The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season

Regular season (NFL)

The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...

 of the National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

. The Miami Dolphins

1972 Miami Dolphins season

The 1972 Miami Dolphins are the only National Football League team to win the Super Bowl with a perfect season. The undefeated campaign was led by coach Don Shula and notable players Bob Griese, Earl Morrall, and Larry Csonka...

 became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied

Perfect Season

A perfect season is any sports season, excluding the playoff portion of a season, in which a team remains undefeated and untied. The feat is extremely rare at the professional level of any team sport, and has occurred more commonly at the collegiate level in the United States.A perfect season may...

 when they beat the Washington Redskins

1972 Washington Redskins season

The 1972 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 9-4-1 record from 1971.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Standings:-Playoffs:-Awards and records:* Larry Brown, NFL MVP * Larry Brown, Bert Bell Award...

 in Super Bowl VII

Super Bowl VII

Super Bowl VII was an American football game played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1972 regular season...

.

Major rule changes

• The inbounds lines or hashmarks were moved closer to the center of the field, 23 yards, 1 foot, 9 inches from the sidelines. The hashmarks are now 18 feet, 6 inches apart (the same width as the goalposts), cutting down on severe angles for short field goal attempts.
• If a legal receiver goes out of bounds, either accidentally or forced out, and returns to touch or catch the pass in bounds, the penalty is a loss of down (but no penalty yardage will be assessed).
• If a punt or missed field goal crosses the receivers' goal line, a member of the receiving team may advance the ball into the field of play. Previously, the ball was dead when a scrimmage kick crossed the goal line and the receivers were awarded an automatic touchback
  Touchback
  In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus...
  
  .
• All fouls committed by the offensive team behind the line of scrimmage will be assessed from the previous spot.
• Tie games, previously ignored in computing of winning percentage, were made equal to a half-game win and a half-game loss.

Division races

Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth "wild card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebreaker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents records, and conference play.

National Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		Wild Card
1	3 teams	1–0–0	2 teams	1–0–0	3 teams	1–0–0	5 teams	1–0–0
2	2 teams	2–0–0	MINNESOTA	1–1–0	LOS ANGELES	1–0–1	2 teams	2–0–0
3	WASHINGTON	2–1–0	2 teams	2–1–0	2 teams	2–1–0	3 teams	2–1–0
4	WASHINGTON	3–1–0	DETROIT*	3–1–0	LOS ANGELES	2–1–1	2 teams	3–1–0
5	WASHINGTON	4–1–0	GREEN BAY	4–1–0	LOS ANGELES	3–1–1	DALLAS	4–1–0
6	WASHINGTON	5–1–0	GREEN BAY*	4–2–0	LOS ANGELES	4–1–1	4 teams	4–2–0
7	WASHINGTON	6–1–0	GREEN BAY*	4–3–0	LOS ANGELES	4–2–1	DALLAS	5–2–0
8	WASHINGTON	7–1–0	GREEN BAY*	5–3–0	LOS ANGELES	5–2–1	DALLAS	6–2–0
9	WASHINGTON	8–1–0	GREEN BAY	6–3–0	LOS ANGELES	5–3–1	DALLAS	7–2–0
10	WASHINGTON	9–1–0	GREEN BAY	7–3–0	LOS ANGELES*	5–4–1	DALLAS	8–2–0
11	WASHINGTON	10–1–0	GREEN BAY*	7–4–0	SAN FRANCISCO	6–4–1	DALLAS	8–3–0
12	WASHINGTON	11–1–0	GREEN BAY	8–4–0	ATLANTA	7–5–0	DALLAS	9–3–0
13	WASHINGTON	11–2–0	GREEN BAY	9–4–0	SAN FRANCISCO	7–5–1	DALLAS	10–3–0
14	WASHINGTON	11–3–0	GREEN BAY	10–4–0	SAN FRANCISCO	8–5–1	DALLAS	10–4–0

American Football Conference

Week	Eastern		Central		Western		Wild Card
1	2 teams	1–0–0	2 teams	1–0–0	DENVER	1–0–0	2 teams	1–0–0
2	2 teams	2–0–0	CINCINNATI	2–0–0	4 teams	1–1–0	2 teams	2–0–0
3	MIAMI	3–0–0	CLEVELAND	2–1–0	KANSAS CITY	2–1–0	4 teams	2–1–0
4	MIAMI	4–0–0	CINCINNATI	3–1–0	KANSAS CITY	3–1–0	SAN DIEGO*	2–1–1
5	MIAMI	5–0–0	CINCINNATI	4–1–0	OAKLAND	3–1–1	N.Y. JETS*	3–2–0
6	MIAMI	6–0–0	CINCINNATI*	4–2–0	OAKLAND	3–2–1	PITTSBURGH*	4–2–0
7	MIAMI	7–0–0	CINCINNATI*	5–2–0	OAKLAND	4–2–1	PITTSBURGH*	5–2–0
8	MIAMI	8–0–0	PITTSBURGH	6–2–0	KANSAS CITY	5–3–0	CLEVELAND*	5–3–0
9	MIAMI	9–0–0	PITTSBURGH	7–2–0	OAKLAND	5–3–1	CLEVELAND*	6–3–0
10	MIAMI	10–0–0	CLEVELAND	7–3–0	OAKLAND	6–3–1	PITTSBURGH	7–3–0
11	MIAMI	11–0–0	CLEVELAND	8–3–0	OAKLAND	7–3–1	PITTSBURGH	8–3–0
12	MIAMI	12–0–0	PITTSBURGH	9–3–0	OAKLAND	8–3–1	CLEVELAND	8–4–0
13	MIAMI	13–0–0	PITTSBURGH	10–3–0	OAKLAND	9–3–1	CLEVELAND	9–4–0
14	MIAMI	14–0–0	PITTSBURGH	11–3–0	OAKLAND	10–3–1	CLEVELAND	10–4–0

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

– clinched wild card

Wild card (sports)

The term wild card refers broadly to a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal play.-International sports:...

 berth, – clinched division title

Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings

Playoffs

Note: Prior to the 1975 season

1975 NFL season

The 1975 NFL season was the 56th regular season of the National Football League. It was also the first time that featured an entire season with no games ending in a tie. The league made two significant changes to increase the appeal of the game:...

, the home teams in the playoffs were decided based on a yearly rotation.

Awards

Most Valuable Player NFL Most Valuable Player Award The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP...	Larry Brown Larry Brown (running back) Lawrence "Larry" Brown, Jr. is a former professional American football player in the National Football League who played running back for the Washington Redskins from 1969 to 1976.... , Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... , Washington
Coach of the Year NFL Coach of the Year Award The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...	Don Shula Don Shula Donald Francis "Don" Shula is a former American football cornerback and coach.He is best known as coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the National Football League's only perfect season. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated.... , Miami
Offensive Player of the Year NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award The NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award is given annually by the Associated Press to the offensive player of the National Football League believed to have had the most outstanding season...	Larry Brown Larry Brown (running back) Lawrence "Larry" Brown, Jr. is a former professional American football player in the National Football League who played running back for the Washington Redskins from 1969 to 1976.... , Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... , Washington
Defensive Player of the Year NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award The NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award is given by the Associated Press to the league's most outstanding defensive player at the end of every NFL season since 1971. Multiple-award winners include Lawrence Taylor, who won it three times, and Joe Greene, Mike Singletary, Bruce Smith, Reggie...	Joe Greene Joe Greene (American football) Charles Edward Greene, known as “Mean Joe” Greene, is a former all-pro American football defensive tackle who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Throughout the early 1970s he was the one of most dominant defensive players in the National Football League... , Defensive End Defensive end Defensive end is the name of a defensive position in the sport of American and Canadian football.This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations have substantially changed how the position is played over the years... , Pittsburgh
Offensive Rookie of the Year	Franco Harris Franco Harris Franco Harris is a former American football player. He played his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Seattle Seahawks.In the 1972 NFL Draft he was chosen by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first round, the 13th selection overall... , Running Back Running back A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running... , Pittsburgh
Defensive Rookie of the Year	Willie Buchanon Willie Buchanon Willie James Buchanon is a former cornerback for the National Football League's Green Bay Packers and San Diego Chargers; he was defensive rookie of the year in 1972 and a three-time Pro Bowl player... , Cornerback Cornerback A cornerback is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in American and Canadian football. Cornerbacks cover receivers, to defend against pass offenses and make tackles. Other members of the defensive backfield include the safeties and occasionally linebackers. The cornerback position... , Green Bay