Super Bowl VII: Dolphins 14 Redskins 7

Super Bowl VII: Dolphins 14 Redskins 7 - MVP Dolphins Safety Jake Scott

An important cog in Miami's No Name Defense, Jake Scott picked off two of Redskins quarterback Billy Kilmer's passes in this 14-7 Miami victory. Scott's second interception came in the Dolphins' end zone, quashing Washington's best offensive drive. Mike Bass scored the lone Redskins' touchdown, corralling Miami kicker Garo Yepremian's ill-fated forward pass that slipped out of his hand after a botched field goal attempt. The 1972 Dolphins remain the only unbeaten, untied team in NFL history.

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 Logo

Super Bowl VII MVP: Dolphins Safety Jake Scott

Super Bowl VII MVP: Dolphins Safety Jake Scott

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 Scoring

 

1st Quarter

Dolphins: Twilley 28-yard TD pass from Griese (Yepremian PAT),14:59

2nd Quarter

Dolphins: Kiick 1-yard TD run (Yepremian PAT), 14:42

4th Quarter

Washington: Bass 49-yard defensive fumble recovery (Knight PAT, 12:53

Super Bowl VII Team Statistics

Super Bowl VII: Miami Dolphins Player Stats

 

Super Bowl VII: Washington Player Stats

January 14, 1973

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Los Angeles, California)

Attendance: 90,182

National Anthem: Little Angels of Holy Angels Church, Chicago

Coin Toss: Tom Bell

Halftime Show: Woody Herman, Andy Williams and the Michigan Marching Band

Network: NBC

Announcers: Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis

Nielsen ratings: 42.7 (est. 53.32 million viewers)

Cost of 30-second commercial: $88,000

Super Bowl VII Dolphins & Washington Highlights

Super Bowl VII: Ticket & Championship Ring

 

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