1972 Detroit Lions (NFL) |
| 2nd place • National Football Conference • Central Division • 8-5-1 .607 |
| Head Coach: Joe Schmidt |
| Leeman Bennett | Offensive Backs |
| Jimmy David | Defense |
| Chuck Knox | Offensive Line |
| Jim Martin | Kickers/Special Teams |
| Bill McPeak | Offense |
| John North | Receivers |
| Dick Voris | Defensive Line |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Result | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/5/1972 | H | Miami Dolphins | 31-23 | W | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 53194 | |
| Sat | 8/12/1972 | A | Cincinnati Bengals | 20-28 | L | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 55799 | |
| Sun | 8/20/1972 | H | Cleveland Browns | 34-7 | W | Ann Arbor, MI | Michigan Stadium | 58422 | |
| Fri | 8/25/1972 | H | Washington Redskins | 23-10 | W | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 52647 | |
| Fri | 9/1/1972 | N | Baltimore Colts | 24-17 | W | Tampa, FL | Tampa Stadium | 40234 | |
| Sun | 9/10/1972 | A | New England Patriots | 30-34 | L | Foxborough, MA | Schaefer Stadium | 47684 | |
| Sun | 9/17/1972 | H | New York Giants | 30-16 | W | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 54418 | |
| Sun | 9/24/1972 | H | Minnesota Vikings | 10-34 | L | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 54418 | |
| Sun | 10/1/1972 | A | Chicago Bears | 38-24 | W | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 55701 | |
| Sun | 10/8/1972 | A | Atlanta Falcons | 26-23 | W | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium | 58850 | |
| Mon | 10/16/1972 | H | Green Bay Packers | 23-24 | L | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 54418 | |
| Sun | 10/22/1972 | H | San Diego Chargers | 34-20 | W | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 54371 | |
| Mon | 10/30/1972 | A | Dallas Cowboys | 24-28 | L | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 65378 | |
| Sun | 11/5/1972 | H | Chicago Bears | 14-0 | W | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 54418 | |
| Sun | 11/12/1972 | A | Minnesota Vikings | 14-16 | L | Bloomington, MN | Metropolitan Stadium | 49784 | |
| Sun | 11/19/1972 | H | New Orleans Saints | 27-14 | W | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 53752 | |
| Thu | 11/23/1972 | H | New York Jets | 37-20 | W | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 54418 | |
| Sun | 12/3/1972 | A | Green Bay Packers | 7-33 | L | Green Bay, WI | Lambeau Field | 56263 | |
| Sun | 12/10/1972 | A | Buffalo Bills | 21-21 | T | Buffalo, NY | War Memorial Stadium | 41583 | |
| Sun | 12/17/1972 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 34-17 | W | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 71761 | |
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Al Barnes | 86 | WR | 6-1 | 170 | 23 | New Mexico State | 9 | 5 |
| Lem Barney | 20 | LCB | 6-1 | 189 | 27 | Jackson State | 14 | 14 |
| Bob Bell | 73 | RDT | 6-4 | 252 | 24 | Cincinnati | 14 | 9 |
| Craig Cotton | 87 | TE | 6-4 | 215 | 25 | Youngstown State | 14 | 6 |
| Nick Eddy | 40 | RB | 6-1 | 207 | 28 | Notre Dame | 2 | 1 |
| Mel Farr | 24 | RB | 6-2 | 208 | 28 | UCLA | 10 | 4 |
| Ed Flanagan | 54 | C | 6-3 | 246 | 28 | Purdue | 14 | 14 |
| Rocky Freitas | 76 | ROT | 6-6 | 267 | 27 | Oregon State | 14 | 14 |
| Frank Gallagher | 68 | LOG | 6-2 | 240 | 29 | North Carolina | 14 | 7 |
| John Gordon | 77 | DT | 6-6 | 260 | 24 | New Mexico State; Hawaii | 2 | 0 |
| Gene Hamlin | 58 | C | 6-3 | 245 | 26 | Western Michigan | 5 | 0 |
| Larry Hand | 74 | RDE | 6-5 | 247 | 32 | Appalachian State | 14 | 14 |
| John Hilton | 81 | TE | 6-5 | 222 | 30 | Richmond | 5 | 0 |
| Leon Jenkins | 31 | CB | 5-11 | 165 | 22 | West Virginia | 4 | 0 |
| Ron Jessie | 89 | WR | 6-0 | 183 | 24 | Imperial Valley JC; Kansas | 14 | 14 |
| Gordon Jolley | 64 | OT | 6-5 | 230 | 23 | Utah | 5 | 0 |
| Bob Kowalkowski | 66 | ROG-LOT | 6-3 | 243 | 29 | Virginia | 14 | 14 |
| Greg Landry | 11 | QB | 6-4 | 205 | 26 | Massachusetts | 14 | 14 |
| Dick LeBeau | 44 | RS | 6-0 | 185 | 35 | Ohio State | 14 | 7 |
| Mike Lucci | 53 | MLB | 6-2 | 233 | 33 | Pittsburgh; Tennessee | 14 | 14 |
| Errol Mann | 12 | K | 6-0 | 203 | 31 | North Dakota | 14 | 0 |
| Earl McCullouch | 25 | WR | 5-11 | 174 | 26 | Long Beach CC; Southern California | 10 | 0 |
| Jim Mitchell | 83 | LDE | 6-3 | 245 | 24 | Virginia State | 14 | 14 |
| Bill Munson | 19 | QB | 6-2 | 203 | 31 | Foothill JC; Utah State | 2 | 0 |
| Paul Naumoff | 50 | LLB | 6-1 | 218 | 27 | Tennessee | 14 | 14 |
| Rick Ogle | 58 | LB | 6-3 | 230 | 23 | Colorado | 4 | 0 |
| Herb Orvis | 80 | LDT | 6-5 | 248 | 26 | Colorado | 14 | 2 |
| Steve Owens | 36 | RB | 6-2 | 217 | 25 | Oklahoma | 10 | 9 |
| Charlie Potts | 27 | S | 6-3 | 210 | 23 | Purdue | 10 | 0 |
| Al Randolph | 45 | RS | 6-2 | 199 | 28 | Iowa | 6 | 5 |
| Rocky Rasley | 67 | OG | 6-3 | 251 | 25 | Bakersfield CC; Oregon State | 14 | 0 |
| Wayne Rasmussen | 47 | RS | 6-2 | 179 | 30 | South Dakota State | 7 | 2 |
| Rudy Redmond | 46 | RCB | 6-0 | 190 | 25 | Riverside CC; Pacific | 14 | 2 |
| Charlie Sanders | 88 | TE | 6-4 | 225 | 26 | Minnesota | 9 | 8 |
| Ken Sanders | 82 | DE | 6-5 | 242 | 22 | Howard Payne | 6 | 0 |
| Joe Schmiesing | 84 | RDT | 6-4 | 248 | 27 | Minnesota; North Dakota State Science JC; New Mexico State | 5 | 5 |
| Bob Tatarek | 71 | DT | 6-4 | 260 | 26 | Miami (Florida) | 2 | 0 |
| Altie Taylor | 42 | RB | 5-10 | 199 | 25 | Diablo Valley JC; Utah State | 13 | 12 |
| Dave Thompson | 65 | C | 6-4 | 271 | 23 | Clemson | 7 | 0 |
| Bill Triplett | 38 | RB | 6-2 | 212 | 32 | Miami (Ohio) | 14 | 1 |
| Wayne Walker | 55 | RLB | 6-2 | 225 | 36 | Idaho | 14 | 13 |
| Chuck Walton | 63 | LOG | 6-3 | 253 | 31 | Iowa State | 10 | 8 |
| Larry Walton | 49 | WR | 5-11 | 180 | 25 | Trinidad State JC; Arizona State | 14 | 0 |
| Charlie Weaver | 59 | RLB | 6-2 | 225 | 23 | Arizona Western JC; Southern California | 14 | 1 |
| Herman Weaver | 18 | P | 6-4 | 210 | 24 | Tennessee | 14 | 0 |
| Mike Weger | 28 | LS | 6-2 | 193 | 27 | Bowling Green State | 14 | 14 |
| Larry Woods | 70 | LDT | 6-6 | 260 | 24 | Tennessee State | 12 | 12 |
| Jim Yarbrough | 75 | LOT | 6-6 | 261 | 26 | Florida | 13 | 13 |
| Adrian Young | 51 | LB | 6-1 | 230 | 26 | Southern California | 10 | 0 |
| Mickey Zofko | 34 | RB | 6-3 | 195 | 23 | Auburn | 14 | 1 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 16 | Herb Orvis | DE | Colorado |
| 3 | 65 | Ken Sanders | DE | Howard Payne |
| 6 | 145 | Charlie Potts | DB | Purdue |
| 7 | 172 | Charles Stoudamire | WR | Portland State |
| 8 | 197 | Henry Stuckey | DB | Missouri |
| 9 | 224 | Bill McClintock | DB | Drake |
| 10 | 249 | Jimmy Teal | LB | Purdue |
| 11 | 276 | Bob Waldron | DT | Tulane |
| 12 | 301 | Paul Bradley | WR | Southern Methodist |
| 13 | 328 | John Kirschner | TE | Memphis |
| 14 | 353 | Eric Kelly | T | Whitworth |
| 15 | 380 | Steve Roach | LB | Kansas |
| 16 | 405 | Leon Jenkins | DB | West Virginia |
| 17 | 432 | Mike Tyler | DB | Rice |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 46 | 120 | 72 | 101 | 339 |
| Opponents Totals | 41 | 86 | 72 | 91 | 290 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 240 | 120 | 97 | 23 | 88/183 48.1% | / % | 48 | 417 | |
| Opponents Totals | 239 | 126 | 103 | 10 | 82/195 42.1% | / % | 86 | 703 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Errol Mann | 0 | 38 | 39 | 97.4 | 20 | 29 | 69.0 | 0 | 98 |
| Greg Landry | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | ||
| Altie Taylor | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Larry Walton | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Ron Jessie | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Steve Owens | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | ||
| Mel Farr | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Charlie Sanders | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Al Barnes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Craig Cotton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Nick Eddy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| John Hilton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Earl McCullouch | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Rudy Redmond | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Mickey Zofko | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Team Totals | 40 | 39 | 40 | 97.5 | 20 | 29 | 69.0 | 0 | 339 |
| Opponents Totals | 34 | 32 | 34 | 94.1 | 18 | 34 | 52.9 | 0 | 290 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Errol Mann | 20 | 29 | 69.0 | 1 | 51 | 3/3 | 5/5 | 8/11 | 3/9 | 1/1 |
| Team Totals | 20 | 29 | 69.0 | 1 | 51 | 3/3 | 5/5 | 8/11 | 3/9 | 1/1 |
| Opponents Totals | 18 | 34 | 52.9 | 4/4 | 5/5 | 6/10 | 3/14 | 0/1 |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altie Taylor | 154 | 658 | 4.3 | 38t | 4 |
| Greg Landry | 81 | 524 | 6.5 | 38 | 9 |
| Steve Owens | 143 | 519 | 3.6 | 18 | 4 |
| Mel Farr | 62 | 216 | 3.5 | 22 | 3 |
| Bill Triplett | 17 | 48 | 2.8 | 9 | 0 |
| Mickey Zofko | 7 | 28 | 4.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Nick Eddy | 8 | 28 | 3.5 | 10 | 0 |
| Bill Munson | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 473 | 2021 | 4.3 | 38t | 20 |
| Opponents Totals | 491 | 2204 | 4.5 | 43 | 14 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Landry | 268 | 134 | 50.0 | 117 | 2066 | 7.7 | 15.4 | 82t | 18 | 6.7 | 17 | 6.3 | 25 | 149 | 1917 | 71.8 |
| Bill Munson | 35 | 20 | 57.1 | 14 | 194 | 5.5 | 9.7 | 29t | 1 | 2.9 | 1 | 2.9 | 1 | 0 | 194 | 70.4 |
| Earl McCullouch | 1 | 1 | 100.0 | 0 | 23 | 23.0 | 23.0 | 23 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 118.8 |
| Ron Jessie | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | ||
| Team Totals | 305 | 155 | 50.8 | 132 | 2283 | 7.5 | 14.7 | 82t | 19 | 6.2 | 18 | 5.9 | 26 | 149 | 2134 | 71.8 |
| Opponents Totals | 312 | 171 | 54.8 | 129 | 2146 | 6.9 | 12.5 | 58t | 18 | 5.8 | 12 | 3.8 | 21 | 142 | 2004 | 79.6 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altie Taylor | 29 | 250 | 8.6 | 40t | 2 |
| Charlie Sanders | 27 | 416 | 15.4 | 38 | 2 |
| Larry Walton | 24 | 485 | 20.2 | 48t | 6 |
| Ron Jessie | 24 | 424 | 17.7 | 82t | 4 |
| Steve Owens | 15 | 100 | 6.7 | 15 | 0 |
| Mel Farr | 10 | 132 | 13.2 | 42 | 0 |
| Craig Cotton | 8 | 129 | 16.1 | 35 | 1 |
| John Hilton | 5 | 133 | 26.6 | 66t | 1 |
| Earl McCullouch | 5 | 96 | 19.2 | 33 | 1 |
| Al Barnes | 4 | 58 | 14.5 | 17 | 1 |
| Nick Eddy | 2 | 46 | 23.0 | 36t | 1 |
| Mickey Zofko | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 17 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 155 | 2283 | 14.7 | 82t | 19 |
| Opponents Totals | 171 | 2146 | 12.5 | 58t | 18 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lem Barney | 3 | 88 | 29.3 | 64 | 0 |
| Rudy Redmond | 2 | 91 | 45.5 | 88t | 1 |
| Wayne Rasmussen | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 |
| Mike Lucci | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Paul Naumoff | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 |
| Jim Mitchell | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Weaver | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 12 | 184 | 15.3 | 88t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 18 | 294 | 16.3 | 43 | 0 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Herman Weaver | 43 | 1734 | 40.3 | 55 | 0 | 321 | ||||
| Team Totals | 43 | 1734 | 40.3 | 55 | 0 | 321 | ||||
| Opponents Totals | 46 | 1783 | 38.8 | 53 | 0 | 100 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lem Barney | 15 | 8 | 108 | 7.2 | 26 | 0 |
| Larry Walton | 3 | 6 | -8 | -2.7 | 1 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 18 | 14 | 100 | 5.6 | 26 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 26 | 6 | 321 | 12.3 | 80t | 1 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ron Jessie | 23 | 558 | 24.3 | 62 | 0 | |
| Mickey Zofko | 26 | 616 | 23.7 | 49 | 0 | |
| Lem Barney | 1 | 17 | 17.0 | 17 | 0 | |
| Bill Triplett | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Herb Orvis | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Larry Walton | 0 | 96 | 50L | 0 | ||
| Team Totals | 52 | 1304 | 25.1 | 62 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 68 | 1593 | 23.4 | 92t | 1 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Larry Hand | 9.0 | |
| Jim Mitchell | 5.0 | |
| Bob Bell | 3.0 | |
| Larry Woods | 3.0 | |
| Wayne Walker | 1.0 | |
| Mike Weger | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals IND=22 | 21.0 | 142.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 26.0 | 149.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lem Barney | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 0 | |
| Bob Bell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Craig Cotton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Mel Farr | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Ed Flanagan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Hand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Jessie | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Greg Landry | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dick LeBeau | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Lucci | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Jim Mitchell | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bill Munson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Al Randolph | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Wayne Rasmussen | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rudy Redmond | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Charlie Sanders | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Altie Taylor | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dave Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wayne Walker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 0 |
| Larry Walton | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Charlie Weaver | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Larry Woods | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Yarbrough | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Mickey Zofko | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 17 | 7 | 10 | 15 | 25 | 36 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 32 | 15 | 16 | 7 | 23 | 0 |
| In Memoriam |
| NFL Boxscores |
| NFL Game Officials |
| NFL Training Camps |
| NFL Roster Limits |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| Super Bowl |
| Privacy Policy |
| ©2006-2025 Pro Football Archives. All Rights Reserved. |
| Last Updated: August 27, 2025 |