1973 Miami Dolphins season

The 1973 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's eighth season and fourth season in the National Football League (NFL). The team entered the 1973 season as defending Super Bowl champion following its perfect undefeated 1972 season.

In week 1, the Dolphins extended their winning streak to 18 with a 21–13 win over the San Francisco 49ers. However, the following week, they were defeated 12–7 by the Oakland Raiders to end the winning streak. The streak stood as an NFL record until it was broken by the New England Patriots in 2004 whose record of 21 consecutive wins still stands.

The team won the AFC East, finishing with a regular season record of 12–2, and then defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the Divisional Round, the Raiders in the AFC Championship game, and the Minnesota Vikings in the league's eighth Super Bowl. It was the Dolphins' second consecutive (and to date last)^[1] Super Bowl victory. With the Dolphins' combined records of 17–0 and 15–2 over the course of their 1972 and 1973 seasons, the Dolphins posted a 32–2 total record over 2 years, for a winning percentage of .941. The Dolphins allowed just 10.7 points per game in the regular season, a franchise record still standing today.

The last remaining active member of the 1973 Miami Dolphins was offensive lineman Ed Newman, who retired after the 1984 season, right after making it to Super Bowl XIX, also as a member of the Dolphins.

Season summary

Although the Dolphins were unable to match their 17–0 perfect season of 1972, many^[who?] 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,^[2] 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.

Offseason

Draft

1973 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	52	Chuck Bradley	TE	Oregon
3	78	Leon Gray *	OT	Jackson State
4	104	Bo Rather	WR	Michigan
5	111	Don Strock	QB	Virginia Tech
5	130	Dave McCurry	DB	Iowa State
6	156	Ed Newman *	OG	Duke
7	160	Kevin Reilly	LB	Villanova
7	163	Benny Shepherd	RB	Arkansas Tech
7	178	Willie Hatter	WR	Northern Illinois
7	182	Thomas Smith	FB	Miami (FL)
8	208	Archie Pearmon	DE	Northeast Oklahoma
9	234	Karl Lorch	DT	USC
10	260	Ron Fernandes	DE	Eastern Michigan
11	286	Chris Kete	C	Boston University
12	312	Mike Mullen	LB	Tulane
13	338	Joe Booker	RB	Miami (OH)
14	364	Greg Boyd	RB	Arizona
15	389	Bill Palmer	TE	St. Thomas
16	416	James Jackson	DE	Norfolk State
17	442[3]	Charlie Wade	WR	Tennessee State
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[4]

Personnel

Staff

1973 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office President – Joe Robbie Vice president – Don Shula Director of player personnel – Bobby Beathard Head coaches Head coach – Don Shula Offensive coaches Offense – Bill McPeak Offensive backs – Carl Taseff Offensive line – Monte Clark

Defensive coaches Assistant head coach/defense – Bill Arnsparger Defensive line – Mike Scarry Defensive backs – Tom Keane

Roster

1973 Miami Dolphins roster

	Quarterbacks 12 Bob Griese 15 Earl Morrall Running backs 22 Mercury Morris 39 Larry Csonka FB 32 Hubert Ginn 21 Jim Kiick 23 Charles Leigh FB 36 Don Nottingham 29 Tom Smith FB Wide receivers 86 Marlin Briscoe 42 Paul Warfield 82 Bo Rather 34 Ron Sellers 81 Howard Twilley Tight ends 80 Marv Fleming 88 Jim Mandich		Offensive linemen 79 Wayne Moore OT 67 Bob Kuechenberg OG 62 Jim Langer C 66 Larry Little OG 73 Norm Evans OT 77 Doug Crusan OT 55 Irv Goode OG 64 Ed Newman OG 76 Willie Young OT Defensive linemen 83 Vern Den Herder DE 75 Manny Fernandez DT 72 Bob Heinz DT 84 Bill Stanfill DE 68 Ron Berger DT 65 Maulty Moore DT 70 Larry Woods DE		Linebackers 59 Doug Swift 85 Nick Buoniconti 57 Mike Kolen 51 Larry Ball 58 Bruce Bannon 53 Bob Matheson 56 Jesse Powell Defensive backs 25 Tim Foley CB 45 Curtis Johnson CB 13 Jake Scott FS 40 Dick Anderson SS 49 Charlie Babb SS 26 Lloyd Mumphord CB 48 Henry Stuckey CB Special teams 1 Garo Yepremian K 20 Larry Seiple P		Reserve lists -- Chuck Bradley C (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad 10 Don Strock QB Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	July 27	vs. College All-Stars	W 14–3	1–0	Soldier Field (Chicago)	54,103	Recap
2	August 4	Cincinnati Bengals	W 14–13	2–0	Miami Orange Bowl	78,091	Recap
3	August 11	New Orleans Saints	W 14–13	3–0	Miami Orange Bowl	80,050	Recap
4	August 18	Chicago Bears	T 9–9	3–0–1	Miami Orange Bowl	78,590	Recap
5	August 24	Los Angeles Rams	W 17–14	4–0–1	Miami Orange Bowl	78,618	Recap
6	August 31	at Minnesota Vikings	L 17–20	4–1–1	Metropolitan Stadium	46,619	Recap
7	September 6	at Dallas Cowboys	L 23–26	4–2–1	Texas Stadium	61,378	Recap

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 16	San Francisco 49ers	W 21–13	1–0	Miami Orange Bowl	68,275
2	September 23	at Oakland Raiders	L 7–12	1–1	California Memorial Stadium	74,121
3	September 30	New England Patriots	W 44–23	2–1	Miami Orange Bowl	62,508
4	October 7	New York Jets	W 31–3	3–1	Miami Orange Bowl	63,850
5	October 15	at Cleveland Browns	W 17–9	4–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	70,070
6	October 21	Buffalo Bills	W 27–6	5–1	Miami Orange Bowl	65,241
7	October 28	at New England Patriots	W 30–14	6–1	Schaefer Stadium	57,617
8	November 4	at New York Jets	W 24–14	7–1	Shea Stadium	57,791
9	November 11	Baltimore Colts	W 44–0	8–1	Miami Orange Bowl	60,332
10	November 18	at Buffalo Bills	W 17–0	9–1	Rich Stadium	77,138
11	November 22	at Dallas Cowboys	W 14–7	10–1	Texas Stadium	58,089
12	December 3	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 30–26	11–1	Miami Orange Bowl	68,901
13	December 9	at Baltimore Colts	L 3–16	11–2	Memorial Stadium	58,446
14	December 15	Detroit Lions	W 34–7	12–2	Miami Orange Bowl	53,375

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total 49ers 3 7 3 0 13 • Dolphins 3 3 0 15 21 Date: September 16 Location: Orange Bowl Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 92 °F (33 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h) Referee: Jim Tunney TV announcers (CBS): Jack Whitaker and Wayne Walker

Scoring summary Q1 SF Gossett 47 yard field goal SF 3–0 Q1 MIA Yepremian 31 yard field goal Tie 3–3 Q2 MIA Yepremian 53 yard field goal MIA 6–3 Q2 SF Washington 3 yard run (Gossett kick) SF 10–6 Q3 SF Gossett 30 yard field goal SF 13–6 Q4 MIA Warfield 10 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) Tie 13–13 Q4 MIA Yepremian 45 yard field goal MIA 16–13 Q4 MIA Safety, Wittum tackled by Johnson in end zone MIA 18–13 Q4 MIA Yepremian 22 yard field goal MIA 21–13

^[5]

Week 2 at Raiders

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.^[6]

Week 4

1 2 3 4 Total Jets 0 0 0 3 3 • Dolphins 14 10 7 0 31 Date: October 7 Location: Orange Bowl Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C); wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h) Referee: Chuck Heberling

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Morris 3 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 Q1 MIA Briscoe 12 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 14–0 Q2 MIA Yepremian 19 yard field goal MIA 17–0 Q2 MIA Warfield 3 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 24–0 Q3 MIA Warfield 40 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 31–0 Q4 NYJ Howfield 38 yard field goal MIA 31–3

^[7]

Week 6

Week 6: Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins^[8]

1 2 3 4 Total Buffalo Bills (4–2) 3 0 0 3 6 • Miami Dolphins (5–1) 3 21 3 0 27 Date: October 21, 1973 Location: Orange Bowl (astroturf) Miami, Florida Game start: 1:00 PM Game attendance: 65,241 Game weather: 80 degrees, relative humidity 77%, wind 17 mph (27 km/h) mph Referee: Fred Silva

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

Week 8

1 2 3 4 Total • Dolphins 7 7 10 0 24 Jets 0 14 0 0 14 Date: November 4 Location: Shea Stadium Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 47 °F (8 °C); wind 17 mph (27 km/h) Referee: Fred Wyant

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Morris 19 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 Q2 NYJ Riggins 1 yard run (Howfield kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 NYJ Riggins 3 yard run (Howfield kick) NYJ 14–7 Q2 MIA Morris 4 yard run (Yepremian kick) Tie 14–14 Q3 MIA Warfield 37 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 21–14 Q3 MIA Yepremian 20 yard field goal MIA 24–14

^[11]

Week 10

Week 10: Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills^[12]

1 2 3 4 Total • Miami Dolphins (9–1) 7 10 0 0 17 Buffalo Bills (5–5) 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 18, 1973 Location: Rich Stadium (astroturf) Orchard Park, New York Game start: 1:00 PM Game attendance: 77,138 Game weather: 37 degrees, relative humidity 70%, wind 12 mph (19 km/h) mph, wind chill 28 Referee: Dick Jorgensen

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.^[13] 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.^[12]

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total Steelers 0 3 7 16 26 • Dolphins 20 10 0 0 30 Date: December 3 Location: Orange Bowl Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 68,901 Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C); wind 14 mph (23 km/h) Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and Don Meredith

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Anderson 27 yard interception return (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 Q1 MIA Yepremian 28 yard field goal MIA 10–0 Q1 MIA Yepremian 46 yard field goal MIA 13–0 Q1 MIA Mandich 2 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 20–0 Q2 MIA Anderson 38 yard interception return (Yepremian kick) MIA 27–0 Q2 PIT Gerela 37 yard field goal MIA 27–3 Q2 MIA Yepremian 14 yard field goal MIA 30–3 Q3 PIT P. Pearson 5 yard pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) MIA 30–10 Q4 PIT Harris 21 yard run (Gerela kick) MIA 30–17 Q4 PIT B. Pearson 17 yard pass from Bradshaw (Gerela kick) MIA 30–24 Q4 PIT Safety, Griese tackled by White in end zone MIA 30–26

^[14]

Week 14

1 2 3 4 Total Lions 0 0 7 7 • Dolphins 14 17 3 0 34 Date: December 15 Location: Orange Bowl Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game weather: 69 °F (21 °C); wind 7 mph (11 km/h) Referee: Norm Schachter TV announcers (CBS): Jack Buck and Pat Summerall

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Warfield 21 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 Q1 MIA Warfield 7 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 14–0 Q2 MIA Yepremian 27 yard field goal MIA 17–0 Q2 MIA Warfield 16 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 24–0 Q2 MIA Warfield 4 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 31–0 Q3 MIA Yepremian 28 yard field goal MIA 34–0 Q4 DET Owens 5 yard run (Mann kick) MIA 34–7

^[15]

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Miami Dolphins	12	2	0	.857	7–1	9–2	343	150	W1
Buffalo Bills	9	5	0	.643	6–2	7–4	259	230	W4
New England Patriots	5	9	0	.357	1–7	3–8	258	300	L2
New York Jets	4	10	0	.286	4–4	4–7	240	306	L2
Baltimore Colts	4	10	0	.286	2–6	2–9	226	341	W2

^[16]

Postseason

Divisional

1 2 3 4 Total Bengals 3 13 0 0 16 • Dolphins 14 7 10 3 34 Date: December 23 Location: Orange Bowl Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 78,928 Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h) Referee: Bernie Ulman TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Warfield 13 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 Q1 CIN Muhlmann 24 yard field goal MIA 7–3 Q1 MIA Csonka 1 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 14–3 Q2 MIA Morris 4 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 21–3 Q2 CIN Craig 45 yard interception return (Muhlmann kick) MIA 21–10 Q2 CIN Muhlmann 46 yard field goal MIA 21–13 Q2 CIN Muhlmann 10 yard field goal MIA 21–16 Q3 MIA Mandich 7 yard pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 28–16 Q3 MIA Yepremian 50 yard field goal MIA 31–16 Q4 MIA Yepremian 46 yard field goal MIA 34–16

^[17]

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

1 2 3 4 Total Raiders 0 0 10 0 10 • Dolphins 7 7 3 10 27 Date: December 30 Location: Orange Bowl Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 79,325 Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C); wind 8 mph (13 km/h) Referee: Tommy Bell TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Csonka 11 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 Q2 MIA Csonka 2 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 14–0 Q3 OAK Blanda 21 yard field goal MIA 14–3 Q3 MIA Yepremian 42 yard field goal MIA 17–3 Q3 OAK Siani 25 yard pass from Stabler (Blanda kick) MIA 17–10 Q4 MIA Yepremian 26 yard field goal MIA 20–10 Q4 MIA Csonka 2 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 27–10

^[18]

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

1 2 3 4 Total Vikings 0 0 0 7 7 • Dolphins 14 3 7 0 24 Date: January 13 Location: Rice Stadium Game start: 2:50 p.m. CDT Game attendance: 71,882 Game weather: Cloudy; 47 °F (8 °C) Referee: Ben Dreith TV announcers (CBS): Ray Scott, Pat Summerall, and Bart Starr

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Csonka 5 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 Q1 MIA Kiick 1 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 14–0 Q2 MIA Yepremian 28 yard field goal MIA 17–0 Q3 MIA Csonka 2 yard run (Yepremian kick) MIA 24–0 Q4 MIN Tarkenton 4 yard run (Cox kick) MIA 24–7

^[19] 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):^[20]

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

Notes and references

External links

• 1973 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com