB 13 0 4 2 6 36
49 Larry Walton 25 WR 14 0 6 6 36
89 Ron Jessie 24 WR 14 0 4 4 24
36 Steve Owens 25 FB 10 0 4 4 24
24 Mel Farr 28 10 0 3 3 18
88 Charlie Sanders 26 TE 9 0 2 2 12
86 Al Barnes 23 9 0 1 1 6
87 Craig Cotton 25 14 0 1 1 6
40 Nick Eddy 28 2 0 1 1 6
81 John Hilton 30 5 0 1 1 6
25 Earl McCullouch 26 10 0 1 1 6
46 Rudy Redmond 25 RCB 14 0 1 1 6
34 Mickey Zofko 23 RET 14 0 1 1
Team Total 26.7 14 20 19 1 40 39 20 339
Opp Total 14 14 18 1 1 32 18 290