David Hunter
It’s become pretty common to see websites trying to deconstruct (and tarnish as a result) the 1972 Miami Dolphins and their undefeated season. Not helped by the usual sight of Don Shula and other Dolphins openly sipping champagne in celebration when another recent team ends up victim in their pursuit of an undefeated season. So rather than seeing another tear down article of their successful run that ended with a Super Bowl title, unlike the 18-1 New England Patriots, I thought I would go on the offensive and try and defend why they deserve even more recognition than they sometimes get for what they accomplished.
They were in a mini-Dynasty run
The year they went 14-0 in 1972 would end up being their second season with at least 10 victories in a run that would extend through the 1985 NFL Season. Not only that, but the Dolphins would also appear in 5 Super Bowls in a 13 year span. The 1972 season was far from a fluke season (if you discount not being beaten) for the Dolphins and head coach Don Shula.
What is often overlooked is that they made the Super Bowl an impressive 3 straight seasons and wound up winning in 1972 and the year after, 1973 in which they finished 12-2. In 1971, they got walloped by the Dallas Cowboys 3-24 in an absolute beat down.
The 1972 Dolphins Dominated on the Scoreboard
The Dolphins finished as the best team in the NFL in points scored, points allowed, and point differential. They were averaging a point differential of just over 15 points and were soundly beating up opponents. They continued that dominance in their playoff run by scoring 54 points over just three games while allowing their opponents to score 38 points (a point differential of 16, right in line with their season average). Sometimes they didn’t win pretty as the media likes to say, but the Miami Dolphins still won every single game they played and would have shut out the Washington Redskins completely if not for an infamous touchdown on a bobbled kick by Garo Yepremian.
The Dolphins were so dominant that they only scored under 23 points in three games (20, 16, and 16). Their last regular season game was a crushing 16-0 shutout of the Baltimore Colts whom would close out the season at a dismal 5-11. On defense, they only allowed three teams to score more than 17 points and the Dolphins answered by winning: 24-23, 28-24, and 37-21. Arguably even more impressive was that the defense only allowed one other game in which a team even scored 16 points and they beat the Bills 30-16 in that one.
Their running game was suffocating
Led by a threesome of Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris, and Jim Kiick the Dolphins pretty much ran the ball down opposing defenses’ throats at will. They finished atop the NFL in rushing attempts, rushing yards, and rushing touchdowns while averaging nearly 44 carries a game during the regular season.
They were so dominant that their season lows were 120 yards against Minnesota (16-14 win), 153 yards against San Diego (24-10 win), and 170 yards against Baltimore (16-0 win). The Miami Dolphins at one point had an eight game stretch where they ran for over 200 yards with the lone exception being a 37-21 win over New England where they still ran for 181 yards while throwing for 301 yards too.
That momentum further carried over into the playoffs where they ran for 198 yards against the Cleveland Browns, 193 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers (whom would immediately carry out their own Dynasty run), and 184 yards in the Super Bowl win over the Washington Redskins.
The defense was opportunistic
While the “no-name” defense was a heralded group including DL Manny Fernandez, LBs Nick Buoniconti and Doug Swift, and DBs Jake Scott and Dick Anderson, they were a very turnover heavy group that sought to take the football away from opponents and further stomp them into submission.
The defense was very sound and very good against the run, finishing in third in the NFL, but they really made their bones capitalizing on the mistakes of the opposing teams. They only threw 12 interceptions themselves but ended up with an astonishing 26 interceptions and recovered 29 fumbles (while only fumbling the ball 12 times themselves). That would give the Dolphins an overwhelming +31 in turnover differential and many fans know that the key to winning games is not turning the ball over while obtaining the ball via turnovers courtesy of your defense. The Dolphins were able to do this in spades.
Yet again, the Dolphins carried this core aspect of their 1972 squad over into the postseason while they turned the ball over 5 times but managed to demolish their opponents thanks to 10 turnovers including picking off Redskins quarterback Billy Kilmer three times in the Super Bowl.
They beat good playoff teams
While many have cited the awful teams that the Miami Dolphins played during the regular season, that still does not dissuade from the fact that the Dolphins played three very good teams in the playoffs. They started their postseason run by playing the Cleveland Browns, whom finished the regular season at 10-4. The Dolphins were able to hold a team that was routinely scoring at least 20 points a game during the season to just 14 and picked off quarterback Mike Phipps five times during that divisional game victory. RBs Mercury Morris and Jim Kiick combined to rush for 122 yards on the ground.
In the AFC Championship game, the Miami Dolphins would square off against the Pittsburgh Steelers whom were coming off an 11-3 regular season. The Steelers entered the game having held an explosive 10-3-1 Oakland Raiders squad to just 7 points. The Dolphins would score three touchdowns against the Steelers and again dominate the ground game with their rushing attack as Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris combined for 144 yards this time. Defensively, they picked off Terry Bradshaw twice and forced a fumble as well but didn’t recover it.
Finally in the Super Bowl they faced off against a stout 11-3 Washington Redskins team that was third in the entire NFL in points allowed. While the Dolphins admittedly struggled, scoring just 14 points, they ended up three interceptions and a fumble recovery on defense. Offensively, Larry Csonka led the way rushing for 112 yards.
The Dolphins made the run largely with a backup QB
While Earl Morrall had been bouncing around the league with some success, mostly with the Detroit Lions, New York Giants, and Baltimore Colts in the mid 1960’s he was an aging veteran by 1972 and was 38 years old. Most quarterbacks at that age would have hung up the uniform and retired a few years prior but Morrall was still going. He helped carry the Miami Dolphins to a 9-0 record in the regular season and helped defeat both the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs before Brian Griese got healthy and started the Super Bowl against Washington.
While Morrall was often a game manager in which he averaged just 151 yards passing in his 9 starts, he did make several big opportunities during the regular season which cemented his ability to help carry the Miami Dolphins. Against the St. Louis Cardinals in an eventual 31-10 victory, Morrall was a solid 12/19 for 210 yards and threw two touchdown passes. The next week against New England, he threw for 201 yards and again threw for two touchdowns.
Closing Thoughts: The 1972 Miami Dolphins currently stand as the lone undefeated team in NFL history and they are quite deserving of that recognition and placement. Although they didn’t play the toughest of opponents during the regular season, their quality of opponents in the playoffs were recognizable and the Miami Dolphins simply leaned on what had carried them to such dominant heights already: Their powerful running game, not turning the ball over, and taking advantage of opponent’s by getting interceptions and recovering fumbles. To demean their accomplishment based on modern day parity or more dominant teams is taking away from Miami’s accomplishment that they were the best team in the NFL in 1972 and on top of that, finished the regular season and playoffs undefeated with a Super Bowl to their name.
Credit to Premiere Auctions Online for the feature image.
