The 1972 Philadelphia Eagles season was the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

's 40th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. They failed to improve and declined on their previous output of 6–7–1, winning only two games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the twelfth consecutive season. Both of the Eagles' victories were one-point decisions on the road vs. AFC teams, 21–20 over the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The ...

and 18–17 over the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

, a victory which cost the Eagles the #1 selection in the 1973 NFL Draft. The meeting with the Chiefs was the last until 1992, and Kansas City did not come to Philadelphia until

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. Following the disastrous season, the third with three wins or fewer since

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

, general manager

Pete Retzlaff Palmer Edward Retzlaff (August 21, 1931 – April 10, 2020), known as Pete Retzlaff and nicknamed "Pistol Pete" and "The Baron", was a professional American football player and general manager. Early life Retzlaff played football at Ellendale H ...

resigned, and coach

Ed Khayat Edward Michel Khayat (born September 14, 1935) is a thirty-five year National Football League veteran, ten years as a player (117 game total) and twenty-five as a coach. He was a starting defensive tackle for the victorious Philadelphia Eagles i ...

was fired by owner Leonard Tose.

Offseason

The Eagles held training camp at

Albright College Albright College is a private liberal arts college in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1856. History Albright College traces its founding to 1856 when Union Seminary opened. Present-day Albright was formed by the mergers of several ins ...

in Reading, Pennsylvania. This was their last year there. The next year, they moved camp to

Widener University Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester i ...

, only 7 miles from

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capacities were 65,358 for foo ...

where they played their home games in Philadelphia.

NFL Draft

The

1972 NFL Draft The 1972 NFL draft was held February 1–2, 1972, at the Essex House in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Buffalo Bills selected defensive end Walt Patulski. Player selections Round one Round two ...

was held on February 1–2, 1972. The draft was 17 rounds and a total of 443 players were chosen. The Eagles chose

John Reaves Thomas Johnson "John" Reaves (March 2, 1950 – August 1, 2017) was an American college and professional football player who was a quarterback for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL) and three seasons in the United States Football L ...

, a quarterback from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, with the 14th pick in the 1st round. They had the 14th pick in each of the 17 rounds. They chose 17 players in this year's draft. The number 1 overall pick went to the Buffalo Bills, who chose

Walt Patulski Walter George Patulski (born February 3, 1950) is a former American football defensive end at the University of Notre Dame and the National Football League. High school Patulski was a star athlete at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, New ...

, a

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

out of the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

. In the 2nd round with the 40th pick, the Atlanta Falcons took 1971 Heisman Trophy winner Pat Sullivan,Pat Sullivan, 1971 Heisman Trophy winner a quarterback out of Auburn University

Player selections

The table shows the Eagles' selections and which picks they had that were traded away and the teams that ended up with those picks. It is possible the Eagles' pick ended up with this team via another team that the Eagles made a trade with. Not shown are acquired picks that the Eagles traded away.

Roster

Regular season

On November 12,

Tom Dempsey Thomas John Dempsey (January 12, 1947April 4, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Rams, Houston Oilers and ...

kicked six field goals in one game.''NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book'', Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p.134

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game recaps

A recap of the scoring plays and the game scores by quarters during the year. The record after the team's name reflects this game's outcome also.

Week 9

Sunday, November 12, 1972 Played at

Houston Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

on AstroTurf in 72F degrees indoors

Week 11

Sunday, November 26, 1972 Played at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

on grass in 50F degrees with a 15 MPH wind NOTE: The game was not televised by

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

after striking

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) is a trade union, labor union that represents approximately 775,000 workers and retirees in the electricity, electrical industry in the United States, Canada, Guam, Panama, Puerto Rico, a ...

members cut the transmission cables in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

Standings

Postseason

At the end of 1972 season, head coach

was fired. Mike McCormack, a

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

assistant coach from 1965 to 1972, was hired in his place. Khayat was never an NFL head coach again, although he would be the head coach of the New Orleans Night of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

in 1991.

Awards and honors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1972 Philadelphia Eagles Season Philadelphia Eagles seasons

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

Philadel