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1973 NFL season

The Repeat Super Bowl Run Of The 1973 Miami Dolphins

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1972 had been a historic year, for both football in Miami, and in the NFL. The Dolphins not only won the Super Bowl in their seventh year of existence, they did with an undefeated season. The 1973 Miami Dolphins didn’t run the table, but they did win a repeat championship. And given the fact they did it against a tougher schedule, with more postseason dominance, and with a target clearly on their back the whole way, there’s a good case that the ’73 team was even better than the undefeated 1972 edition.

A defense that allowed the fewest points in the league led the way and Miami had the game’s two best safeties. Dick Anderson and Jake Scott were each 1st-team All-Pro. Anderson intercepted eight passes from his strong safety spot, while Scott roamed at free safety and picked off four more. The front seven was led by Pro Bowlers at defensive end and linebacker, with pass-rusher Bill Stanfill, and veteran leader Nick Buoniconti.

Miami’s offense was run-heavy and led by another 1st-team All-Pro in fullback Larry Csonka. Csonka rushed for just over 1,000 yards and averaged 4.6 yards a pop. Mercury Morris was explosive on the outside, generating 954 yards and averaging over six yards per carry. Jim Kiick was a reliable pass-catcher out the backfield, his 27 catches being the third-most on the team. The line they worked behind was led by Hall of Famer and 1st-team All-Pro guard Larry Little.

Bob Griese, the Hall of Fame quarterback, had missed most of 1972 before returning midway through the AFC Championship Game. Griese was healthy and enjoyed a Pro Bowl campaign. Although his numbers—53 percent completion rate, 6.5 yards-per-attempt and 17-8 TD/INT ratio—were above average by the standards of the era, they weren’t quite what they had been two years earlier.

What Griese did have was one of the great big-play receivers of all-time, Paul Warfield, on the outside. Warfield averaged over 17 yards a catch and was 1st-team All-Pro. Marlin Briscoe emerged as a reliable target, and his 30 catches actually led the team. Miami’s offense ranked fifth in the NFL in points scored.

The season opened home against the San Francisco 49ers, who were fresh off winning three straight NFC West titles. But this year’s 49er team would slip under .500 and it started in the fourth quarter of this Week 1 game. The Dolphins trailed 13-6. Griese threw a touchdown pass to tie it. Two field goals and a safety sealed the 21-13 win.

A road trip to a good Oakland Raiders team, a playoff perennial under John Madden was next. And it was here that the winning streak, now at 18 games, came to an end. Miami’s defense kept it close by getting red-zone stops, but the Raiders booted short field goals and took a 12-0 lead into the fourth quarter. A late TD from the Dolphins made it close, but it ended a 12-7 defeat.

The offense was not playing well, but that was about to change with a home date against a subpar New England Patriots team. In the second quarter, Miami erupted and Morris was the reason. He ripped off touchdown runs of 24 and 70 yards, then added a 35-yard TD jaunt in the second half. Morris finished with 197 yards on just 15 carries and the result was a 44-23 blowout.

Another home date with a weak divisional opponent, the New York Jets, gave Griese a chance to open up. He threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Warfield. Briscoe caught six balls for 98 yards and the Dolphins coasted home, 31-3.

Miami went to Cleveland for a Monday Night Football appearance. The Browns were a good team, but not a playoff squad in this era when only four teams per conference qualified for the postseason. The Dolphin offense spent the first half back in its shell, trailing 6-3. Griese only completed three passes on the night. But the running game took over after halftime. Csonka finished with 114 yards, Morris added 94 and Miami won 17-9.

Buffalo was emerging as the top challenger in the AFC East. O.J. Simpson was having a spectacular year, one that would end with a historic crossing of the 2,000-yard threshold and an MVP award. The great Dolphin defense limited the Juice to 55 yards. Griese threw a couple touchdown passes to tight end Jim Mandich in the second quarter to open the game up. Miami was sloppy, turning it over five times, but they still won easily, 27-6.

The return visit north to New England started shaky, and the Dolphins trailed the Patriots 14-13 at the half. But when you dominate the ground game, the second half is often going to be yours. That’s what happened here. A 238-94 edge in rush yardage, keyed by 100 from Morris, paved the way to a 30-14 victory. The Jets again followed the Patriots on the schedule and Miami completed another season sweep behind the running game. Csonka’s 107 yards led a 24-14 win.

Miami came home to host the Baltimore Colts. In the alignment that existed until 2002, the Colts were an AFC East rival. They had been the prime obstacle the Dolphins had to overcome as they rose to contention in 1970 and 1971. But the Colts had slipped in ’72 and kept slipping this year. Miami’s Tim Foley brought back two blocked punts for touchdowns. Morris’ 144-yard day led a 44-0 romp.

The Dolphins were riding high at 8-1. The Bills were in second place at 5-4. Miami was going to Buffalo on November 18. Prior to 1978, the schedule was only 14 games. So by winning this game, Miami could clinch the AFC East.

This time, Buffalo got its running game going. Simpson ran for 120 yards and backfield mate Jim Braxton added 119. But the Bills could not throw the ball, and the Dolphins kept getting stops at the point on the field when they had to. They also jumped out to a 17-0 lead and spent the second half just salting that lead—and another division title—away.

Homefield advantage for the playoffs was determined on a rotation system among the division winners, rather than merit, so Miami had nothing to play for. The good news was that—unlike 1972, when they had to go on the road to Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship—the AFC East winner was going to be the #1 seed.

In the meantime, there were four games left. The Dolphins went to play a very good Dallas Cowboys team on Thanksgiving Day. An early TD run by Csonka was followed by a 45-yard Griese-to-Warfield scoring pass. The game was turned over to the defense and Miami won 14-7.

Another tough opponent, the playoff-bound Pittsburgh Steelers, who were a year away from starting this decade’s greatest dynasty, came to the Orange Bowl on Monday Night. It turned into the Dick Anderson Show. The strong safety started the scoring with a Pick-6, then did it again in the second quarter. Anderson intercepted four passes on the night. The Dolphins were ahead 30-3 by halftime, then fended off a furious Steelers rally to win 30-26.

The penultimate regular season game in Baltimore was basically mailed in. Griese didn’t play and Miami lost 16-3. The starting quarterback was back in the lineup for the finale at home against mediocre Detroit. Griese finished the season by going 11/15 for 141 yards, no mistakes and four touchdown passes—all to Warfield. With the 34-7 triumph, the Dolphins were 12-2 and primed to repeat.

With only eight teams overall in the playoffs, the league jumped right into the Divisional Round a week later. On December 23, Miami hosted the Cincinnati Bengals. The offenses of both teams were humming in the first half. Griese threw a 14-yard TD pass to Warfield. Csonka and Morris both ran for touchdowns. While the Dolphin defense was having problems, they were forcing field goals. Miami led 21-16 at intermission.

The defense tightened up in the second half. The ground game kept pounding, concluding with a 241-97 edge in rush yardage. Morris carried 20 times for 106 yards. Griese tossed a TD pass to Mandich, kicker Garo Yepremian nailed a couple long field goal attempts and the Dolphins won 34-16.

A chance to avenge the Week 2 loss to Oakland awaited in the AFC Championship Game. The Raiders came to the Orange Bowl for a 4 PM kickoff on December 30. Miami came humming out of the gate, scoring two quick touchdowns, both short TD runs from Csonka. Griese was able to manage the game and threw just six passes on the day. The Raiders closed to within 17-10 by the third quarter. But Csonka was pounding away, going for 117 yards. He added another touchdown. Yepremian kicked a field goal. Miami finished with a decisive 27-10 win.

The last step would take place in Houston, where Rice Stadium was the host for the Super Bowl. The Minnesota Vikings were the opponent. The Vikes had their own great defense, the famed “Purple People Eaters”, and they had their own Hall of Fame quarterback in Fran Tarkenton. But they were nowhere near as good as the Dolphins.

Super Bowl VIII started much like the AFC Championship Game. The Dolphins put two quick touchdowns on the board, with Csonka and Kiick going for short TD runs. Then the defense took over. Minnesota could get nothing going until a meaningless fourth quarter touchdown. Csonka muscled his way to 145 yards, then a Super Bowl record. He added another touchdown in the third quarter to put the Dolphins up 24-0. The final was 24-7. Csonka was an easy choice for game MVP, the first running back to win the honor.

Miami was a dynasty. They had three straight AFC titles and two straight Super Bowl championships, one of which was a perfect season, and the other which concluded with complete dominance of the playoff field.

That the bid for a three-peat would come up short was disappointing, although not surprising. Even the fact that the Dolphins then briefly stepped back, missing the playoffs from 1975-77, isn’t incredibly shocking. What’s perhaps more surprising is this—a franchise, with one of the game’s great head coaches in Shula still in his prime, and a future that would include an all-time great quarterback in Dan Marino, has never won the Super Bowl since. 1973 was the last time the Lombardi Trophy made its way to South Beach.

A Great Four-Year Run Starts With The 1973 Minnesota Vikings

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Fran Tarkenton’s return to the Twin Cities in 1972 had fizzled out. But the 1973 Minnesota Vikings juiced up the weapons around the future Hall of Fame quarterback and started the best four-year stretch in the history of the franchise.

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The lack of a go-to running back had hindered the Vikings—they got piecemeal work from backs ranging from Oscar Reed to Dave Osborn to Bill Brown for the past few years, but nothing to really sustain an attack in an era where defense-friendly passing rules made running the football an imperative. Minnesota drafted a fullback named Chuck Foreman, a good blend of power and speed and he rushed for 801 yards in 1973, winning Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Tarkenton still had reliable John Gilliam, a big-play wideout on the outside. The offensive line was tolerable, though not great. Ron Yary was outstanding at right tackle, making 1st-team All-Pro, but the best of the rest was center Mick Tingelhoff, once a Pro Bowler, but now past his prime.

The defense, after regressing in 1972, returned to be one of the league’s elite. The “Purple People Eaters” finished second in the league in points allowed. Carl Eller and Alan Page were first-team All-Pro up front, with Gary Larsen and 36-year-old Jim Marshall competent players that filled out the front four.

More improvement came in the back seven. Jeff Siemon was a 23-year-old middle linebacker and he made the Pro Bowl. So did veteran free safety Paul Krause, and cornerback Bobby Bryant had a breakout year, with seven interceptions.

Minnesota opened the season at home with the Oakland Raiders, a consistent playoff team throughout the 1970s. Tarkenton’s 43-yard touchdown pass to Gilliam put the Vikes up 10-0 early, though a special teams lapse—allowing a punt return for a TD—put Minnesota behind 16-10. In the end, Minnesota was able to force four turnovers and win 24-16.

One week later, the Vikings fell behind a terrible Chicago Bears team on the road, 10-0, but turned it around and won 22-13, getting five field goals from Fred Cox. The biggest concern in the early going was rush defense—both the Raiders and Bears had run for 200 yards on a Minnesota defense that prided itself on being physical up front.

The rush defense showed for a trip to Green Bay, the team that had displaced Minnesota in the NFC Central (the four teams in the current NFC North). The Packers would slip below .500 this year, and the Vikings also intercepted four passes to go along with dominating the point of attack in an 11-3 win.

Ed Marinaro, an occasionally used fullback, had rushed for 83 yards against Green Bay, and he was a weapon again the next week at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium. Tarkenton found the fullback on two first-quarter touchdown passes that sent the tone in a 23-9 win.

Minnesota played two subpar teams in the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles and won both. They didn’t run the ball well in San Francisco, but forced five turnovers against an offense quarterbacked by Steve Spurrier, in for the injured John Brodie. Gilliam starred in the win over Philly, running an end-around for one touchdown and catching another.

The Vikings were riding high at 6-0, as were the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC. Homefield advantage was still determined on a rotation system, rather than by merit, so the Vikes-Rams meeting in Minneapolis on October 28 didn’t have the same meaning it would today. But there was still a lot of pride on the line. Minnesota ran for 182 yards, held Los Angeles to 89 on the ground and won 10-9. More dominance of the running game led to a 26-3 win over Cleveland a week later.

No one else in the NFC Central was seriously going to keep up with Minnesota and any doubt about that was eliminated when the Vikings beat the Lions 28-7. Brown and Osborn conjured up the best memories of their recent past, in rushing for 101 and 79 yards respectively. With a record of 9-0, an undefeated season was on the table—just one year after the Miami Dolphins had completed a perfect year by winning the Super Bowl.

A Monday Night visit to Atlanta ended those dreams. The Falcons were a good team, one that would finish 9-5 and even though they missed the playoffs, they would have made it under the more expanded format of today. Tarkenton threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Gilliam, but there was no running game and Atlanta’s Dave Hampton ran for 108 yards to key the Falcons’ 20-14 win.

Tarkenton and Gilliam hooked up five times for 139 yards the next week against the Bears. Two of them went for touchdowns and Tarkenton was an efficient 11/15. Reed was the running back who had his moment in the sun, going for 97 yards in a 31-13 win.

Foreman’s playing time was going up and down in this stretch of games and he was ineffective at Cincinnati. The Bengals were on their way to a 10-4 season and playoff spot and they embarrassed the Vikes 27-0. Minnesota bounced back to close out the year with easy wins over the Packers and New York Giants, both by 31-7 counts and both on the road. Bryant intercepted three passes at Green Bay, including one taken to the house early that set the tone.

Now it was playoff time and it was George Allen’s Washington Redskins that were coming to old Metropolitan Stadium on December 22 for the NFC Divisional Playoff round. An early turnover set up a Redskins touchdown, and Washington’s Larry Brown—the league MVP one year earlier when the ‘Skins reached the Super Bowl—ran for 115 yards. Minnesota trailed 7-3 early and 13-10 after three quarters.

The risk of another home playoff loss, akin to the disappointments of 1970 and 1971 was a real possibility. But Tarkenton found Gilliam on a 28-yard touchdown pass to give the Vikings the lead. Then corner Nate Wright intercepted a pass and set up another Tarkenton-to-Gilliam touchdown. Washington scored to cut the lead back to 24-20, but Tarkenton led a final drive for a field goal and Minnesota won 27-20.

Minnesota would go to Dallas for the NFC Championship Game, although under today’s rules, the Vikings would have been the #1 seed in the NFC. The defense came ready to play and so did the running game. Foreman ran for 76 yards, with Reed adding 75. Dallas running back Calvin Hill was out, and quarterback Roger Staubach couldn’t carry the load.

Nonetheless, a punt return for a TD got Dallas back into the game after they fell behind 10-0. Tarkenton and Gilliam hooked up on a 54-yard touchdown pass, but it was still 17-10, when the Cowboys began driving and crossed midfield.

Then Bryant stepped up and intercepted Staubach. It was one of four picks thrown by the Dallas quarterback and on this one Bryant finished it off in the end zone. The game was effectively over. Minnesota won 27-10 and was going to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1969.

Head coach Bud Grant took his team back to the state of Texas for the Super Bowl. The game was held at Rice Stadium in Houston, and the Miami Dolphins were looking for a repeat title. The Dolphins were simply too good. Tarkenton was able to complete 18/28 passes for 182 yards, but he couldn’t find Gilliam on the big play, and the Vikings couldn’t run the ball. Miami could run, piling up 196 rush yards and they won easily, 24-7.

The 1973 season was still the start of some very good things in Minnesota Vikings football history. They never did win the Super Bowl, but this was the first of three NFC crowns in a four-year stretch when the Vikings were the best team in their conference.