Personnel
Staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
| 1980 Miami Dolphins season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Don Shula |
| Home field | Orange Bowl |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–8 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC East |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | None |
The 1980 Miami Dolphins season was the 15th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins franchise. Quarterback Bob Griese retired after the season, following a 14-year career with the Dolphins. However, in Griese's final season the Dolphins would only play mediocre football finishing in third place with an 8-8 record. This was also the first season since 1969 that the Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills. For the season, the Dolphins switched the color of the facemasks on their helmets from gray to teal.
No Dolphins made it to the Pro Bowl for the second consecutive season. Griese was the highest-paid quarterback in the league at just over $400,000. [1]
| 1980 Miami Dolphins draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Don McNeal | Cornerback | Alabama | |
| 2 | 48 | Dwight Stephenson * † | Center | Alabama | |
| 3 | 75 | Bill Barnett | Defensive end | Nebraska | |
| 4 | 100 | Elmer Bailey | Wide receiver | Minnesota | |
| 6 | 158 | Eugene Byrd | Wide receiver | Michigan State | |
| 7 | 185 | Joe Rose | Tight end | California | |
| 8 | 212 | Jeff Allen | Defensive back | UC Davis | |
| 8 | 214 | David Woodley | Quarterback | LSU | |
| 9 | 239 | Mark Goodspeed | Offensive tackle | Nebraska | |
| 10 | 271 | Doug Lantz | Center | Miami (OH) | |
| 10 | 272 | Ben Long | Linebacker | South Dakota | |
| 11 | 279 | Phil Driscoll | Defensive end | Mankato State | |
| 12 | 325 | Chuck Stone | Guard | North Carolina State | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
| |||||
The 1980 NFL season would see the Dolphins drop to an 8–8 record, from their AFC East division winning 10–6 showing the previous year.
Quarterback Bob Griese, who struggled with leg problems during 1979, lost the starting job to longtime backup Don Strock, but he did poorly in two games, leading the Dolphins to return to Griese for week 3. In week 5, however, Griese suffered a career-ending shoulder injury against the Baltimore Colts and was succeeded by David Woodley, a rookie fresh from LSU.
Their week-1 loss to the Buffalo Bills was the Dolphins' first loss to that team since 1969, snapping a 20 game winning streak for Miami in the Bills-Dolphins rivalry. After the win, Bills fans rushed the field and tore down the goalposts. This was also Don Shula's first loss to Buffalo in 21 career games against them.
The final game of the season was played against the New York Jets on December 20. NBC tried a novel experiment by broadcasting the game with no commentators, and with none of the players or staff wearing microphones. The effect was to give television viewers the feel of actually being in the stadium. To date, this was the only NFL game ever aired on TV without commentaries. The Jets won by a score of 24–17, though both teams had already been eliminated from playoff contention.
It was during the ABC broadcast of the Monday Night Football game on December 8, 1980, against the Patriots that Howard Cosell announced that John Lennon had been shot and killed.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 7 | at Buffalo Bills | L 7–17 | 0–1 | Rich Stadium | 79,598 |
| 2 | September 14 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 17–16 | 1–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 38,322 |
| 3 | September 21 | at Atlanta Falcons | W 20–17 | 2–1 | Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium | 55,470 |
| 4 | September 28 | New Orleans Saints | W 21–16 | 3–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | 40,946 |
| 5 | October 5 | Baltimore Colts | L 17–30 | 3–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | 50,631 |
| 6 | October 12 | at New England Patriots | L 0–34 | 3–3 | Schaefer Stadium | 60,377 |
| 7 | October 19 | Buffalo Bills | W 17–14 | 4–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | 41,636 |
| 8 | October 27 | at New York Jets | L 14–17 | 4–4 | Shea Stadium | 53,046 |
| 9 | November 2 | at Oakland Raiders | L 10–16 | 4–5 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 46,378 |
| 10 | November 9 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 35–14 | 5–5 | Anaheim Stadium | 62,198 |
| 11 | November 16 | San Francisco 49ers | W 17–13 | 6–5 | Miami Orange Bowl | 45,135 |
| 12 | November 20 | San Diego Chargers | L 24–27 (OT) | 6–6 | Miami Orange Bowl | 63,013 |
| 13 | November 30 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–23 | 6–7 | Three Rivers Stadium | 51,384 |
| 14 | December 8 | New England Patriots | W 16–13 (OT) | 7–7 | Miami Orange Bowl | 63,292 |
| 15 | December 14 | at Baltimore Colts | W 24–14 | 8–7 | Memorial Stadium | 30,564 |
| 16 | December 20 | New York Jets | L 17–24 | 8–8 | Miami Orange Bowl | 41,854 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Bills | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
at Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Dolphins | 7 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
| Game information | ||
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The Dolphins got revenge from their 34-0 shellacking in Foxborough back in October. The Patriots clawed to a 13–6 lead in the fourth quarter, then the Dolphins forced overtime with a David Woodley throw to Nat Moore in the fourth. John Smith attempted to kick the game-winning field goal, but had the kick blocked, then Uwe von Schamann of the Dolphins won it with a 23-yard field goal in the extra quarter. The game, though, became overshadowed by Howard Cosell's announcement that John Lennon had been shot and killed. [3]
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Buffalo Bills (3) | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–4 | 8–4 | 320 | 260 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 441 | 325 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–5 | 4–8 | 266 | 305 | L1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 5–3 | 6–8 | 355 | 387 | L3 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 302 | 395 | W1 |
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football franchise which competes in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team's headquarters, stadium and training facilities are all co-located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Dolphins' team was founded by attorney-politician Joe Robbie and actor-comedian Danny Thomas. The Dolphins began play in the American Football League (AFL) in 1966. South Florida had not had a professional football team since the days of the Miami Seahawks, who played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) East Division in 1946 before becoming the first incarnation of the Baltimore Colts.
The 1980 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League and 21st overall. They completed the season with a record of ten wins and six losses and finished second in the AFC East Division. Running back Sam Cunningham held out all season, so the Patriots turned to rookie Vagas Ferguson to carry the bulk of the rushing game. Ferguson responded by breaking the team's rookie rushing record. The Patriots would sit at 6–1 near the midway point and were about to make the playoffs. However, the Pats collapsed and won just two of their next seven and finished with a 10–6 record that saw them fall just short of a wild-card berth.
The New England Patriots season was the franchise's 15th season in the National Football League and 25th overall. The Patriots finished the season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC East Division.
The 1985 New England Patriots season was the franchise's 16th season in the National Football League (NFL) and 26th overall. The Patriots had a record of eleven wins and five losses and finished third in the AFC East Division. They then became the first team in NFL history ever to advance to the Super Bowl by winning three playoff games on the road, defeating the New York Jets 26–14 in the AFC Wild Card Game, the Los Angeles Raiders 27–20 in the AFC Divisional Game and the Miami Dolphins 31–14 in the AFC Championship Game. The Patriots' win in Miami was their first victory in that stadium since 1966 and while they did defeat Miami on the road in 1969 that game was played in Tampa Bay. The win over the Dolphins in the game has gone down as one of the greatest upsets in NFL history, as the Dolphins were heavily favored.
The 1986 New York Jets season was the 27th season for the team and the seventeenth in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 11–5 record from 1985 and return to the playoffs under head coach Joe Walton. The Jets finished the season with a record of 10–6, qualifying for the top Wild Card spot in the playoffs despite losing their last five games of the season. They defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round, but lost to the Cleveland Browns in the divisional round. The loss to the Browns is infamous in Jets history. Leading 20–10 in the 4th quarter, the Jets collapsed when Mark Gastineau hammered Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar seconds after he released a pass; Gastineau was flagged for roughing the passer and the Browns rallied to force overtime and win early in the game's second overtime.
The 1983 Kansas City Chiefs season was the franchise's 14th season in the National Football League and the 24th overall. They matched on their 6–10 record and last place finish in the AFC West.
The 1985 New York Jets season was the 26th season for the team and the 16th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 7–9 record from 1984 under head coach Joe Walton. Among quarterbacks, Ken O'Brien had the lowest rate of interceptions, with only eight interceptions in 488 passing attempts. The Jets finished the season with a record of 11–5, qualifying for the top Wild Card spot in the playoffs. On October 14, during a Monday Night Halftime ceremony, the Jets retired Joe Namath's number 12, and helped inspire the Jets to a 23–7 victory over the Dolphins. In the playoffs, they fell at home to the division rival, and eventual AFC champion New England Patriots in the Wild Card round.
The 1984 Pittsburgh Steelers season was the franchise's 52nd season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League.
The 1973 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's eighth season and fourth season in the National Football League (NFL). The team entered the 1973 season as defending Super Bowl champion following its perfect undefeated 1972 season.
The 1982 Miami Dolphins season was the team's seventeenth in the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins were coming off an unexpected 11–4–1 1981 season and a devastating loss to the San Diego Chargers in the Divisional Round the previous season in a game dubbed the Epic in Miami. The team had clinched the 2 seed and were picked by many to reach the Super Bowl during the 1981 season. Because of the high number of picks to reach the Super Bowl the previous season, many more fans picked them to win it during the 1982 season. The Dolphins looked to improve on their 11–4–1 record from 1981. However, a players strike cancelled 7 of the team's 16 games. Because of this, the NFL schedule was shrunk to 9 games. The Dolphins started out fresh, winning their first 2 games prior to the strike. When season play resumed 2 months later, the Dolphins defeated the Buffalo Bills 9–7 in Buffalo to clinch a 3–0 start. After a loss to Tampa Bay, they defeated the Minnesota Vikings 22–14. The next week, they lost a brisk game against the Patriots 3–0 in a game called the Snowplow Game. The Dolphins would then win 3 straight games to end the season 7–2, tied for second in the AFC with the Cincinnati Bengals. The Dolphins won 2nd place over them by virtue of a series of tiebreakers. In the playoffs, they defeated the Patriots in a rematch by the score of 28–13. They then defeated the Chargers in a rematch of the 1981 Divisional Playoffs by a score of 34–13. In the AFC Championship game, they shutout the Jets, 14–0 to reach the Super Bowl for the first time since 1973. In Super Bowl XVII, they lost to the Redskins 27–17 in a rematch of Super Bowl VII which concluded Miami's perfect 1972 season.
The 1984 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 19th season, and 15th in the National Football League (NFL). It was also the 15th season with the team for head coach Don Shula. The Dolphins sought to build on a spectacular 1983 season where they went 12–4 with rookie quarterback Dan Marino.
The 2000 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 31st season in the National Football League, the 35th overall and was their first under new head coach Dave Wannstedt who was named the fourth head coach in franchise history on January 16, 2000, the same day that Jimmy Johnson announced his retirement from coaching. This for first since 1982 Dan Marino was not on the opening day roster, as he announced his retirement prior to the season. Believed by many as the greatest Miami Dolphin of all time, Marino led the Dolphins to 10 playoff appearances, one of which ended in Super Bowl XIX, and is the winningest quarterback to have not won a Super Bowl. Jay Fiedler, who left the Jacksonville Jaguars, succeeded Marino as starting quarterback. Damon Huard remained a backup quarterback and started for Fiedler in one game during the season.
The 1999 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 34th campaign, and 30th in the National Football League (NFL). It was the 17th and final season for Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino. Marino suffered an injury on October 17 against the New England Patriots, with Damon Huard taking over at quarterback. The team would go 4–1 under Huard, including a 17–0 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Marino would return on November 25, against the Dallas Cowboys, throwing five interceptions in the 20–0 loss.
The 1980 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 11th season in the National Football League, and the 21st overall. Their 11–5 record was tied for best in the AFC.
The 1984 Buffalo Bills season was the franchise's 15th season in the National Football League, and the 25th overall. The team started the season with eleven consecutive losses before an upset home win over Dallas in Week 12. The 1984 Bills gave up a team-record 454 points on defense, an average of more than 28 per game. The Bills gave up 30+ points eight times and allowed fewer than 20 points in a game only three times all season. The Bills also allowed sixty quarterback sacks, for a total of 554 yards, the most-ever at the time. The Bills’ 4,341 total yards gained was second-worst in the league in 1984. The 1984 Bills are one of only two NFL teams to have been outscored by 25 points six different times during the season. This season is notable for being Pete Carroll’s first NFL coaching experience. The Bills failed to win a single road game.
The 2012 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 43rd season in the National Football League (NFL), and the 47th overall in the American Football Conference Eastern Division. The season concluded with the Dolphins finishing second in the AFC Eastern Division with a 7–9 record, and no postseason play for the fourth consecutive season.
The 2020 season was the Miami Dolphins' 51st in the National Football League, their 55th overall and their second under head coach Brian Flores.
The 2021 season was the Buffalo Bills' 52nd in the National Football League, seventh full under the ownership of Terry and Kim Pegula, and their fifth under the head coach/general manager tandem of Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane.
The 2021 season was the Miami Dolphins' 52nd season in the National Football League, their 56th overall, and their third and final year under head coach Brian Flores, and sixth under general manager Chris Grier. Despite a 1–7 start to the season, Miami then won the next seven games, becoming the first team in NFL history to lose seven straight games and then win seven straight games in the same season. The 7-game win streak was their first since the 1985 season. They also became the sixth team in NFL history to win four or more consecutive games after losing seven in a row, after the 2009 Cleveland Browns, 1994 New York Giants, 1993 New England Patriots, 1984 Green Bay Packers, and the 1978 St. Louis Cardinals. However the Dolphins were eliminated from the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year after their win streak ended in Week 17 to the Tennessee Titans, combined with a win by the Los Angeles Chargers.
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