NFL72 Update

It's the last season at War Memorial Stadium for the Buffalo Bills, and it's the first season back for Lou Saban, who coached the Bills to the 1964 and '65 AFL championships but spent the last five seasons with the Denver Broncos. Things didn't go so hot for Saban in Denver, but things didn't go so hot for the Bills without Saban. So, after a one-win NFL71, Saban is back in Buffalo, and, in Week 7 of NFL72, it's the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers in town to face the 2-4 Bills on Sunday, Oct. 29. The Steelers win, 38-21, but the game is notable for the 189-yard rushing explosion by Buffalo's O.J. Simpson. 

Since we last checked in with Orenthal James,  Simpson has been plodding along in Buffalo, averaging about four yards per carry each of his three seasons and accumulating no more than 742 yards in any of them. But in NFL72, despite Buffalo's losing five guards and two other offensive linemen to injury, Simpson logs a league-leading 1,251 rushing yards, including a 94-yarder in this loss to Pittsburgh. 

Then, in the NFL73 draft, Saban will bolster Simpson's blocking with selection of offensive linemen with each of Buffalo's first three picks (including eventual-hall-of-gamer Joe DeLamielleure). And that will precipitate Simpson's record-breaking NFL73 of 2,003 rushing yards, and Buffalo's first winning record (9-5) in seven seasons. Saban will, in fact, coach the Bills to three straight winning seasons starting in NFL73, including one playoff appearance. 

Of course, there was one team that Saban, Simpson and the Bills could never quite get around during that era.

Previous and future NFL72 reports:

• Jan. 13, 1968, NFL67 wrap
• Jan. 11, 1969, NFL68 wrap
• Jan. 11, 1970, NFL69 wrap
• Jan. 15, 1971, NFL70 wrap
• Jan. 16, 1972, NFL71 wrap
• Feb. 1, 1972, Draft party
• Aug. 18, 1972, Plimpton! The Great Quarterback Sneak
• Aug. 20, 1972, Dolphins over Bengals
• Aug. 21, 1972, Rest in peace, Ray Jamieson
• Aug. 22, 1972, The GOP comes to Miami
• Aug. 23, 1972, Del Gaizo vs. Morrall
• Aug. 25, 1972, Atlanta Falcons preview (with original Dick Shiner artwork)
• Aug. 29, 1972, Week 1 ("Larry Little and Larry Csonka ... are the symbol of football")
• Sept. 24, 1972, Week 2 (Welcome to Philly)
• Oct. 2, 1972, Week 3
• Oct. 8, 1972, Week 4
• Oct. 9, 1972, Are the Steelers ever going to get better?
• Oct. 23, 1972, Week 6 (with the Hartleys tuning in for Monday Night Football)
• Oct. 29, 1972, Week 7 (Lou Saban, O.J. Simpson and the Bills)
• Nov. 11, 1972, Week 9 (with NFL Strategy innovation)
• Nov. 23, 1972, Steve Owens's little brother against Nebraska
• Nov. 26, 1972, The Raiders close in
• Dec. 7, 1972, "Pete Roselle had it blacked out"
• Dec. 14, 1972, Bruce Dern is a Rams fan
• Dec. 16, 1972, Week 14 (with prayer)
• Dec. 29, 1972, Divisional playoffs (featuring Partridge Family #freakinweekend kickoff)
• Dec. 31, 1972, Conference championships (thank you, Rob and Sam)
• Jan. 17, 1973, Bob Hope and the Rams
• April 30, 2014, Rest in peace, Earl Morrall and Dotty Shula
• April 16, 2015, Super Bowl VII revisited
• July 27, 2015, Rest in peace, Bill Arnsparger
• Sept. 13, 2015, NFL15 preview (justice)
• Jan. 8, 2017, NFL16 review (perspective)
• Sept. 1, 2018, I love to write