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1978 Miami Dolphins season

13th season in franchise history

13th season in franchise history

FieldValue
teamMiami Dolphins
year1978
record11–5
division_place2nd AFC East
ownerJoe Robbie
general managerMike Robbie
coachDon Shula
stadiumMiami Orange Bowl
playoffsLost [Wild Card Playoffs](1978-79-nfl-playoffs)
(vs. [Oilers](1978-houston-oilers-season)) 9–17
pro bowlers2
DT Bob Baumhower
SS Tim Foley
shortnavlinkDolphins seasons

(vs. Oilers) 9–17 DT Bob Baumhower SS Tim Foley

The 1978 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, the 13th overall, and the 9th under head coach Don Shula. The team returned to the NFL playoffs for the first time since 1974, with an 11–5 record. Quarterback Bob Griese missed the first seven games due to a knee injury. The Dolphins got off to a 5–2 start behind back-up Don Strock. Upon Griese's return, the Dolphins earned a berth to the playoffs as a Wild Card. Helping to lead the Dolphins back to the postseason was Running Back Delvin Williams who set a team record with 1,258 yards rushing on the season. In the first playoff game involving two Wild Cards, the Dolphins were stunned 17–9 by the Houston Oilers at the Orange Bowl. In the process the Dolphins set two notable records: scoring first in all but one of their sixteen regular season games, and never trailing at any point in eleven games. The former record was equalled by the 2004 Patriots, and the latter was beaten by the 2005 Colts.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1978 NFL draft

Personnel

Staff

  • President – Joe Robbie

  • Vice President – Don Shula

  • Executive Vice-President - Mike Robbie

  • Head coach – Don Shula

  • Offense/Receivers/Passing Game – Howard Schnellenberger

  • Offensive Backs – Carl Taseff

  • Offensive Line/Running Game – John Sandusky

  • Assistant head coach/Defense – Bill Arnsparger

  • Defensive Line/Run Defense – Mike Scarry

  • Defensive Backs – Tom Keane

  • Special Teams – Carl Taseff

  • Punting – Tom Keane

Roster

Standings

Regular season

Schedule

Miami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"WeekMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"DateMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"OpponentMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"ResultMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"RecordMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"VenueMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"Recap12345678910111213141516
September 3at **[New York Jets](1978-new-york-jets-season)****L** 20–330–1Shea Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197809030nyj.htm)
September 10at **[Baltimore Colts](1978-baltimore-colts-season)****W** 42–01–1Memorial Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197809100clt.htm)
September 17**[Buffalo Bills](1978-buffalo-bills-season)****W** 31–242–1Miami Orange Bowl[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197809170mia.htm)
September 24at [Philadelphia Eagles](1978-philadelphia-eagles-season)**L** 3–172–2Veterans Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197809240phi.htm)
October 1[St. Louis Cardinals](1978-st-louis-cardinals-nfl-season)**W** 24–103–2Miami Orange Bowl[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197810010mia.htm)
[Cincinnati Bengals](1978-cincinnati-bengals-season)**W** 21–04–2Miami Orange Bowl[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197810090mia.htm)
October 15at [San Diego Chargers](1978-san-diego-chargers-season)**W** 28–215–2San Diego Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197810150sdg.htm)
October 22at **[New England Patriots](1978-new-england-patriots-season)****L** 24–335–3Schaefer Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197810220nwe.htm)
October 29**Baltimore Colts****W** 26–86–3Miami Orange Bowl[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197810290mia.htm)
November 5[Dallas Cowboys](1978-dallas-cowboys-season)**W** 23–167–3Miami Orange Bowl[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197811050mia.htm)
November 12at **Buffalo Bills****W** 25–248–3Rich Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197811120buf.htm)
at [Houston Oilers](1978-houston-oilers-season)**L** 30–358–4Astrodome[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197811200oti.htm)
November 26**New York Jets****L** 13–248–5Miami Orange Bowl[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197811260mia.htm)
December 3at [Washington Redskins](1978-washington-redskins-season)**W** 16–09–5Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197812030was.htm)
December 10[Oakland Raiders](1978-oakland-raiders-season)**W** 23–610–5Miami Orange Bowl[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197812100mia.htm)
**New England Patriots****W** 23–311–5Miami Orange Bowl[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197812180mia.htm)

Results

Week 3

Playoffs

Miami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"RoundMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"DateMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"Opponent (seed)Miami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"ResultMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"RecordMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"VenueMiami Dolphinsyear=1978border=2}}"RecapWild Card
December 24[Houston Oilers](1978-houston-oilers-season) (5)**L** 9–170–1Miami Orange Bowl[Recap](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197812240mia.htm)

AFC Wildcard Playoff (Sunday December 24, 1978): vs. [[Houston Oilers]]

  • Scoring
    • MIA – Tillman 13 pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0
    • HOU – Wilson 13 pass from Pastorini (Fritsch kick) 7–7
    • HOU – field goal Fritsch 35 HOU 10–7
    • HOU – Campbell 1 run (Fritsch kick) HOU 17–7
    • MIA – Safety, Pastorini ran out of end zone HOU 17–9

Awards and honors

Milestones

References

  1. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=season&year_min=1940&year_max=2012&game_type=R&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&game_day_of_week=&game_location=&game_result=&overtime=&league_id=&team_id=&opp_id=&conference_game=&division_game=&tm_is_playoff=&opp_is_playoff=&tm_is_winning=&opp_is_winning=&tm_scored_first=1&tm_led=&tm_trailed=&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=game_date In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the regular season, team scored first]
  2. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/play-index/tgl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=season&year_min=1940&year_max=2012&game_type=R&game_num_min=0&game_num_max=99&week_num_min=0&week_num_max=99&game_day_of_week=&game_location=&game_result=&overtime=&league_id=&team_id=&opp_id=&conference_game=&division_game=&tm_is_playoff=&opp_is_playoff=&tm_is_winning=&opp_is_winning=&tm_scored_first=&tm_led=&tm_trailed=0&c1stat=&c1comp=gt&c1val=&c2stat=&c2comp=gt&c2val=&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=game_date In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the regular season, team never trailed during game]
  3. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197809170mia.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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