1972 NFL season

Infobox NFL
year = 1972
NFLchampion = Miami Dolphins
regular_season = September 17 1972 - December 17 1972
playoffs_start = December 23 1972
AFCchampion = Miami Dolphins
NFCchampion = Washington Redskins
sb_name = VII
sb_date = January 14 1973
sb_site = L.A. Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
pb_date = January 21 1973

The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.

Major rule changes

*The inbounds lines or hashmarks were moved closer to the center of the field, 23 yards, 1 foot, 9 inches from the sidelines. The hashmarks are now 18 feet, 6 inches apart (the same width as the goalposts), cutting down on severe angles for short field goal attempts.
*If a legal receiver goes out of bounds, either accidentally or forced out, and returns to touch or catch the pass in bounds, the penalty is a loss of down (but no penalty yardage will be assessed).
*If a punt or missed field goal crosses the receivers' goal line, a member of the receiving team may advance the ball into the field of play.
*All fouls committed by the offensive team behind the line of scrimmage will be assessed from the previous spot.
*Tie games, previously not counted, were made equal to a half-game won and a half-game loss.

Division races

Starting in 1970, and until 2002, there were three divisions (Eastern, Central and Western) in each conference. The winners of each division, and a fourth "wild card" team based on the best non-division winner, qualified for the playoffs. The tiebraker rules were changed to start with head-to-head competition, followed by division records, common opponents records, and conference play.

National Football Conference