The 1972 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the team's 40th in the National Football League. Pittsburgh finished with an 11–3 record in, their first winning season in 9 years (1963), and won their first-ever AFC Central Division title. It was the Steelers' third-ever postseason appearance, first in ten seasons (the Playoff Bowl for third place in the league), and only its second playoff game since 1947. This season is famous for the Immaculate Reception, where the Steelers beat the Oakland Raiders 13–7 in the playoffs on a last second touchdown by rookie running back Franco Harris. But the momentum would not be enough to beat the Dolphins in the AFC Championship despite a strong season. The rebuilding of the franchise that began in 1969 with the hiring of head coach Chuck Noll finally came to fruition in his fourth year. After winning only once in that first season, the Steelers then showed steady improvement. They broke through in 1972 and made the playoffs for the first time since 1947; their three losses were by a combined eleven points. The division title was the first in team history, as was the appearance in the AFC Championship game which they lost to the undefeated Miami Dolphins 21–17. It was the first of eight consecutive playoff appearances for the Steelers that led to four Super Bowl championships.

Offseason

NFL draft

Roster

Depth chart

Staff

•Lionel Taylor - Receiver Coach •Charlie Sumner - Linebacker Coach • - Quarterback Coach •Dick Hoak – Defensive backfield coach •Bud Carson – Defensive backfield coach •Bob Fry – Offensive line coach •Lou Riecke - Strength Coach •George Perles – Defensive line coach

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders

The Steelers were able to start off against the Raiders at home scoring 17 unanswered points (2TDs/PATs and a FG) and eventually ended up defeating the team by 6 for a 34–28 victory and a 1–0 start.

Week 2: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week 3: at St. Louis Cardinals

Week 4: at Dallas Cowboys

Week 5: vs. Houston Oilers

Week 6: vs. New England Patriots

Week 7: at Buffalo Bills

Week 8: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week 9: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Scoring drives:

Week 10: Cleveland Browns

Scoring drives:

Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Week 12: vs. Cleveland Browns

Franco Harris breaks Jim Brown's record for consecutive 100 yd games. Scoring drives:

Week 13: at Houston Oilers

Scoring drives: Steelers clinch their 1st playoff berth.

Week 14: San Diego Chargers

The Pittsburgh Steelers clinched their first AFC Central Division title. The day before the game Frank Sinatra is inducted into Franco's Italian Army. Scoring drives:

Standings

Postseason

Game summaries

AFC Divisional: vs. Oakland Raiders

AFC Championship: vs. Miami Dolphins