1972 New York Giants season

1972 New York Giants season
Head coach	Alex Webster
Home field	Yankee Stadium
Results
Record	8–6
Division place	3rd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	QB Norm Snead RB Ron Johnson DE Jack Gregory

The 1972 New York Giants season was the franchise's 48th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Giants had an 8–6 record and finished in third place in the National Football Conference East Division, three games behind the Washington Redskins.

The Giants had two first-round selections in the 1972 NFL draft, and chose Eldridge Small and Larry Jacobson with the 17th and 24th overall picks, respectively. Before the season, New York traded their starting quarterback, Fran Tarkenton, to the Minnesota Vikings for a package of players and draft picks that included quarterback Norm Snead, who led the league in pass completion average in 1972. The Giants lost twice to open the season, but went on a four-game winning streak afterwards. In their 11th game, the Giants defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 62–10, setting the franchise record for the most points scored in a game; it was also an Eagles record for the most points allowed. The victory put the team at 7–4 and in contention for a playoff berth. Two losses ended their postseason chances, but New York beat the Dallas Cowboys in the final game of the season to finish with eight wins. Halfback Ron Johnson scored nine touchdowns on running plays to top the NFL, and his 1,182 rushing yards broke the Giants' single-season record. This was the last winning season for the Giants until 1981.

Roster

1972 New York Giants roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Randy Johnson 16 Norm Snead Running backs (RB) 29 Vince Clements 31 Charlie Evans 24 Tucker Frederickson 30 Ron Johnson 40 Joe Morrison 22 Rocky Thompson Wide receivers (WR) 83 Tom Gatewood 27 Bob Grim 85 Don Herrmann 84 Rich Houston Tight ends (TE) 38 Bob Tucker

Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Mark Ellison 62 Dick Enderle 52 John Hill C 70 Bob Hyland G 53 Greg Larson C 63 Doug Van Horn G 72 Joe Taffoni T 78 Wayne Walton Defensive linemen (DL) 79 Carter Campbell DE 68 Dan Goich DT 81 Jack Gregory DE 75 Larry Jacobson DT 64 John Mendenhall DE 80 Henry Reed DE 71 Dave Tipton DE

Linebackers (LB) 51 John Douglas 58 Jim Files 67 Ron Hornsby 56 Pat Hughes Defensive backs (DB) 45 Pete Athas S 21 Otto Brown CB 24 Chuck Crist 44 Richmond Flowers S 43 Spider Lockhart S 18 Eldridge Small CB 41 Willie A. Williams CB Special teams 15 Tom Blanchard P 3 Pete Gogolak K

Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 17	at Detroit Lions	L 16–30	0–1	54,418
2	September 24	Dallas Cowboys	L 14–23	0–2	62,725
3	October 2	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 27–12	1–2	65,720
4	October 8	New Orleans Saints	W 45–21	2–2	62,507
5	October 15	at San Francisco 49ers	W 23–17	3–2	58,606
6	October 22	St. Louis Cardinals	W 27–21	4–2	62,756
7	October 29	Washington Redskins	L 16–23	4–3	62,878
8	November 5	Denver Broncos	W 29–17	5–3	62,689
9	November 12	at Washington Redskins	L 13–27	5–4	53,039
10	November 19	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 13–7	6–4	48,014
11	November 26	Philadelphia Eagles	W 62–10	7–4	62,586
12	December 3	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 10–13	7–5	59,523
13	December 10	Miami Dolphins	L 13–23	7–6	62,728
14	December 17	at Dallas Cowboys	W 23–3	8–6	64,602

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Washington Redskins	11	3	0	.786	7–1	10–1	336	218	L2
Dallas Cowboys	10	4	0	.714	6–2	7–4	319	240	L1
New York Giants	8	6	0	.571	5–3	7–4	331	247	W1
St. Louis Cardinals	4	9	1	.321	1–6–1	3–7–1	193	303	W2
Philadelphia Eagles	2	11	1	.179	0–7–1	0–10–1	145	352	L5