Miami Dolphins at 50: Top 10 Games

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Mandatory Credit: MiamiDolphins.com

No. 1 – Super Bowl VII Miami Dolphins vs. Washington Redskins; Jan. 14, 1973

How can you beat winning the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year? Go back to the first when the Miami Dolphins completed the first and only undefeated season.

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Unlike Super Bowl VIII, the preceding championship bout was a defensive struggle. As such, the game started with four straight go nowhere possessions.

It wasn’t until Bob Griese found Paul Warfield for an 18-yard completion that things started to get interesting.

The play put Miami inside Washington territory, but the Dolphins couldn’t move the ball on the rush for the next two plays. So on a third and four, Griese took to the air again. This time he found Howard Twilley for a 28-yard touchdown reception seconds before the quarter would end.

Jake Scott gathered his first interception of the game on Washington’s next possession, but the offense failed to take advantage of the opportunity.

After both teams traded a few more punts, Washington began to move the football and entered Miami territory facing a third and three.

Quarterback Billy Kilmer was looking for running Larry Brown, but found only Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti. Buoniconti returned the interception 32 yards putting the Miami offense on Washington’s 27 and in great scoring position.

On a third and four, Griese found tight end Jim Mandich for 19 yards to put the Dolphins on the two yard line. It took running back Jim Kiick two tries, but he got into the endzone to give Miami the 14-0 lead with only a few seconds left in the half.

Washington put together a decent drive to start the third quarter. Starting from their own 30, they moved all the way down to the Miami 25. Key plays included two straight 15-yard completions. But Washington kicker Curt Knight would miss the 25-yard kick.

As time expired in the third quarter, Griese was picked off by Brig Owens while looking for Marv Fleming. The turnover didn’t cost the team however as the “No Name Defense” continued their dominance..

In the fourth quarter, Washington put together another drive. Starting from their own 11, Washington methodically moved down the football field eating nearly seven minutes off the clock.

At the Miami ten, Kilmer missed two straight passes. One to Jerry Smith and the other to Charley Taylor. Instead, the Washington quarterback found Jake Scott yet again as the Miami safety converted his second interception of the game and halted the scoring chance.

Scott took the interception for 55 yards which gave Miami a chance to put the game completely out of reach. But the drive would advance only 14 yards when head coach Don Shula decided to kick a field goal and make it a three possession game.

The field goal attempt would go down in Super Bowl infamy as Garo Yepremian attempted to turn a botched attempt into a pass. But the ball would sputter out of his hands and into the arms of Mike Bass who ran 49 yards to make the game 14-7 with just over two minutes left in the contest.

On their next possession, the Dolphins burned 40 seconds off the clock before punting back to Washington. Starting at their own 30, the offense would only go backwards thanks to the dominant “No Name Defense.”

Kilmer tossed two incomplete passes then finally completed one to Brown, who would lose four yards on the reception. With only one play left, Kilmer couldn’t get the ball in the air and was sacked for nine yards.

The Miami Dolphins, a team only a mere two seasons separated from being a struggling expansion team, had won the Super Bowl for the first time in its history.

Jake Scott earned MVP honors for his two interception effort and Larry Csonka rushed for 112 yards on 15 carries.

The game finished what is the only perfect season in NFL history. Some teams have come close to a perfect season, but none have done what the 1972 Miami Dolphins have.

And if you must pick one game to capture the essence of a perfect season, why not pick the game that made it so?

Thus making Super Bowl VII the greatest game in Miami Dolphins history.

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