The San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's third season in the National Football League (NFL), and its 13th overall. The team failed to improve on their 6–8 record in 1971. The Chargers would get off to a poor start, as they were devoured 34–3 in their season opener at San Francisco. After their week 2 win against the Denver Broncos, the Chargers would play to a 17–17 draw with another cross-state rival, the Oakland Raiders. It was San Diego's fourth tie in 3 seasons (they tied 3 times in 1970). Even after they defeated the Baltimore Colts in the week following the tie, the Bolts would stumble the rest of the year, winning only 2 more games en route to a 4–9–1 season.
This squad featured several players like Duane Thomas, Tim Rossovich, Dave Costa and John Mackey who were unwanted by most of the other NFL teams.Anderson, Dave. "Sports of The Times: John Mackey's Week," The New York Times, Tuesday, September 19, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2020
Offseason
NFL draft
Roster
Preseason
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 5 Atlanta Falcons W 30–7 1–0 San Diego Stadium 2 August 12 at Minnesota Vikings L 13–24 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 3 August 19 San Francisco 49ers W 17–16 2–1 San Diego Stadium 4 August 26 at New Orleans Saints W 16–14 3–1 Tulane Stadium 5 September 2 Los Angeles Rams W 14–13 4–1 San Diego Stadium 6 September 6 New York Jets T 20–20 4–1–1 San Diego Stadium
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 17 at San Francisco 49ers L 3–34 0–1 Candlestick Park 59,438 Recap 2 September 24 Denver Broncos W 37–14 1–1 San Diego Stadium 49,048 Recap 3 October 1 at Oakland Raiders T 17–17 1–1–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,455 Recap 4 October 8 at Baltimore Colts W 23–20 2–1–1 Memorial Stadium 55,459 Recap 5 October 15 at Miami Dolphins L 10–24 2–2–1 Miami Orange Bowl 80,010 Recap 6 October 22 at Detroit Lions L 20–34 2–3–1 Tiger Stadium 54,371 Recap 7 October 29 Kansas City Chiefs L 14–26 2–4–1 San Diego Stadium 54,533 Recap 8 November 5 Dallas Cowboys L 28–34 2–5–1 San Diego Stadium 54,476 Recap 9 Cleveland Browns L 17–21 2–6–1 San Diego Stadium 54,205 Recap 10 November 19 at Kansas City Chiefs W 27–17 3–6–1 Arrowhead Stadium 79,011 Recap 11 November 26 Houston Oilers W 34–20 4–6–1 San Diego Stadium 46,289 Recap 12 December 3 Oakland Raiders L 19–21 4–7–1 San Diego Stadium 54,611 Recap 13 December 10 at Denver Broncos L 13–38 4–8–1 Mile High Stadium 51,478 Recap 14 December 17 Pittsburgh Steelers L 2–24 4–9–1 San Diego Stadium 52,873 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at San Francisco 49ers
Week 2: vs. Denver Broncos
Week 3: at Oakland Raiders
Week 4: at Baltimore Colts
Week 5: at Miami Dolphins
Week 6: at Detroit Lions
Week 7: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Week 8: vs. Dallas Cowboys
Week 9: vs. Cleveland Browns
Week 10: at Kansas City Chiefs
Week 11: vs. Houston Oilers
Week 12: vs. Oakland Raiders
Week 13: at Denver Broncos
Week 14: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Standings
Notable events In their last game for the year, the Chargers became the thirty-third team in the NFL or leagues that merged with the NFL to score only a safety in a full game. This unusual occurrence has been repeated only six times since: by the 1980 Buffalo Bills, the 1983 Minnesota Vikings, the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals, the 2011 Atlanta Falcons (the only team to do so in a playoff game), the 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars, and the 2024 Houston Texans.
Awards Deacon Jones, John Hadl, Walt Sweeney and Gary Garrison were named to the AFC Pro Bowl squad; No Chargers were named All-Pro by the Associated Press, nor were any named the best in his Conference.
References