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The Miami Dolphins completed the only perfect season in NFL history � 17 games without a loss � by defeating the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII 14 to 7.

Two other NFL teams before the Miami Dolphins had finished a regular season undefeated, but both, the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears lost in NFL Championship Games. Since 1972, only one team, the 2007 New England Patriots went through the regular season undefeated, but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

The Dolphins played virtually perfect football in the first half as Miami's "No-Name Defense" permitted the Redskins to cross midfield only once (only four times overall) and their offense turned good field position into two touchdowns.

On its third possession, Miami opened its first scoring drive from the Dolphins' 37 yard line. An 18-yard pass from Bob Griese to Paul Warfield preceded by three plays Griese's 28-yard touchdown pass to Howard Twilley.

After Washington moved from its 17 to the Miami 48 with two minutes remaining in the first half, Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti intercepted Billy Kilmer's pass at the Miami 41 and returned it to the Washington 27.

Jim Kiick ran for three yards, Larry Csonka for three, Griese passed to Jim Mandich for 19, and Kiick gained one to the 1-yard line. With 18 seconds left until intermission, Kiick scored from the one.

Washington's only touchdown came with 2:07 left in the game and resulted from a misplayed field-goal attempt and forward pass attempt by kicker Garo Yepremian, with the Redskins' Mike Bass picking the ball out of the air and running 49 yards for the touchdown. It was the longest period in a Super Bowl for one team to be held scoreless.

Suprisingly, the Redskins did not attempt an onside kick. The Redskins were forced to use up all of their timeouts on the Dolphins ensuing possession and after five plays forced the Miami Dolphins to punt from their own 36-yard line with 1:14 remaining in the game. After nearly blocking the punt, the Redskins gave themselves a chance to drive for the tying touchdown. However, the Dolphins defense forced two incompletions and a 4-yard loss on a swing pass, followed by defensive end Bill Stanfill's 9-yard sack on fourth down as time expired to end the game.

After losing to the Dallas Cowboys 24-3 in Super Bowl VI the previous year, the Dolphins bounced back emphatically despite losing quarterback Bob Griese for much of the season due to a leg injury.

The Miami Dolphins accomplished their perfect season due to dominance in two key facets. On defense, the Dolphins were led by the "No Name Defense", a suffocating group led by middle linebacker Nick Buoniconti, defensive tackle Manny Fernandez, and safeties Jake Scott and Dick Anderson. On offense, the Dolphins utilized a punishing ground attack, led by Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris, both of whom gained over 1,000 yards rushing on the season. This marked the first time in NFL history that two teammates rushed for over 1,000 yards each in the same season.

After going 14-0 during the regular season, the Dolphins had to come from behind to defeat the Cleveland Browns 20-14, and then, barely defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-17 in the AFC Championship.

The Washington Redskins won the NFC East by ending the regular season with an 11-3 record. The Redskins were led by their colorful coach George Allen. Allen built the Redskins with veterans primarily and thus was born the nickname "The Over the Hill Gang."

In the playoffs, the Redskins easily defeated the Green Bay Packers in the first round 16-3, and then decimated their division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, 26-3 in the NFC Championship Game.

The combination of the Redskins strong playoff performance versus the Dolphins narrow playoff escapes coupled with an easy regular season schedule had many favoring the Redskins in Super Bowl VII.

SUPER BOWL VII MVP : Jake Scott S Miami Dolphins

Dolphins safety Jake Scott had two interceptions including one in the end zone during the fourth quarter. That interception and his 55-yard return iced the game for the Miami Dolphins.

Miami's "No-Name Defense" was one of the big reasons the Dolphina achieved that perfect record, so it was only fitting that one of its members won the Most Valuable Player award in Super Bowl VII.

Safety Jake Scott became only the second defensive player to win the Super Bowl MVP.

 

Super Bowl VII

 

 

SUPER BOWL VII SCORING	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Miami Dolphins	7	7	0	0	14
Washington Redskins	0	0	0	7	7

 

1st Quarter

MIA Twilley 28 pass from Griese (Yepremian kick),14:59

2nd Quarter

MIA Kiick 1 run (Yepremian kick), 14:42

4th Quarter

WAS Bass 49 defensive fumble recovery (Knight kick), 12:53

 

TEAM STATISTICS	Dolphins	Redskins
Total First Downs	12	16
Rushing	7	9
Passing	5	7
Penalty	0	0
Total Net Yardage	253	228
Total Offensive Plays	50	66
Avg. Gain Per Offensive Play	5.1	3.5
Rushes	37	36
Yards Gained Rushing (Net)	184	141
Avg. Yards per Rush	5.0	3.9
Passes Attempted	11	28
Passes Completed	8	14
Had Intercepted	1	3
Tackled Attempting to Pass	2	2
Yards Lost Attempting to Pass	19	17
Yards Gained Passing (Net)	69	87
Punts	7	5
Avg. Distance	43.0	31.2
Punt Returns	2	4
Punt Return Yardage	4	9
Kickoff Returns	2	3
Kickoff Return Yardage	33	45
Interception Return Yardage	95	0
Fumbles	2	1
Own Fumbles Recovered	1	1
Opponent Fumbles Recovered	0	1
Penalties	3	3
Yards Penalized	35	25
Field Goals	0	0
Field Goals Attempted	1	1
Third-Down Efficiency	3 / 11	3 / 13
Fourth-Down Efficiency	0 / 0	0 / 1
Time of Possession	27:29	32:31

 

Miami Dolphins Player Statistics

Passing	CP/AT	YDS	TD	INT
Griese	8/11	88	1	1
Rushing	CAR	YDS	TD	LG
Csonka	15	112	0	49
Kiick	12	38	1	8
Morris	10	34	0	6
Receiving	REC	YDS	TD	LG
Warfield	3	36	0	18
Kiick	2	6	0	4
Twilley	1	28	1	28t
Mandich	1	19	0	19
Csonka	1	-1	0	1
Interceptions	INT	YDS	LG	TD
Scott	2	63	55	0
Buoniconti	1	32	32	0
Punting	NO	AVG	LG	BLK
Seiple	7	43.0	50	0
Punt Returns	NO/FC	YDS	LG	TD
Scott	2/2	4	4	0
Anderson	0/1	0	**	0
Kickoff Returns	NO	YDS	LG	TD
Morris	2	33	17	0

Washington Redskins Player Statistics

Passing	CP/AT	YDS	TD	INT
Kilmer	14/28	104	0	3
Rushing	CAR	YDS	TD	LG
Brown	22	72	0	11
Harraway	10	37	0	8
Kilmer	2	18	0	9
C. Taylor	1	8	0	8
Smith	1	6	0	6
Receiving	REC	YDS	TD	LG
Jefferson	5	50	0	15
Brown	5	26	0	12
C. Taylor	2	20	0	15
Smith	1	11	0	11
Harraway	1	-3	0	3
Interceptions	INT	YDS	LG	TD
Owens	1	0	0	0
Punting	NO	AVG	LG	BLK
Bragg	5	31.2	38	0
Punt Returns	NO/FC	YDS	LG	TD
Haymond	4/0	9	7	0
Vactor	0/2	0	**	0
Kickoff Returns	NO	YDS	LG	TD
Haymond	2	30	18	0
Mulkey	1	15	15	0

 

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