Super Bowl VII
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, CA
Head Coach: Don Shula
385 Points Scored
171 Points Allowed
Starting Quarterback: Bob Griese
Road to the Super Bowl:
Defeated Cleveland, 31-7-AFC Divisional Playoffs
Defeated Pittsburgh, 14-13-AFC Championship
Green Bay Packers (10-4)
Head Coach: Dan Devine
304 Points Scored
226 Points Allowed
Starting Quarterback: Scott Hunter
Road to the Super Bowl:
Defeated Washington, 23-14-NFC Divisional Playoffs
Defeated San Francisco, 20-14-NFC Championship
The Game
The undefeated Miami Dolphins came into Super Bowl VII as heavy favorites over the underdog Green Bay Packers, and with good reason. After all, the Dolphins had not lost all season, and had the highest scoring offense, as well as the least scored upon defense in the NFL. Their running attack of Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris struck fear into opposing defenses, and while the Packers could counter with John Brockington and MacArthur Lane, they could not match the passing combination of Bob Griese to Paul Warfield.
As expected, the Dolphins took it to the Packers early in the first quarter. After punting on their opening drive, Miami forced Green Bay to do the same, but their punt was blocked, and the Dolphins took over the the Green Bay 28 yard line. After Griese was able to get Miami to the five, the Packer defense stiffened, and the Dolphins were forced to settle for a Garo Yepremian field goal and a 3-0 lead.
For the rest of the first half, neither the Dolphins nor the Packers could establish much of anything on offense, as both sides attempted to feel out the other for weaknesses. Yepremian missed a 42 yard field goal on the first play of the second quarter, and that would be as close as either team got in the second. Brockington was finding running against the Miami defense to be far more difficult than against Washington or San Francisco, while Scott Hunter was totally ineffective at quarterback and was intercepted twice in the quarter. Miami, meanwhile, was content to let Morris and Csonka be the workhorses, while Griese only attempted passes when it was totally necessary. At the half, Miami may have only been up by a score of 3-0, but it felt much larger than that.
In the third, Miami's offense finally broke through against Green Bay after pounding them with hard runs all day. After a Griese pass to Otto Stowe put the Dolphins into Packer territory, Mercury Morris broke a 44 yard touchdown burst off the left side of the formation. Not a single Packer player came within five yards of Morris on the enitre play, and he ran untouched for the score that put the Dolphins ahead 10-0. After that, neither team again was able to find much of a rhythm on offense, although the Packers did replace Hunter with backup quarterback Jerry Tagge, who would end up being the leading passer in the game.
As the fourth quarter started, Tagge was guiding the Packers down the field for the first time on the day, and as the midway point came, he finally got them where they needed to be. After MacArthur Lane accounted for 52 yards in getting to the Miami five yard line, Tagge let him finish the drive and he plunged in from 5 yards out. The extra point was good, and suddenly the Dolphin lead was just three points. On their next drive, the Packers again looked to have something brewing, but Dave Davis fumbled the ball after a reception and Miami recovered. On that drive, Larry Csonka helped bury the Packers with a 33 yard touchdown run straight through the heart of the Green Bay defense. With just 1:31 remaining in the game, the Packers needed a miracle, and they almost got it.
With the ball at their own 27, Tagge stepped on to the field and promptly began moving the Packers as quickly as he could. Swing passes to MacArthur Lane and John Brockington became large gains, and a pass to Jon Staggers put the Packers at Miami's four yard line. When Brockington came down with Tagge's touchdown pass with 20 seconds to play, the Packers were only down three points, but they still needed to recover the onside kick if they wanted any chance at winning. Unfortunately for them, they could not, and the Dolphins were able to finish their undefeated season by running out the clock on the Green Bay Packers. For the first time ever, a team finished an NFL season undefeated, as the Miami Dolphins went 17-0 on the year.
Final Score: Miami-17 Green Bay-14
MVP: Mercury Morris: 15 carries, 73 yards, 2 catches, 14 yards, 1 TD
