MVP Profile: Larry Brown, 1972

Running Back, Washington Redskins



Age: 25 (Sept. 19)
4th season in pro football & with Redskins
College: Kansas State
Height: 5’11” Weight: 195

Prelude:
An 8th round pick by the Redskins in the 1969 NFL draft, Brown led the team in rushing as a rookie (888 yards) and won the league rushing title in ’70 (1125 yards). His production dropped off to 948 yards in 1971 as defenses keyed on him, but he was selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first three years and was a consensus first-team All-Pro in 1971.

1972 Season Summary
Appeared in 12 of 14 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing
Attempts – 285 [3]
Most attempts, game - 30 (for 106 yds.) vs. NY Giants 11/12
Yards – 1216 [2, 1st in NFC]
Most yards, game – 191 yards (on 29 carries) at NY Giants 10/29
Average gain – 4.3 [18]
TDs – 8 [7, tied with four others]
100-yard rushing games - 6

Pass Receiving
Receptions – 32
Most receptions, game – 7 (for 100 yds.) vs. Dallas 10/22
Yards – 473
Most yards, game - 100 (on 7 catches) vs. Dallas 10/22
Average gain – 14.8
TDs – 4

Scoring
TDs – 12 [4, tied with Mercury Morris & Gene Washington]
Points – 72

Led NFL with 1689 yards from scrimmage

Postseason: 3 G
Rushing attempts – 77
Most rushing attempts, game - 30 vs. Dallas, NFC Championship
Rushing yards – 261
Most rushing yards, game - 101 vs. Green Bay, NFC Divisional playoff
Average gain rushing – 3.4
Rushing TDs – 0

Pass receptions – 7
Most pass receptions, game - 5 vs. Miami, Super Bowl
Pass receiving yards - 42
Most pass receiving yards, game - 26 vs. Miami, Super Bowl
Average yards per reception – 6.0
Pass Receiving TDs - 0

Awards & Honors:
NFL MVP: AP, NEA, Bert Bell Award
NFL Offensive Player of the Year: AP
NFC Player of the Year: Sporting News
1st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, NEA, Pro Football Weekly
1st team All-NFC: AP, UPI, Pro Football Weekly, Sporting News
Pro Bowl

Redskins went 11-3 to finish first in NFC East with best record in conference. Won NFC Divisional playoff over Green Bay Packers (16-3) and NFC Championship over Dallas Cowboys (26-3). Lost Super Bowl to Miami Dolphins (14-7).

Aftermath:
Brown ran for 860 yards and caught 40 passes in 1973, but the workhorse runner began to show signs of wear in ’74 and totaled just 838 over his last three seasons (1974-76). For his career, he ran for 5875 yards (3.8 avg.) and caught 238 passes for 2485 yards (10.4 avg.) while scoring a total of 55 touchdowns.

--

MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).

[Updated 2/15/14]
[Updated 11/28/14]