1979 Miami Dolphins season
1979 Miami Dolphins season | |
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Head coach | Don Shula |
Home field | Orange Bowl |
Results | |
Record | 10–6 |
Division place | 1st AFC East |
Playoff finish | Lost AFC Divisional Playoff |
The 1979 Miami Dolphins season was the 14th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins franchise. Prior to the start of the season the Dolphins re-signed Larry Csonka who left to join the WFL after the 1974 season. Despite struggles from Bob Griese all year, the Dolphins finished 10-6 and won their first division title in five years. Among the season highlights were the Dolphins 19th and 20th consecutive wins over the Buffalo Bills. For the entire decade of the 1970's (1970-79) the Dolphins hold a perfect 20-0 record over the Bills, which contributed to O.J. Simpson never seeing any postseason success in his career. In the Divisional Playoff the Dolphins were no match for the Pittsburgh Steelers who jump out to a 20-0 lead in the 1st Quarter to win 34-14 on their way to their second Straight Super Bowl Title.
Contents
Offseason
NFL draft
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1979 Miami Dolphins draft | |||||
Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
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1 | 24 | Jon Giesler | Offensive tackle | Michigan | |
2 | 53 | Jeff Toews | Guard | Washington | |
3 | 61 | Tony Nathan * | Running back | Alabama | |
3 | 63 | Mel Land | Linebacker | Michigan State | |
3 | 65 | Ronnie Lee | Offensive tackle | Baylor | |
4 | 107 | Steve Howell | Fullback | Baylor | |
5 | 134 | Don Bessillieu | Defensive back | Georgia Tech | |
6 | 162 | Steve Lindquist | Guard | Nebraska | |
7 | 189 | Uwe von Schamann | Placekicker | Oklahoma | |
8 | 206 | Jeff Groth | Wide receiver | Bowling Green | |
8 | 215 | Glenn Blackwood | Defensive back | Texas | |
9 | 244 | Jeff Weston | Offensive tackle | Notre Dame | |
10 | 258 | Jerome Stanton | Defensive back | Michigan State | |
10 | 272 | Mike Kozlowski | Defensive back | Colorado | |
11 | 299 | Mike Blanton | Defensive end | Georgia Tech | |
12 | 327 | Larry Fortner | Quarterback | Miami (OH) | |
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career |
Personnel
Staff
1979 Miami Dolphins staff | ||||||
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
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Regular season
Schedule
Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Dolphins points | Opponents | Record | Attendance |
1 | Sep 2 | at Buffalo Bills | Win | 9 | 7 | 1–0 |
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2 | Sep 9 | Seattle Seahawks | Win | 19 | 10 | 2–0 |
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3 | Sep 16 | at Minnesota Vikings | Win | 27 | 12 | 3–0 |
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4 | Sep 23 | Chicago Bears | Win | 31 | 16 | 4–0 |
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5 | Sep 30 | at New York Jets | Loss | 27 | 33 | 4–1 |
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6 | Oct 8 | at Oakland Raiders | Loss | 3 | 13 | 4–2 |
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7 | Oct 14 | Buffalo Bills | Win | 17 | 7 | 5–2 |
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8 | Oct 21 | at New England Patriots | Loss | 13 | 28 | 5–3 |
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9 | Oct 28 | Green Bay Packers | Win | 27 | 7 | 6–3 |
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10 | Nov 5 | Houston Oilers | Loss | 6 | 9 | 6–4 |
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11 | Nov 11 | Baltimore Colts | Win | 19 | 0 | 7–4 |
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12 | Nov 18 | at Cleveland Browns | Loss (OT) | 24 | 30 | 7–5 |
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13 | Nov 25 | at Baltimore Colts | Win | 28 | 24 | 8–5 |
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14 | Nov 29 | New England Patriots | Win | 39 | 24 | 9–5 |
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15 | Dec 9 | at Detroit Lions | Win | 28 | 10 | 10–5 |
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16 | Dec 15 | New York Jets | Loss | 24 | 27 | 10–6 |
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Standings
AFC East | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
Miami Dolphins(3) | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 5–3 | 6–6 | 341 | 257 | L1 |
New England Patriots | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–4 | 6–6 | 411 | 326 | W1 |
New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 337 | 383 | W3 |
Buffalo Bills | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 268 | 279 | L3 |
Baltimore Colts | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–5 | 4–10 | 271 | 351 | W1 |
Playoffs
AFC Divisional Playoff: at Pittsburgh Steelers
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
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Dolphins | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
Steelers | 20 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 34 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Date: Sunday December 30, 1979
- Game time: 12:30 pm EST
- Game attendance: 50,214
- Referee: Cal Lepore
- TV announcers (NBC): Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator)
Game information |
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Awards and honors
Larry Csonka returned to the Dolphins in 1979 for one last season before retiring, after leaving in 1975 for the World Football League and spending the next three seasons after with the New York Giants. He led the team with 837 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, in addition to one receiving touchdown. His return led to him being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1979-mia