1973 Miami Dolphins season

Season summary

Although the Dolphins were unable to match their 17–0 perfect season of 1972, many sports writers, fans, and Dolphins players themselves felt that the 1973 team was better. While the 1972 team faced no competition in the regular season that had a record of better than 8-6 and/or .500, the 1973 team played against a much tougher schedule that included games against the Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Dallas Cowboys (all playoff teams), plus two games against a resurgent Bills squad that featured 2,000-yard rusher O. J. Simpson, and a Cleveland Browns team that finished over .500. Miami finished with a 12–2 regular season, including their opening game victory over the defending 1972 NFC West champions, the San Francisco 49ers that tied an NFL record with eighteen consecutive wins. The Dolphins' streak ended in week two with a 12–7 loss to the Raiders in Berkeley, California.

Just like the two previous seasons, Miami's offense relied primarily on their rushing attack. Fullback Larry Csonka recorded his third consecutive 1,000 rushing yard season (1,003 yards), while running back Mercury Morris rushed for 954 yards and scored 10 touchdowns, while leading the league with 6.4 yards per carry. Running back Jim Kiick was also a key contributor, rushing for 257 yards, and catching 27 passes for 208 yards. Quarterback Bob Griese, the AFC's second leading passer, completed only 116 passes for 1,422 yards, but threw about twice as many touchdown passes (17) as interceptions (8), and earned an 84.3 passer rating. Wide receiver Paul Warfield remained the main deep threat on the team, catching 29 passes for 514 yards and 11 touchdowns. The offensive line remained strong led by center Jim Langer and right guard Larry Little. Griese, Csonka, Warfield, Langer, and Little would all eventually be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Miami's "No Name Defense" continued to dominate their opponents. Future Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti recovered three fumbles and returned one for a touchdown. Safety Dick Anderson led the team with eight interceptions, which he returned for 163 yards and two touchdowns. And safety Jake Scott, the previous season's Super Bowl MVP, had four interceptions and 71 return yards. The Dolphins were still using their "53" defense devised at the beginning of the 1972 season, where Bob Matheson (#53) would be brought in as a fourth linebacker in a 3–4 defense, with Manny Fernandez at nose tackle. Matheson could either rush the quarterback or drop back into coverage.

In 2007, ESPN.com ranked the 1973 Dolphins as the eight-greatest defense in NFL history, noting that the team "held 11 opponents to 14 points or less, setting a record by allowing just 150 points in a 14-game season". Defensive end Bill Stanfill set a Dolphins' sack record that still stands, with 18.5. In the playoffs and Super Bowl, they allowed only 33 points against Cincinnati, Oakland and Minnesota. Stanfill, Manny Fernandez, Hall of Fame middle linebacker Nick Buoniconti, and safeties Dick Anderson (AP Defensive Player of the Year) and Jake Scott were all named to the 1973 All-Pro team. They also held record-breaking rusher O. J. Simpson to his lowest total yardage of the season, a mere 55 yards in Week Six.

To date, the 1973 Miami Dolphins remain one of two teams (the 2019 Baltimore Ravens being the other) in NFL history with 12 players on their roster to be selected for the Pro Bowl.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1973 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

• President – Joe Robbie

• Vice president – Don Shula

• Director of player personnel – Bobby Beathard

• Head coach – Don Shula

• Offense – Bill McPeak

• Offensive backs – Carl Taseff

• Offensive line – Monte Clark

• Assistant head coach/defense – Bill Arnsparger

• Defensive line – Mike Scarry

• Defensive backs – Tom Keane

• None - N/A

• None - N/A

Roster

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

Week 2 at Raiders

First quarter

• OAK – George Blanda 12-yard field goal. ''Raiders 3–0. '''Drive:''''' Second quarter
• OAK – George Blanda 46-yard field goal. ''Raiders 6–0. '''Drive:''''' Third quarter
• OAK – George Blanda 19-yard field goal. ''Raiders 9–0. '''Drive:''''' Fourth quarter
• OAK – George Blanda 10-yard field goal. ''Raiders 12–0. '''Drive:'''''
• MIA – Jim Mandich 28-yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick). ''Raiders 12–7. '''Drive:''''' ;Top passers
• MIA – Bob Griese – 12/25, 90 yards, TD
• OAK – Daryle Lamonica – 7/10, 63 yards, INT ;Top rushers
• MIA – Mercury Morris – 7 rushes, 48 yards
• OAK – Marv Hubbard – 20 rushes, 88 yards ;Top receivers
• MIA – Jim Mandich – 2 receptions, 38 yards, TD
• OAK – Fred Biletnikoff – 3 receptions, 36 yards

The Raiders became the first team to defeat Miami since Super Bowl VI. The game was played at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley due to a scheduling conflict at Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum with the A's.

Week 4

Week 6

Miami, Florida Miami took over first place in the AFC East by halting Simpson's streak of consecutive 100-yard performances. They held him to 55 yards on 14 carries before he left the game with an ankle sprain in the fourth quarter. Miami posted a 21-point second quarter highlighted by a pair of touchdown passes from Bob Griese to Jim Mandich. The Bills made no first downs in the first half. Leypoldt and Garo Yepremian opened and closed the scoring by swapping field goals. The Dolphins' other touchdown came when a 21-yard Paul Warfield reception set up a Mercury Morris 4-yard touchdown.

Week 8

Week 10

Orchard Park, New York The Dolphins clinched the East Division title with a 17–0 shutout of the Bills. Miami's first touchdown drive included two fourth-and-one conversions by Jim Kiick. With Miami leading 10–0, Buffalo drove from their own 20-yard-line to the Dolphins' 4-yard-line and then turned the ball over on downs four plays later at the 1-yard-line. In the game, the Bills were shut out despite a pair of 100-yard rushing efforts by Simpson and Braxton who posted 120 and 119 yards respectively.

Week 12

Week 14

Standings

Postseason

Divisional

The Dolphins outgained Cincinnati in total yards, 400–194, and first downs, 27–11, while also scoring on three of their first four possessions and shutting out the Bengals in the second half. The Dolphins racked up 241 yards on the ground, including 106 from Mercury Morris and 71 from Larry Csonka, while receiver Paul Warfield caught 5 passes for 95 yards and a score. Bob Griese completed 11 of 18 passes for 159 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception, for a passer rating of 103.7. Griese's 18 pass attempts were the most that he would throw throughout the entire 1973-74 playoffs. For the rest of the playoffs, Griese would throw less than 10 times per game.

Conference Championship

Running back Larry Csonka led the Dolphins to a victory with 117 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Mercury Morris also ran for 86 yards. Bob Griese threw just six passes during the game, completing three.

Super Bowl

Main article: Super Bowl VIII

Larry Csonka rushed for 145 yards on 33 carries, scoring two touchdowns, and was named MVP. Bob Griese threw just seven passes all game, completing six.

Awards and honors

• Larry Csonka, Super Bowl Most Valuable Player

Pro Bowl Selections (voted by NFL coaches for players other than their own):

Offense:

• Bob Griese, Quarterback
• Jim Langer, Offensive line (center)
• Larry Little, Offensive line (guard)
• Wayne Moore, Offensive line (tackle)
• Larry Csonka, Running back
• Mercury Morris, Running back
• Paul Warfield, Wide Receiver
• Garo Yepremian, Place Kicker

Defense:

• Bill Stanfill, Defensive end
• Nick Buoniconti, Middle Linebacker
• Dick Anderson, Safety
• Jake Scott, Safety

References

1. as of [[2024 NFL season. 2024]]
2. [https://www.espn.com/page2/s/list/bestNFLdefense.html The List: Best NFL defense of all-time, 2007]
3. This last selection is commonly referred to as [[Mr. Irrelevant]].
4. "1973 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
5. "1973 Miami Dolphins (NFL) Scores, Roster, Stats , Coaches, Draft". profootballarchives.com.
6. "San Francisco 49ers at Miami Dolphins - September 16th, 1973".
7. (September 24, 1973). "Blanda Kicks End Dolphin String, 12‐7". New York Times.
8. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197310070mia.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]
9. "Buffalo Bills 6 at Miami Dolphins 27". Sports Reference LLC.
10. (October 22, 1973). "Packers racked, O. J. squeezed". [[Chicago Tribune]].
11. (October 22, 1973). "Dolphins Stop Simpson Bills". [[The Victoria Advocate]] }}{{dead link.
12. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197311040nyj.htm Pro Football Reference.com]
13. "Miami Dolphins 17 at Buffalo Bills 0". Sports Reference LLC.
14. (November 19, 1973). "Miami defeats Bills to clinch division crown". [[Bangor Daily News]].
15. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197312030mia.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]
16. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197312150mia.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]
17. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, {{ISBN. 0-7611-2480-2, p. 296
18. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197312230mia.htm Pro Football Reference.com]
19. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197312300mia.htm Pro Football Reference.com]
20. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197401130mia.htm Pro Football Reference.com]
21. [https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/20/archives/hill-of-jets-11-dolphins-in-pro-bowl-american-conference-national.html Hill of Jets, 11 Dolphins In Pro Bowl], ''New York Times'' (archives), William N. Wallace, Dec. 20, 1973. Even though the headline states 11 Dolphins, the article itself lists 12 Dolphins including kicker Garo Yepremian.