Tag: Dolphins 1972 season

Dolphins legend Larry Csonka celebrates previously-undefeated Eagles’ loss

It’s a tradition unlike any other.

The Miami Dolphins franchise had cause for celebration on Monday night, despite their team having played their Week 10 matchup the day before.

Miami’s undefeated 1972 season remained the only perfect year in NFL history, as the Philadelphia Eagles, who entered Monday night with an 8-0 record, were defeated by the Washington Commanders by a final score of 32-21.

After the defeat, legendary Dolphin Larry Csonka took to social media to share his appreciation for the Commanders.

While not everyone from that ’72 team is jumping on Twitter to celebrate, it’s pretty safe to guess that most did so in one way or another.

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How the Dolphins can beat the Steelers on Sunday Night Football

What Miami needs to do to snap their streak.

The Miami Dolphins turn back the clock Sunday night in a prime-time matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only will Miami host the AFC bout, but they will also honor the 50th anniversary of the undefeated 1972 Super Bowl champion Dolphins team. A perfectly timed situation to celebrate, well, perfection.

After a two-plus game absence, the Dolphins will regain their unquestioned leader and most valuable player, Tua Tagovailoa. The story at this point has been told the world over, and following injuries that literally spanned head-to-ankle, the quarterback returns under the lights.

The stage is set already, but throw in a supporting cast of characters that includes the returns of ex-head coach Brian Flores and former top draft pick Minkah Fitzpatrick to the script, and what you have is must-see-TV on NBC again.

Those are just a few of the storylines outside the lines that will play out on Sunday night, but when focusing on the action on the field, here’s how Miami can get back to their winning ways, and snap their three-game slide.

News, notes ahead of Dolphins-Steelers matchup

A few things to know before the contest.

In what is already a tale of two seasons, the Miami Dolphins have lost three straight games heading into a Sunday Night Football matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Just a month ago, the Dolphins were riding high at 3-0, and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was playing like an MVP candidate.

The season’s trajectory took a hit in Week 3, and despite a gritty win against the Buffalo Bills, Tagovailoa was knocked from the game in the first half in what the football world initially thought was a concussion.

Tagovailoa returned from what was clarified as a back/ankle injury instead of a concussion. Then, days later, on a Thursday Night Football game, a sack on Miami’s quarterback against the Cincinnati Bengals left him in a horrifying position on national television.

The Dolphins ended up losing the game, but more importantly, Tagovailoa was released from a Cincinnati trauma center following the injury and did end up traveling back to Miami with the team.

With Tagovailoa sidelined for the last two games, the Dolphins are essentially 0-3 without their third-year quarterback, who’s a first-year captain in 2022. Veteran backup Teddy Bridgewater and rookie Skylar Thompson each got a start in the last two weeks, and each had to relieve the other in those games due to injury.

Bridgewater started against the New York Jets in Week 5, but in a questionable situation, was ruled out of the game following a league spotter’s ruling that he “stumbled” following a knockdown. Ironically, the Tagovailoa situation ten days earlier placed this new ruling in effect, hurting the Dolphins.

Last Sunday, Bridgewater had limited practice time since in concussion protocol, and Thompson got the start against the Minnesota Vikings before the rookie injured his thumb. The veteran went in and played the majority of the game on way to a 16-24 loss.

If a return of Tagovailoa isn’t drama enough for the home Miami crowd in the first Sunday Night game in five seasons for the Dolphins, ex-head coach Brian Flores returns.

Flores is the Steelers’ senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach, and he joins another former Dolphin coming back to Miami in 2018 first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick.

If all of this wasn’t enough, the Dolphins will also be honoring the 1972 undefeated team for their 50th anniversary. The legends will be out in full force Sunday Night, as Tua returns, Flores and Fitzpatrick are back and perfection is honored.

Flashback Friday: Dolphins 1972 perfect team celebrates 50th anniversary

It’s a special anniversary for a perfect team.

On this first Friday of April, following a momentous month of March in Miami, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the Dolphins’ banner accomplishment – the 1972 undefeated season.

It was 50 years ago that head coach Don Shula and his Dolphins steamrolled through the NFL to go 17-0, capping the only perfect season in NFL history, with a 14-7 Super Bowl victory over the Washington Redskins.

A team loaded with Hall of Fame players such as Bob Griese, Larry Csonka, Paul Warfield, Jim Lager, Larry Little and Nick Buoniconti helped lead the Dolphins to domination. They were the NFL’s top-ranked offense and defense in 1927, shutting out their opponents three times during that season.

In 17 games, including the postseason, Miami’s perfect defense only gave up 20 or more points on three occasions. When the season hit mid-October, the Dolphins’ defense hit its stride. From Week 6 through Week 19, Miami didn’t allow over 100 passing yards. They created 46 turnovers in the regular season, and in the playoffs, the Dolphins’ defensive unit caused 10 turnovers, including three in the Super Bowl.

The Dolphins had the offensive magic of the perfect backfield led by Ohio’s own Csonka. Mercury Morris was the charismatic running back to play alongside Csonka. The pair both exceeded 1,000 yards in the regular season, which was just 14 games. Jim Kiick added a complimentary punch to Shula’s rushing attack, as the trio combined for 2,638 yards and 23 touchdowns on the ground.

As for the passing attack, Griese started the season off with five straight wins before an injury led to veteran quarterback Earl Morrall taking the reins, and he did so, well, perfectly.

Morrall, in his 17th professional season, rattled off a 9-0 record to help Miami not lose a step in their quest to return to the Super Bowl. The 1971 team lost to the Dallas Cowboys 24-3. Making it back in 1973 ade in two Super Bowls in a row for Shula and the Dolphins, the franchise’s only victory in the big game. While he led Miami two another two appearances in the 1980s, they weren’t able to capture another Lombardi Trophy.

The 1972 Dolphins have been a timeless tribute and a major source of pride for the organization and their legions of loyal fans and supporters. Whether it’s rewatching highlights of a graceful Warfield corralling a perfect pass from Griese in the championship game, seeing Csonka run through a would-be-tackler, or the simple joy of a cork-popping soundbite following the last fallen unbeaten in today’s game, that team continues to provide this community with palpable pride.

In a season of newfound hope in South Florida, coinciding with this special anniversary of perfection, perhaps there’s magic in the air in Miami Gardens, as the ghosts of 1972 will, without a doubt, be all over the sidelines in 2022, in person and in spirit.

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