1972 Miami Dolphins season

The 1972 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's seventh season and third in the National Football League (NFL). The team was led by third-year head coach Don Shula and achieved the only perfect season in NFL history. They also led the league in both points scored and fewest points allowed.

Starting quarterback Bob Griese broke his ankle in week 5, leaving backup Earl Morrall to start the remainder of the regular season, though Griese relieved Morrall in the second half of the AFC Championship Game and started Super Bowl VII. Morrall, a 38-year-old who spent much of his career backing up stars including Griese, Johnny Unitas, and Bobby Layne, was named MVP in 1968 under Shula when the pair led the Baltimore Colts to the NFL championship. The Dolphins clinched the AFC East title in week 10 with Morrall at quarterback.^[1] None of their regular season opponents advanced to the eight-team postseason.

Running backs Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris became the first teammates to each rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Paul Warfield led the team in receptions and receiving yards, and Marlin Briscoe led the team in receiving touchdowns. The offensive line included future Hall of Famers Jim Langer and Larry Little.^[2]

The Dolphins' early-1970s defensive unit was termed the "No-Name Defense" by Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry given its lack of high-profile players (the unit's only Hall of Famer, linebacker Nick Buoniconti, achieved much of his success with the Boston Patriots in the 1960s and was not inducted until 2001). The defense was led by Buoniconti, end Bill Stanfill, tackle Manny Fernandez, and safeties Dick Anderson and Jake Scott. In all, nine Dolphins—Csonka, Morris, Warfield, Little, Norm Evans, Buoniconti, Stanfill, Anderson, and Scott—were selected to the Pro Bowl, and Little, Morrall, Stanfill, and Anderson were named first-team All-Pro.^[3]

The Dolphins went 14–0 in the regular season and won all three postseason games to finish 17–0, the only undefeated and untied season in NFL history. Three other teams, the Chicago Bears in 1934 and 1942 and the New England Patriots in 2007, reached the NFL's title game undefeated and untied, but all three lost the championship. Four other teams, the Akron Pros in 1920, the Canton Bulldogs in 1922 and 1923, and the Green Bay Packers in 1929, won the NFL Championship with an undefeated record, but all recorded at least one tie. Miami led the league in total offense, total defense, scoring offense, and scoring defense, the only team ever to do so. On August 20, 2013, four decades after the perfect season, President Barack Obama hosted the surviving members of the 1972 Dolphins, noting they "never got their White House visit."^[4][5] Fifty years later, on October 23, 2022, the 1972 Dolphins were honored at halftime during a Sunday Night Football game featuring the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers, the same matchup that occurred for the 1972 AFC Championship Game. For the 50th anniversary celebration, the Dolphins wore throwback uniforms as well as patches bearing a classic Dolphins logo, the number 50, and the years 1972 and 2022.^[6]

The 1972 Dolphins ranked number 1 on the 100 greatest teams of all time by the NFL on its 100th anniversary.^[7][8]