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 234Total
• Jets 6 21314 44
Colts 7 13014 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

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.