The Miami Dolphins have their share of glory and disappointment in its 54 years of existence. In this feature, we revisit some of the painful moments both the franchise and its ardent fans had to endure the most.
Denying Dan
Super Bowl XIX was one of the most heavily-hyped matchups for all the right reasons. It featured offensive juggernauts when the 14-2 Miami Dolphins were going up against the 15-1 San Francisco 49ers. Both teams were led by their superstar quarterbacks, Dan Marino and six-year man Joe Montana, respectively.
Miami got the better end of the duel in the early goings, holding 10-7 advantage as the first quarter came to a close and it sign were pointing to the Dolphins’ super sophomore ending his 1984 campaign on a high note. Instead, Montana and his 49ers racked up 21 points in the second period and would never look back en route to a dominating 38-16 victory.
It was Marino’s lone Super Bowl appearance throughout his legendary career.
John Riggins runs past Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII
Defense was the Dolphins’ calling card in the strike-shortened 1982 season. Their stifling play proved to be the big difference in carrying Miami all the way to Super Bowl XVII against the Washington Redskins. Heading in the final ten minutes of play, it was looking like the Dolphins had their third Vince Lombardi Trophy in the bag as the Redskins were forced to a fourth and one situation just past midfield.
Instead, Washington’s Hall of Fame running back John Riggins had other plans in mind. Aptly nicknamed “Diesel,” Riggins busted a 43-yard run after trucking DonMcNeal to give the Redskins a 20-17 advantage.
Washington would add more on the board courtesy of a Joe Theismann connection with Charlie Brown to cap-off 17 straight second-half points against the heavily-touted Dolphins defense.
62-7
For 17 seasons, Dan Marino captured the hearts of Dolphins fans with his phenomenal on-field performances. His resume is staggering and to this day, Marino still holds numerous records that are worthy of a spot at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
It was indeed, a stellar career that deserved a storybook ending. Things were certainly headed in that wonderful direction at the start of the 1999 playoffs when Marino engineered another trademark come-from-behind win over the Seattle Seahawks in the Wild Card Round.
Sadly, playing in the NFL is no fairy tale, and Marino’s Dolphins would get a bitter dose of a reality check on January 15, 2000, as they marched on to Jacksonville for their Divisional Round matchup against the Jaguars.
In what was a sign of things to come, Marino threw an interception at Jags cornerback Aaron Beasley in his very first snap. It wasn’t any better two drives later when Tony Brackens came right at Marino for a 16-yard fumble touchdown return.
“Dan The Man” simply could not find his rhythm and it was only just in the late second quarter when Marino was finally able to throw a touchdown to Oronde Gadsden.
The score read 41-7 by halftime and with the result all but certain, Dolphins head coach Jimmy Johnson finally benched Marino early in the third quarter as one of the most decorated careers in football came to a bitter end. Marino went 11-for-25 for 95 passing yards and a touchdown while giving out two interceptions, one fumble, and two sacks, posting a quarterback rating of 34.6.
Jacksonville’s 62-7 drubbing of the Dolphins holds the record for the largest margin of victory in the modern era of an NFL playoff game. Johnson called it quits the following day while Marino followed suit and announced his retirement two months later in March without fulfilling every players’ dream of winning a Super Bowl. Miami, on the other hand, has qualified for the playoffs only four times since Marino’s departure.
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