50 moments in Miami Dolphins history

Mandatory Credit: MiamiDolphins.com

Following the 1972 Super Bowl win by the Dolphins, defensive back Jake Scott received the Super Bowl MVP award. But it should have gone to defensive end Manny Fernandez instead. Scott’s day was huge no doubt. Scott finished the day with two interceptions of Redskins quarterback Billy Kilmer returning one for 55 yards. Yet it was the play of Fernandez that had many people believing the reason behind the Dolphins victory.

Fernandez was a monstrous force in the game registering 17 solo tackles with almost all of them coming for little or no gain. So why didn’t he get the due he deserved? At the time, the NFL didn’t take too much stock in keeping tackle totals and the press corp responsible for the MVP voting admitted later that they were really watching the Redskins fail and completely missed the fact that Fernandez was having the game he was having.

The truth is the Dolphins wouldn’t have won, or at least wouldn’t have won so handedly without the play of Manny Fernandez.