Super Bowl VII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1972 season. The Dolphins defeated the Redskins by the score of 14–7, winning their first Super Bowl, and became the first and still the only team in modern NFL history to complete a perfect undefeated season. They also remain the only Super Bowl champion to win despite having been shut out in the second half of the game. This was the first professional sports championship ever won by a Miami-based team. The game was played on January 14, 1973, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, the second time the Super Bowl was played in that city. At kickoff, the temperature was , making the game the warmest Super Bowl.
This was the Dolphins' second Super Bowl appearance; they had lost Super Bowl VI to Dallas the previous year. The Dolphins posted an undefeated 14–0 regular season record before defeating the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs. The Redskins were making what would be the first of five Super Bowl appearances in a 20-year period, after posting an 11–3 regular season record and playoff victories over the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys. Despite being undefeated, the Dolphins were actually one-point underdogs, largely based on the weakness of their regular season schedule (and losing the previous Super Bowl).. "[T]he Dolphins played one of the easiest schedules in modern NFL history – the opposition had a combined winning percentage under .400"
Super Bowl VII was largely dominated by the Dolphins, and is the second-lowest-scoring Super Bowl to date with a total of only 21 points (three touchdowns and three extra points), behind only the 13–3 score of Super Bowl LIII. The only real drama occurred during the final minutes of the game, in what was later known as "Garo's Gaffe". Miami attempted to cap their 17–0 perfect season with a 17–0 shutout by means of a 42-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian, but instead the game and the season was jeopardized when his kick was blocked. Instead of falling on the loose ball, the Dolphins kicker picked it up, attempted a forward pass, but batted it in the air, and Redskins cornerback Mike Bass (who was Yepremian's former teammate on the Detroit Lions years earlier) caught it and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. This remains the longest period in a Super Bowl for one team to be shut out, as Washington was held scoreless until 2:07 remained in the fourth quarter.The previous Super Bowl with the longest period for being shut out was in 1969, where the Jets held the Colts scoreless until 3:19 left in the game. Don Shula was head coach on the losing side that time, so he held the record for the longest period to be held under a shut out as well as the longest period to hold a shut out. Because of the turnover and score, what was a Miami-dominated game became close, and the Dolphins had to stop Washington's final drive for the tying touchdown as time expired.
Dolphins safety Jake Scott was named Most Valuable Player. He recorded two interceptions for 63 return yards, including a 55-yard return from the end zone during the fourth quarter. Scott became the second defensive player in Super Bowl history (after linebacker Chuck Howley in Super Bowl V) to earn a Super Bowl MVP award.
Background Host selection process The NFL awarded Super Bowl VII to Los Angeles on March 21, 1972, at the owners' meetings held in Honolulu. For the first time, multiple Super Bowl sites were selected at a single meeting, as hosts for both VII and VIII were named. Five cities, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Dallas, and New Orleans, prepared serious bids, while San Francisco (Stanford Stadium) withdrew from the running a week prior to the vote. After nine deadlocked votes, Oilers owner Bud Adams recommended awarding two consecutive sites. This compromise mirrored an idea brought up in 1971 by representatives from Miami. Los Angeles won on the ninth ballot, while second place Houston was named the host for VIII. In order to accommodate the game, the Pro Bowl was shifted from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Texas Stadium for 1973.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins went undefeated during the season, despite losing their starting quarterback. In the fifth game of the regular season, starter Bob Griese suffered a fractured right leg and dislocated ankle. In his place, 38-year-old Earl Morrall, a 17-year veteran, led Miami to victory in their nine remaining regular season games, and was the 1972 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. Morrall had previously played for Dolphins head coach Don Shula when they were both with the Baltimore Colts, where Morrall backed up quarterback Johnny Unitas and started in Super Bowl III.
But Miami also had the same core group of young players who had helped the team advance to the previous year's Super Bowl VI. (The only Dolphins starter in Super Bowl VII over the age of 30 was 32-year-old Nick Buoniconti.) The Dolphins still had a powerful running attack, spearheaded by running backs Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick and Eugene "Mercury" Morris. (Morris, who in previous seasons had been used primarily as a kick returner, took over the starting halfback position from Kiick, who had been the starter the previous four years. However, the more-experienced Kiick would start in Super Bowl VII.) Csonka, who had the best season of his career, led the team with 1,117 yards and six touchdowns. Kiick contributed 521 yards and five touchdowns, and also caught 21 passes for 147 yards and another touchdown. Morris, a breakaway runner, rushed for exactly 1,000 yards, caught 15 passes for 168 yards, added another 334 yards returning kickoffs, and scored a league-leading 12 rushing touchdowns. Overall, Miami set a record with 2,960 total rushing yards during the regular season, and became the first team ever to have two players rush for 1,000 yards in one season. Miami led the NFL in points scored (385). Since 1972, only six other teams have had two 1,000 yard rushers in the same backfield, but the Dolphins are the only one of those seven to make it to and win the Super Bowl.
Receiver Paul Warfield once again provided the run-based Dolphins with an effective deep-threat option, catching 29 passes for 606 yards, an average of 20.9 yards per catch. Miami's offensive line, led by undrafted future Hall of Famers Jim Langer and Larry Little, was also a key factor in the Dolphins' offensive production. Miami's "No-Name Defense" (a nickname inspired by Dallas Cowboys head coach Tom Landry when he could not recall the names of any Dolphins defenders just before Super Bowl VI), led by future Hall of Fame linebacker Nick Buoniconti, allowed the fewest points in the league during the regular season (171), and ranked second in the NFL with 26 interceptions. Safety Jake Scott recorded five interceptions, while Lloyd Mumphord had four picks and safety Dick Anderson had three interceptions and led the NFL with five fumble recoveries. Because of injuries to defensive linemen (at the beginning of the season the Dolphins were down to four healthy players at the position), defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger created what he called the "53" defense, in which the versatile Bob Matheson (number 53) would be used as either a defensive end in the standard 4–3 defense or as a fourth linebacker in a 3–4 defense, with Manny Fernandez at nose tackle. As a linebacker, Matheson would either rush or drop back into coverage. Said Nick Buoniconti, "Teams would be totally confused."Nick Buoniconti, "Super Bowl VII", Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives, Danny Peary, editor. Macmillan, 1997. Linebacker Doug Swift was also a playmaker with three interceptions and a fumble recovery.
The Dolphins' undefeated, untied regular season was the third in NFL history, and the first of the post-merger era. The previous two teams to do so, the 1934 and 1942 Chicago Bears, both lost the NFL Championship game. Later, the 2007 New England Patriots became the 4th team to complete an undefeated and untied regular season, but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII. The Cleveland Browns also completed a perfect season in 1948, including a league championship, while part of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), but until April 1, 2025, this feat was recognized only by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, since the NFL did not officially recognize any AAFC records.
Washington Redskins
Following the death of Redskins head coach Vince Lombardi 17 days prior to the start of the 1970 season, Washington finished 6–8 under interim coach Bill Austin. Shortly after the conclusion of the 1970 season, the Redskins hired George Allen as their head coach, hoping he could turn the team's fortunes around. Allen's philosophy was that veteran players win games, so immediately after taking over the team, he traded away most of the younger team members and draft choices for older, more established players. His motto was "The future is now." Washington quickly became the oldest team in the NFL and earned the nickname "The Over-the-Hill Gang." The average age of starters was 31 years old.Dave Hyde, Still Perfect! The Untold Story of the 1972 Miami Dolphins, p. 239. Dolphins/Curtis Publishing, 2002 However, Allen's strategy turned the Redskins around, as the team improved to a 9–4–1 record in 1971, and finished the 1972 season with an NFC-best 11–3 record.
Washington was led by 33-year-old quarterback Billy Kilmer, who completed 120 out of 225 passes for 1,648 yards and a league-leading 19 touchdowns during the regular season, with only 11 interceptions, giving him an NFL-best 84.8 passer rating. Kilmer had started the first three games of the season, was replaced in Game 4 by 38-year-old Sonny Jurgensen, then replaced Jurgensen when he was lost for the season with an Achilles tendon injury. The Redskins' powerful rushing attack featured two backs. Larry Brown gained 1,216 yards (first in the NFC and second in the NFL, behind only O. J. Simpson's 1,251 rushing yards) on 285 carries during the regular season, caught 32 passes for 473 yards and scored 12 touchdowns, earning him both the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. Charley Harraway ran for 567 yards on 148 carries. Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Charley Taylor and wide receiver Roy Jefferson provided the team with a solid deep threat, combining for 84 receptions, 1,223 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. Veteran tight end Jerry Smith added 21 receptions for 353 yards and 7 touchdowns.
Washington also had a solid defense led by linebacker Chris Hanburger (four interceptions, 98 return yards, one touchdown) and cornerbacks Pat Fischer (four interceptions, 61 return yards) and Mike Bass (three interceptions, 53 return yards)
Playoffs
Morrall led the Dolphins to a 20–14 playoff win over the Cleveland Browns. However, Griese started the second half of the AFC Championship Game to help rally the Dolphins to a 21–17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. A fake punt by Miami's Larry Seiple made the difference.
Meanwhile, the Redskins advanced to the Super Bowl without having allowed a touchdown in either their 16–3 playoff win over the Green Bay Packers or their crushing 26–3 NFC Championship Game victory over the Cowboys, the defending Super Bowl champions.
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