1975 Miami Dolphins: The Season That Slipped Away

The Miami Dolphins came into 1975 as a dynasty, but also as a team facing significant transition. Under the leadership of Don Shula, the Dolphins were on a run of five straight AFC East titles. That included three trips to the Super Bowl and two championships, including a historic perfect season in 1972. They continued to be good in 1975. But the loss of key personnel combined with a top-heavy AFC,  more stringent postseason standards than is the case today and an untimely injury to leave Miami on the outside looking in.

STARS DEPART BUT THE MACHINE KEEPS MOVING

Shula’s offense had been built on the power running of Larry Csonka, with considerable help from Jim Kiick. Paul Warfield was one of the game’s best deep targets at wide receiver. All three were gone. The fledgling World Football League (WFL) had thrown big money at the Dolphin stars. And while the ill-fated WFL would not complete even one season, they cost Miami three prime skill position players, two of which (Csonka and Warfield) would make the Hall of Fame.

Mercury Morris was a key runner who remained, and he still rushed for 875 yards in what was then just a 14-game schedule. Fullback Don Nottingham added 718 yards. The offensive line still had a pair of All-Pros, in right guard Larry Little and center Jim Langer. Left guard Bob Kuechenberg made the Pro Bowl. The losses of Csonka and Kiick might have hurt, but there was still talent in the running game.

And there was a Hall of Fame veteran at quarterback. Bob Griese’s could play with efficiency, with a 62 percent completion rate, and he could make big plays, at 8.9 yards-per-attempt. While a late injury kept him from playing enough to qualify for the final statistical rankings, both figures would have placed him among the top two of NFL starting quarterbacks.

Griese made a lot of mistakes—a 6.8% interception rate was heavy, even in this era of more aggressive passing games and physical defenses, and would have ranked 21^st among regular QBs.  But Miami could move it through the air.

Young Nat Moore got the opportunity to emerge from Warfield’s shadow and Moore caught 40 passes at better than 17 yards-per-catch. Howard Twilley and Freddie Solomon combined to catch 46 more passes and each averaged over 15 yards a pop. Griese also made use of running back Norm Bulaich and tight end Jim Mandich in the passing game. And the Dolphin offense ranked sixth in the NFL for points scored.

THE DEFENSIVE LINE DELIVERS

The defensive strength started up front. Vern Den Herder led the way at defensive end with 11 sacks, while Bill Stanfill added 6 ½ more on the other end. Randy Crowder and Dan Reese held down the defensive tackle spots and finished with 7 ½ sacks apiece. Veteran free safety Jake Scott, with his six interceptions, was the only Pro Bowl player on defense in 1975, but the Dolphins were still a solid eighth in the league for points allowed.

BOUNCING BACK AFTER A TOUGH OPENER

Miami’s 1974 season had ended with an epic playoff loss to the Oakland Raiders. The NFL decided to set the rematch for Week 1 on Monday Night Football. Both teams were sloppy, turning the ball over five times. Playing at home, the Dolphins dug themselves a 17-0 hole at half. They closed to 24-14 but promptly gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown. The season ended with a disappointing 31-21 loss.

Poor play persisted for three more quarters at lowly New England, as the Miami trailed 14-9. But they were controlling the line of scrimmage, winning rush yardage 210-78 behind 120 yards from Nottingham. The Dolphins took over the final period and won 22-14.

Miami traveled to Green Bay to face a bad Packer team. Nottingham racked up 102 yards, Morris ran for 125 more, Griese hit Solomon on a 58-yard TD strike and the Dolphins cruised to a 31-7 win. It was a more of the same a week later in a late-afternoon home date with Philadelphia. The Eagles weren’t good, and Miami rolled up a 207-100 rush yardage edge in a comfortable 24-16 win.

The Dolphins went to old Shea Stadium to play the New York Jets. The game was a pick’em on the spread, with the Jets having split their first four games. But this was a bad New York team, and it started to show here. Griese went 10/14 for 155 yards and three touchdowns. Morris rolled up 114 yards on just 16 carries. And the Fish dominated, 43-zip.

Miami had taken advantage of a soft schedule to get rolling after the tough opening loss. At 4-1, they got set for a key divisional showdown.

A THRILLER IN BUFFALO & A MIDSEASON SURGE

The Buffalo Bills had made the playoffs a year ago and they had an electrifying running back named O.J. Simpson. They could also throw the ball pretty well. And when Miami went to Rich Stadium for a late afternoon kickoff on the final Sunday of October, the Dolphins found themselves trailing 30-21 in the fourth quarter.

But Morris was having a big day, gaining 124 yards. Miami would win turnover margin, 4-2. In the final period, Griese flipped a five-yard TD pass to Mandich, Nottingham plunged over for another score and the Dolphins escaped with a 35-30 win.

The schedule softened up again the next two weeks. Miami went to Chicago and blew through the Bears. Griese finished 12/19 for 288 yards and no mistakes. He hit Moore on a 79-yard touchdown strike and Solomon from 58 yards. The Fish romped, 46-13. Then the Jets made their return trip to South Beach. Griese turned just nine completions on 15 attempts into 223 yards. Moore caught four balls for 102 yards. Solomon broke open a tight game in the third quarter with a 50-yard punt return for a score. Miami won 27-7.

A trip to face the competitive Houston Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans) was next. Griese was sharp, going 21/29 for 257 yards. But the defense didn’t force any turnovers, while the Dolphins gave it away twice. It was tied 13-13 in the fourth quarter. A Nottingham touchdown that gave Miami the lead was followed by a missed PAT. Houston took advantage, scoring a touchdown of their own and winning 20-19.

It was a tough loss and a worse way to lose a football game. But Miami was still 7-2 and had a two-game lead in the AFC East going into the stretch drive.  

A CRUSHING INJURY & A COLLAPSING LEAD

The then-Baltimore Colts were an AFC East team prior to the realignment of 2002. The Colts were 5-4  when they came south on November 23. Miami built an early 14-2 lead and it seemed like they were ready to knock surprising Baltimore out of the race.  

Then they turned the ball over five times while getting none in return. The lead turned into a 19-17 deficit. Then Griese broke his toe, and the game ended up a 33-17 loss. The AFC East race was still hot, and Griese was gone for the year.

The proud veteran, Earl Morrall, took over for a Monday Night home game with New England. He went 14/17 for 135 yards, while the Dolphins outrushed the Patriots 199-72. Miami got a comfortable win, 20-7. But Morrall went down with a knee injury.

The Dolphins were still sitting on an 8-3 record, up by one game on both the Colts and Bills. But they would play both teams over the final three weeks and now the quarterback job fell to young Don Strock.

Buffalo came into Miami for a late afternoon kickoff. Strock ran for an early touchdown and then tossed an eight-yard TD pass to Twilley. The Dolphins bolted to a 21-0 lead and the young quarterback could play it close to the vest. Strock went 12/15 for 99 yards and made no mistakes. The conservative approach meant that the Bills closed to within 24-21. But Morris ran for 93 yards, nearly matching O.J.’s 96 and Miami got an insurance touchdown to seal a huge 31-21 win.

Baltimore kept pace and that set up the next showdown. If the Dolphins went into old Memorial Stadium and won, the AFC East crown was theirs. If they lost, the Colts would hold the tiebreaker going into the final week.

To further heighten the urgency, there was only wild-card spot per conference available in this era. The old AFC Central had the Pittsburgh Steelers at 11-1 and the Cincinnati Bengals at 10-2. A Miami loss to Baltimore meant the Dolphins would need help in the final week.

Moving the ball offensively proved difficult, as the Maryland fog rolled in. Miami clung to a 7-0 lead. But Strock wasn’t as efficient this time around, going just 8/19 for 97 yards. Baltimore tied the game in the fourth quarter and then won it in overtime, 10-7.

A DESPERATE FIGHT TO STAY ALIVE

The only good news was that the Bengals had lost to the Steelers, keeping the wild-card in play. Miami, at 9-4, had the tiebreaker on Cincinnati due to superior rankings in the points scored/points allowed departments, which carried much more importance in this era. So, the Dolphins needed to take care of the mediocre Denver Broncos on Saturday and then hope that help came from one of two places on Sunday.

Doing the first part proved more challenging than might have been expected. Miami fell behind 10-0 in the late afternoon game and their season was teetering. Morrall, the wounded veteran, came off the bench and led a pair of touchdown drives to pull out a 14-13 win. They had survived for another day.

But that was all they would survive for. In the early afternoon on Sunday, the Bengals blew out the San Diego Chargers and took the wild-card. Baltimore made things interesting against New England, trailing into the fourth quarter. But the Colts also survived. The AFC East was gone. And the season was over.

A HARSH ENDING & A HARDER ROAD AHEAD

Missing the postseason at 10-4 is a tough break. What got tougher was that this was no aberration. Miami slid more drastically in 1976, going just 6-8. A year later, they got back to 10-4 but again missed the playoffs with that record. It wasn’t until 1978 that they returned to the postseason party.