1972 Week 2: San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills at War Memorial Stadium. Kickoff time: 1:00pm.
1972 Week 2: San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills at War Memorial Stadium. This is a regular-season game that earned its place on a curated list, which means the matchup itself carried some weight beyond a generic Sunday. Some regular-season games stick in the memory more than the playoff games of the same era. The names attached to San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills in 1972, the implications for division standing, or just the moment one play crystallized the season, made this one of those. Watch the early possessions for the read. Coaches treat curated-list games as their best stretches of preparation; the answers come quickly when the stakes are tangible.
1972 Week 2: San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills meet at a midpoint in the season, with the rest of the 1972 field watching to see how the result reshapes the conference standings. Around the league, the scouting departments take careful notes on regular-season games featuring contenders. The film here will be reviewed long after the final whistle by staffs who plan to face one or both of these teams later in the year.
1972 Week 2: San Francisco 49ers versus Buffalo Bills. Midseason analytics shift around what matters most on any given Sunday: takeaway differential and red-zone conversion lead the indicator list for both contenders and the teams hunting them. The on-screen scoreboard tells one story; the underlying drive efficiency tells the more durable one. Both staffs know which numbers travel through December and which evaporate after a hot start.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 11-3 | W4 |
| Cleveland Browns | 10-4 | W2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8-6 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 1-13 | L11 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 14-0 | W14 |
| New York Jets | 7-7 | L2 |
| Baltimore Colts | 5-9 | L2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4-9-1 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 3-11 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | 10-3-1 | W6 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 8-6 | W3 |
| Denver Broncos | 5-9 | W2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 4-9-1 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 8-5-1 | W2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-7 | L2 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 6-7-1 | L2 |
| New Orleans Saints | 2-11-1 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 10-4 | W3 |
| Detroit Lions | 8-5-1 | W1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 7-7 | L2 |
| Chicago Bears | 4-9-1 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Washington Redskins | 11-3 | L2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 10-4 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 8-6 | W1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 4-9-1 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 2-11-1 | L5 |
No archived broadcast on file for this game yet. If you find one, please report it.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco 49ers | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 310132020 |
| Buffalo Bills | 0 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 06132727 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Bruce Gossett 47 yard field goal | 3-0 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bills | John Leypoldt 32 yard field goal | 3-3 |
| Bills | John Leypoldt 22 yard field goal | 3-6 |
| 49ers | Ted Kwalick 20 yard pass from Steve Spurrier ( Bruce Gossett kick) | 10-6 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Bruce Gossett 20 yard field goal | 13-6 |
| Bills | Jan White 17 yard pass from Dennis Shaw ( John Leypoldt kick) | 13-13 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Larry Schreiber 2 yard rush ( Bruce Gossett kick) | 20-13 |
| Bills | Jim Braxton 2 yard rush ( John Leypoldt kick) | 20-20 |
| Bills | Jim Braxton 1 yard rush ( John Leypoldt kick) | 20-27 |
| 49ers | Bills | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 10 | 17 |
| Total Yards | 202 | 233 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 11/30 | 8/21 |
| Pass yards | 189 | 105 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 1 |
| Interceptions | 3 | 1 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 5 |
| Sack yards lost | 20 | 49 |
| Net pass yards | 169 | 56 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 20 | 43 |
| Rush yards | 33 | 177 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 2 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 2 | 0 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 0 |
| Penalties | 10 | 8 |
| Penalty yards | 101 | 98 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | |||||
| Steve Spurrier | 10/25 | 171 | 1 | 2 | |
| John Brodie | 1/5 | 18 | 0 | 1 | |
| BUF | |||||
| Dennis Shaw | 8/20 | 105 | 1 | 1 | |
| O.J. Simpson | 0/1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Vic Washington | 9 | 18 | 0 | 8 |
| Larry Schreiber | 8 | 12 | 1 | 5 |
| Ken Willard | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Jimmy Thomas | 1 | -2 | 0 | -2 |
| BUF | ||||
| O.J. Simpson | 29 | 138 | 0 | 33 |
| Jim Braxton | 8 | 25 | 2 | 8 |
| Dennis Shaw | 6 | 14 | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO | ||||
| Gene Washington | 3 | 89 | 0 | 35 |
| Ted Kwalick | 3 | 66 | 1 | 29 |
| Larry Schreiber | 3 | 24 | 0 | 18 |
| Ken Willard | 2 | 10 | 0 | 5 |
| BUF | ||||
| J.D. Hill | 2 | 33 | 0 | 20 |
| O.J. Simpson | 2 | 20 | 0 | 25 |
| Haven Moses | 1 | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Jan White | 1 | 17 | 1 | 17 |
| Bob Chandler | 1 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Jim Braxton | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
Buffalo Bills defeated San Francisco 49ers 27-20 at War Memorial Stadium in Week 2. The final scoring play was Bills: Jim Braxton 1 yard rush ( John Leypoldt kick). Top line of the day: Steve Spurrier: 171 pass yards on 10-of-25, 1 TD, 2 INT.
Buffalo Bills walked out of War Memorial Stadium with a 27-20 Week 2 result San Francisco 49ers will replay all the way to the offseason. A one-score game throughout. The decisive points came on the fewest possible margin, which is how these matchups usually resolve. The final scoring play came from Bills: Jim Braxton 1 yard rush ( John Leypoldt kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier.
Buffalo Bills 27, San Francisco 49ers 20. Game: 1972 Week 2. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 3 scoring plays. Q3: 2 scoring plays. Q4: 3 scoring plays. Top performers: - Steve Spurrier: 171 pass yards on 10-of-25, 1 TD, 2 INT - O.J. Simpson: 138 rush yards on 29 carries - Gene Washington: 3 catches for 89 yards
Week 2, played at War Memorial Stadium. Final: San Francisco 49ers 20, Buffalo Bills 27, with Buffalo Bills taking the result by 7. **First quarter**
- 49ers: Bruce Gossett 47 yard field goal
**Second quarter**
- Bills: John Leypoldt 32 yard field goal - Bills: John Leypoldt 22 yard field goal - 49ers: Ted Kwalick 20 yard pass from Steve Spurrier ( Bruce Gossett kick)
**Third quarter**
- 49ers: Bruce Gossett 20 yard field goal - Bills: Jan White 17 yard pass from Dennis Shaw ( John Leypoldt kick)
**Fourth quarter**
- 49ers: Larry Schreiber 2 yard rush ( Bruce Gossett kick) - Bills: Jim Braxton 2 yard rush ( John Leypoldt kick) - Bills: Jim Braxton 1 yard rush ( John Leypoldt kick)
**Top performers**
- Steve Spurrier: 171 pass yards on 10-of-25, 1 TD, 2 INT - O.J. Simpson: 138 rush yards on 29 carries - Gene Washington: 3 catches for 89 yards