1972 Oakland Raiders season

NFL team season

1972 Oakland Raiders season
Owner	Al Davis
General manager	Al Davis
Head coach	John Madden
Home field	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
Results
Record	10–3–1
Division place	1st AFC West
Playoff finish	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Steelers) 7–13
← 1971 Raiders seasons 1973 →

The 1972 Oakland Raiders season was the team's 13th season. The Raiders won the AFC West for the second time in three seasons. They lost in the AFC Division Round to the Pittsburgh Steelers 13–7 when Franco Harris scored the game-winning touchdown on the Immaculate Reception. The Raiders still dispute that this was an illegal touchdown.

This was the only season that the Raiders made the playoffs between 1967 and 1977 that the Raiders failed to advance to the AFL or AFC Championship Game.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1972 NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1972 Oakland Raiders draft
1	21	Mike Siani	Wide receiver	Villanova
2	33	Kelvin Korver	Offensive tackle	Northwestern (Iowa)
2	43	John Vella	Offensive tackle	Southern California
3	72	Mel Lunsford	Defensive tackle	Central State (Ohio)
4	98	Cliff Branch *	Wide receiver	Colorado
4	100	Dave Dalby *	Center	UCLA
6	131	Dan Medlin	Defensive tackle	North Carolina State
7	173	Ray Jamieson	Running back	Memphis
7	176	Skip Thomas	Defensive back	Southern California
7	178	Dennis Pete	Defensive back	San Francisco State
8	202	Jackie Brown	Running back	Stanford
9	228	Dave Bigler	Running back	Morningside
10	254	Phillip Price	Defensive back	Idaho State
11	277	Joe Carroll	Linebacker	Pittsburgh
12	306	Kent Gaydos	Tight end	Florida State
13	333	Ted Covington	Wide receiver	San Fernando Valley
14	358	Dennis Cambal	Running back	William & Mary
15	365	Charles Hester	Running back	Central State (Ohio)
15	384	Dave Snesrud	Linebacker	Hamline
16	410	Willie Wright	Tight end	North Carolina A&T State
Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

**1972 Oakland Raiders roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 3 Daryle Lamonica 15 Don Milan 12 Ken Stabler Running backs (RB) 40 Pete Banaszak 28 Clarence Davis 32 Don Highsmith 44 Marv Hubbard 23 Charlie Smith Wide receivers (WR) 25 Fred Biletnikoff 21 Cliff Branch 49 Mike Siani Tight ends (TE) 87 Raymond Chester 88 Bob Moore		Offensive linemen (OL) 76 Bob Brown T 64 George Buehler G 50 Dave Dalby C 00 Jim Otto C 65 Paul Seiler G 78 Art Shell T 63 Gene Upshaw G Defensive linemen (DL) 84 Tony Cline DE 82 Horace Jones DE 74 Tom Keating DT 71 Kelvin Korver DT 60 Otis Sistrunk DE 80 Art Thoms DT		Linebackers (LB) 55 Dan Conners 51 Joe Carroll 86 Gerald Irons 54 Terry Mendenhall 34 Gus Otto 45 Greg Slough 41 Phil Villapiano Defensive backs (DB) 43 George Atkinson FS 24 Willie Brown CB 42 Tommy Maxwell CB 31 Jack Tatum FS 26 Skip Thomas CB 48 Nemiah Wilson CB Special teams 16 George Blanda K 4 Jerry DePoyster P		Practice squad -- Kent Gaydos TE 79 Dan Medlin G Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 17	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 28–34	0–1	Three Rivers Stadium	50,141
2	September 24	at Green Bay Packers	W 20–14	1–1	Lambeau Field	56,263
3	October 1	San Diego Chargers	T 17–17	1–1–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,455
4	October 9	at Houston Oilers	W 34–0	2–1–1	Houston Astrodome	51,378
5	October 15	Buffalo Bills	W 28–16	3–1–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,501
6	October 22	Denver Broncos	L 23–30	3–2–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	53,551
7	October 29	Los Angeles Rams	W 45–17	4–2–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,660
8	November 5	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 14–27	4–3–1	Arrowhead Stadium	82,094
9	November 12	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 20–14	5–3–1	Riverfront Stadium	59,485
10	November 19	at Denver Broncos	W 37–20	6–3–1	Mile High Stadium	51,656
11	November 26	Kansas City Chiefs	W 26–3	7–3–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,801
12	December 3	at San Diego Chargers	W 21–19	8–3–1	San Diego Stadium	54,611
13	December 11	New York Jets	W 24–16	9–3–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,843
14	December 17	Chicago Bears	W 28–21	10–3–1	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,711
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	7	0	21	28
• Steelers	14	3	10	7	34

Date: September 17
Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h)

Week 2

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Raiders	10	0	10	0	20
Packers	7	7	0	0	14

Date: September 24
Location: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Game start: 1:00 p.m. CDT
Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), wind 10 mph (16 km/h)
Referee: Norm Schachter
Television network: NBC

Week 3

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	0	7	0	10	17
Raiders	14	0	0	3	17

Date: October 1
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), wind 10 mph (16 km/h)

Week 4

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Raiders	3	7	3	21	34
Oilers	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 9
Location: Houston Astrodome, Houston, Texas
Game start: 8:00 p.m.
Game weather: indoors (dome)
TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Don Meredith

Week 5

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	3	10	0	3	16
• Raiders	0	0	7	21	28

Date: October 15
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 62 °F (17 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h)

Week 6

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Broncos	7	17	0	6	30
Raiders	0	3	10	10	23

Date: October 22
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C), wind 5 mph (8.0 km/h)

Week 7

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	0	3	7	7	17
• Raiders	28	7	0	10	45

Date: October 29
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), wind 13 mph (21 km/h)

Week 8

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	0	7	7	14
• Chiefs	0	17	3	7	27

Date: November 5
Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri
Game start: 3:00 p.m.
Game weather: 53 °F (12 °C), wind 12 mph (19 km/h)

Week 9

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Raiders	0	3	7	10	20
Bengals	0	7	0	7	14

Date: November 12
Location: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C), wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)

Week 10

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Raiders	7	13	3	14	37
Broncos	10	3	0	7	20

Date: November 19
Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado
Game start: 12:00 p.m.
Game weather: 30 °F (−1 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)

Week 11

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chiefs	0	3	0	0	3
• Raiders	10	13	0	3	26

Date: November 26
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)

Week 12

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Raiders	7	7	0	7	21
Chargers	0	10	6	3	19

Date: December 3
Location: San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m.

Week 13

	1	2	3	4	Total
Jets	7	6	0	3	16
• Raiders	3	7	7	7	24

Date: December 11
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 6:00 p.m.
Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C), wind 9 mph (14 km/h)
TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Don Meredith

Week 14

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	7	0	7	7	21
• Raiders	7	0	7	14	28

Date: December 17
Location: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C), wind 11 mph (18 km/h)

Scoring summary

1	CHI	Ron Smith 94-yard kickoff return (Mac Percival kick)	CHI 7–0

1	OAK	Charlie Smith 14-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)	Tie 7–7

3	OAK	Charlie Smith 19-yard pass from Ken Stabler (George Blanda kick)	OAK 14–7

3	CHI	Ross Brupbacher recovered fumble in end zone (Mac Percival kick)	Tie 14–14

4	OAK	Pete Banaszak 1 yard run (George Blanda kick)	OAK 21–14

4	OAK	Clarence Davis 45-yard run (George Blanda kick)	OAK 28–14

4	CHI	Don Shy 1 yard run (Mac Percival kick)	OAK 28–21

Standings

AFC West
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Oakland Raiders	10	3	1	.750	3–2–1	7–3–1	365	248	W6
Kansas City Chiefs	8	6	0	.571	4–2	6–5	287	254	W3
Denver Broncos	5	9	0	.357	2–4	4–6	325	350	W2
San Diego Chargers	4	9	1	.321	2–3–1	4–6–1	264	344	L3

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
Divisional	December 23	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 7–13	0–1	Three Rivers Stadium	50,350

Game summaries

	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	0	0	0	7	7
• Steelers	0	0	3	10	13

Date: December 23
Location: Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Game start: 1:00 p.m.
Game weather: 42 °F (6 °C), wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy

Awards and honors

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References

Football Database. Retrieved 2023-Jul-19.
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com Archived November 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Pro-Football-Reference.com

v t e Las Vegas Raiders
Founded in 1960 Played in Oakland, California (1960–1981, 1995–2019) and Los Angeles (1982–1994) Based in Paradise, Nevada Headquartered in Henderson, Nevada
Franchise	History in Oakland in Los Angeles relocation to Las Vegas NFL in Los Angeles Seasons All-time roster First-round draft picks Starting quarterbacks Head coaches
Stadiums	Kezar Stadium Candlestick Park Frank Youell Field Oakland Coliseum Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Allegiant Stadium
Key personnel	Owner/CEO: Mark Davis President: Sandra Douglass Morgan General manager: Tom Telesco Head coach: Antonio Pierce
Culture	Las Vegas Raiderettes Raider Nation "The Autumn Wind" Mount Davis Ricky's Sports Theatre and Grill Straight Outta L.A. In the House
Lore	Heidi Game 1970 AFC Championship Game Immaculate Reception The Sea of Hands 1975 AFC Championship Game Ghost to the Post Holy Roller Red Right 88 Tuck Rule Game Lunatic Lateral Favre's Dad Game
Rivalries	Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs Los Angeles Chargers Miami Dolphins Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks
Media	Television: KVVU KTNV KLAS KSNV KTLA (Los Angeles) KRON (San Francisco) Radio: Radio network KRLV (AM) KOMP (FM) KLAA (Los Angeles) KSRO (San Francisco) KENO (Spanish) Other: Compass Media Networks Personalities: Bill King Greg Papa J. T. the Brick Brent Musburger
Wild card berths (6)	1977 1980 1984 1991 1993 2016 2021
Division championships (15)	1967 1968 1969 1970 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1983 1985 1990 2000 2001 2002
Conference championships (4)	1976 1980 1983 2002
League championships (4)	1967 1976 (XI) 1980 (XV) 1983 (XVIII)
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1970–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: West Division
Former league affiliation	League: American Football League (1960–1969)

v t e Las Vegas Raiders seasons
Played in Oakland (1960–1981, 1995–2019) and Los Angeles (1982–1994)
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates AFL Championship (1960–1965) or Super Bowl (1966–present) victory Italics indicates AFL Championship (1966–1969) and/or Super Bowl (1966–present) appearance

1972 NFL season

East	Central	West	East	Central	West
Baltimore	Cincinnati	Denver	Dallas	Chicago	Atlanta
Buffalo	Cleveland	Kansas City	NY Giants	Detroit	Los Angeles
Miami	Houston	Oakland	Philadelphia	Green Bay	New Orleans
New England	Pittsburgh	San Diego	St. Louis	Minnesota	San Francisco
NY Jets			Washington

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