National Football League
Miami Dolphins
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Dolphins History
September 2, 1966 was the first time the AFL franchise Miami Dolphins took the field against the Oakland Raiders in front of 26,776 fans at the Orange Bowl.The Dolphins get the franchise off to a fast start as Joe Auer returns the opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.The rest of the game didn’t go nearly as well as the Fish lost 23-14.It would be a month a 13 days before the Dolphins win capture their first franchise victory against the Denver Bronco 24-7.The team would finish their inaugural year 3-11.
The 1970 season saw the Dolphins enter the playoffs for the first time.Led by new Head Coach Don Shula, the team experiences immediate success as he led the team to a 10-4 record and a playoff birth against the Oakland Raiders.The Raiders would spoil the party for the Dolphins with a 21-14 victory.
The next season, Coach Shula reloaded and acquired LB Bob Matheson who anchored the 53 defense the team played.The defense became so proficient that they picked up the nickname “The No-Name Defense”. The team also sported QB Bob Griese and a trio power backs Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Mercury Morris. The team finished the year at 10-3-1, winning their 1st Division Title.They then hosted the Indianapolis colts for the AFC Championships which the Dolphins win 21-0, earning their 1st Super Bowl birth.
Facing a veteran Dallas Cowboys squad in Super Bowl VI, the Dolphins were immediately overwhelmed and were routed by the Boys 24-3 but the Dolphins were determined to be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.
1972 is now the most famous season in NFL History as the Dolphins proceeded to complete the Perfect Season, romping through the league, eating teams and spitting out wins, The Fish would reach that pentacle as the team went 14-0.The team would carry the good luck into the playoffs as they would dispatch the Cleveland Brown 21-14, recover in time to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-17 and became the first AFC team to make it to two consecutive Super Bowls.
Super Bowl VII pitted the undefeated Dolphins (now 16-0) against the Washington Redskins.The Skins were 1 point favorites but the Dolphins struck first with a 28 yard pass from Bob Griese to Howard Twilley in the first quarter.
The Redskins did keep the high octane Dolphins grounded for most of the game as they held the Fish to 69 net passing yards. The Dolphins, however, kept their active ground game as the three headed monster that was Csonka, Kiick and Morris racked up 184 net rushing yards.The Dolphins would take a 14-0 lead in the second quarter as RB Jim Kiick scored on a 1 TD yard plunge.
The only score the Redskins would muster came on a 49 yard Mike Bass fumble return for a touchdown.The final outcome was Miami 14, Washington 0 for their first Super Bowl victory.
While in the 1973 season the team went 12-2 and many pundits thought that this Dolphins incarnation was even stronger then the 14-0 team as they swept through the playoffs again, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 36-14 for the Division Title, rolling the Raiders 27-10 for the AFC Title and becoming the 1st team to ever make to three consecutive Super Bowls.
Super Bowl VIII was played in Houston’s Rice Stadium and pitted the Minnesota Vikings against the Miami Dolphins.From the outset it was clear the Dolphins were not going to be able to stop Miami RB Larry Csonka as he rushed for 145 yards on 33 carries and scored 2 touchdowns as QB Bob Griese only passed 7 times completing 6.Csonka was name the Super Bowl MVP.
The next time the Dolphins made it past the AFC Conference game was in the strike laden 1982 season as the 7-2 Dolphins met the New England Patriots who in the last game of the regular season, defeated the Dolphins 3-0 with a controversial FG.This time the Dolphins humiliated the Patriots 28-3.Next up were the San Diego Chargers and the Fish shut down the high powered Charger Offense with a 34-13 shellacking.The Dolphins next met the New York Jets for the AFC Title.The Dolphins A.J Duhe sets an AFC playoff record with 3 interceptions as the Dolphins defeat the Jets 14-0 for a trip to the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl XVII again matched the Washington Redskins against the Miami Dolphins.This time, however, the Redskins, led by RB John Riggins would dominate the game for a 27-17 victory.Riggins would win the Super Bowl MVP Award.This was the last Super Bowl Appearance for the Dolphins
The 1964 season saw the Dolphins win their Division with a 12-2 record.They would draw the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship Game.In front of a standing room only crowd of 40,242 the Dolphins destroyed the Chargers 20-7 for their first AFL Title.
The next time the Dolphins would win their Division was not until the 1980 season when they posted an 11-5 record and won their first Division Title.In the playoffs, the Dolphins would be ambushed by the San Diego Chargers 20-14
The Dolphins would continue to get into the playoffs but would not make it past the conference game until the 1990 season utilizing the No Huddle Offense fulltime, the Dolphins blow through the league winning 9 of their first 10 games and finishing with a 13-3 record and their 3rd straight AFC East Title. In the playoffs the Dolphins would continue their winning ways, dispatching the Miami Dolphins 44-34 and destroying the Oakland Raiders 51-3 for the AFC Conference Title and the right to play the New York Giants in Tampa Bay.
Super Bowl XXV, the Silver Anniversary Super Bowl was a lesson in power football as the Giants countered the Dolphins No Huddle Offense by a grinding running game utilizing 4 backs and gaining 172 yards on the ground and holding Buffalo to only 19:27 seconds in time of possession.The Giants defeated the Dolphins 20-19.
The 1994 season would see the Dolphins bounce back from their Super Bowl loss and dominate the AFC East Division with a 13-3 record as RB Thurman Thomas won the Offensive Player of the Year Award with 2,038 all purpose yards and 12 touchdowns as he led the Dolphins into their 2nd consecutive championship in Super Bowl XXVI.
Super Bowl XXVI pitted the Miami Dolphins against the Washington Redskins in the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota.The Dolphins fell behind 24-0 early on and had trouble recovering.Late in the third, the Dolphins would make a 10 point run but the Skins would answer back to take a 37-10 lead.The Dolphins would score 2 late touchdowns to make the final outcome 37-24.
Miami made history the next season as they again had a stellar regular season going 11-5 but failing to secure the Division for the first time in 3 years.The Dolphins would lose to the Houston Oilers on the last game of the season.The Division Championship was played a week later as the Oilers and the Dolphins met again.This time the game looking like a blowout as the Dolphins trailed 35-3.Early in the third quarter, Buffalo began a comeback scoring a TD and bringing the score to 35-10.The Dolphins then kicked an Onside Kick and recovered the ball.Backup QB Frank Reich then hit WR Don Bebe for a 37 yard TD strike.The Dolphins continued to cut into the lead until late in the 4th they took a 38-35 lead.The Oilers would answer back and force overtime.Houston wins the coin flip and QB Warren Moon led their march down the field but, on 3rd and 3, on their own 27 yard line, Moon is picked off by Nate Odom.The Dolphins sent out kicker Steve Christie for a 32-yard FG to complete one of the best comebacks in NFL History and the Dolphins 41-38 win.The Dolphins then met the Pittsburgh Steelers for the Division Championship beating them 24-3.The AFC Conference Title saw the return of Jim Kelly against the Miami Dolphins as he led the Dolphins over the fish 29-10 for their 3rd straight AFC Championship and Super Bowl birth.
Super Bowl XXVII saw the Miami Dolphins as only the 2nd team in NFL History to play in 3 straight Super Bowls as they faced the Dallas Cowboys. Hoping to avoid the Buffalo Super Bowl curse, the team jumped ahead early on a 2 yard Thurman Thomas TD run. The Dolphins may have thought things going in the right direction until 2 consecutive turnovers that led to 14 points by the end of the 1st quarter and the Cowboys would take an 18 point into halftime. The second half saw much of the same as Buffalo would manage only 7 points in the 2nd half to the Cowboys 24. The final score was Dallas 52, Buffalo 17. The Dolphins suffered their 3rd straight Super Bowl defeat.
The Dolphins would make and unprecedented 4th straight appearance in the Super Bowl as they again Matched up with the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVIII in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. The Dolphins took a strong 13-6 lead into half time and appeared poised to take the next step in the Dolphins Championship Evolution. However, the Cowboys came out in the 2nd half and completely dominated as James Washington stripped Thurman Thomas and scampered 47 yards to tie the game and the Cowboys never looked back as the went on to score 17 straight points to win the game 30-13 handing the Dolphins their 4th straight Super Bowl defeat.
Miami again returned to the Super Bowl in 1984 in Super Bowl XIX and matched up against the San Francisco 49er's and Joe Montana. Montana would take charge of the game and maneuvered the Niner's to a 38-16 victory.
The Dolphins have yet to make it back to the Super Bowl
The Dolphins have made the playoffs 22 times in 43 seasons and have won their division 13 times (1971, 72, 73, 74, 79, 1981, 83, 84, 85 and 1992). They have won their Conference 7 times (1971, 72, 73, 79, 1981, 83, 84, 85, 1992, 94, 2000 and 2008) and out of 5 Super Bowl appearances they have won 2 (192 & 1973).
The team has had 10 Hall of Famer on their rosters: (Nick Buoniconti 1969-1976, Larry Csonka 1968-1974, 1979, Bob Griese 1967-1980, Jim Langer 1970-1979, Larry Little 1969-1980, Dan Marino 1983-1999, Coach Don Shula 1970-1995, Dwight Stephenson 1980-1987, Thurman Thomas 2000 and Paul Warfield 1970-1974).
The Dolphins have retired 3 Jerseys: #12 Bob Griese, # 13 Dan Marino and #39 Larry Csonka
Team Awards include 2 Coach of the Year Awards (1970 & 1972 Don Shula), 3 Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards (1977 A.J. Duhe, 1986 John Offerdahl and 1994 Tim Bowens), 1 Offensive Rookie of the Year (1987 Troy Straford), 3 Defensive Player of the Year Awards (1973 Dick Anderson, 1983 Doug Betters and 2006 Jason Taylor), 1 Offensive Player of the Year Award (1984 Dan Marino) and 1 NFL MVP Award (1984 Dan Marino)
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