1978 Miami Dolphins season

1978 Miami Dolphins season
1978 Miami Dolphins season
Owner	Joe Robbie
General manager	Mike Robbie
Head coach	Don Shula
Home field	Miami Orange Bowl
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card Playoffs; (vs. Oilers) 9–17
Pro Bowlers	2 ; DT Bob Baumhower ; SS Tim Foley
	← 1977; Dolphins seasons; 1979 →;

The 1978 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, the 13th overall, and the 9th under head coach Don Shula. The team returned to the NFL playoffs for the first time since 1974, with an 11–5 record. Quarterback Bob Griese missed the first seven games due to a knee injury. The Dolphins got off to a 5–2 start behind back-up Don Strock. Upon Griese's return, the Dolphins earned a berth to the playoffs as a Wild Card. Helping to lead the Dolphins back to the postseason was Running Back Delvin Williams who set a team record with 1,258 yards rushing on the season. In the first playoff game involving two Wild Cards, the Dolphins were stunned 17-9 by the Houston Oilers at the Orange Bowl. In the process the Dolphins set two notable records: scoring first in all but one of their sixteen regular season games,^[1] and never trailing at any point in eleven games.^[2] The former record was equalled by the 2004 Patriots, and the latter was beaten by the 2005 Colts.

The Dolphins playing against the Houston Oilers in the 1978 AFC wild card game.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
1978 Miami Dolphins draft
2	51	Guy Benjamin	Quarterback	Stanford
3	64	Lyman Smith	Defensive tackle	Duke
3	81	Jimmy Cefalo	Wide receiver	Penn State
4	93	Gerald Small	Cornerback	San Jose State
Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

**1977 Miami Dolphins staff**
	Front office President – Joe Robbie Vice President – Don Shula Head coaches Head coach – Don Shula Offensive coaches Offense/Receivers/Passing Game – Howard Schnellenberger Offensive Backs – Carl Taseff Offensive Line/Running Game – John Sandusky			Defensive coaches Assistant head coach/Defense – Bill Arnsparger Defensive Line/Run Defense – Mike Scarry Defensive Backs – Tom Keane Special teams coaches Special Teams – Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane

Roster

**Miami Dolphins roster**
Quarterbacks 12 Bob Griese 7 Guy Benjamin 10 Don Strock Running backs 24 Delvin Williams 38 Leroy Harris FB 31 Norm Bulaich FB 34 Jim Braxton FB 27 Gary Davis 32 Benny Malone Wide receivers 82 Duriel Harris 89 Nat Moore 85 Terry Anderson 81 Jimmy Cefalo 85 Bo Rather Tight ends 87 Andre Tillman 84 Bruce Hardy 80 Loaird McCreary		Offensive linemen 79 Wayne Moore T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 62 Jim Langer C 66 Larry Little G 71 Mike Current T 65 Eric Laakso T 68 Melvin Mitchell G 64 Ed Newman G 65 Wally Pesuit T Defensive linemen 83 Vern Den Herder DE 73 Bob Baumhower NT 77 A. J. Duhe DE 70 Bob Simpson DE 76 John Alexander DE 78 Carl Barisich NT 75 Doug Betters DE		Linebackers 58 Kim Bokamper LOLB 56 Steve Towle LILB 51 Rusty Chambers RILB 50 Larry Gordon ROLB 52 Larry Ball 57 Sean Clancy 53 Bob Matheson 55 Earnest Rhone Defensive backs 41 Norris Thomas CB 45 Curtis Johnson CB 25 Tim Foley SS 21 Rick Volk FS 49 Charlie Babb SS 44 Charles Cornelius CB 48 Gerald Small CB Special teams 1 Garo Yepremian K 4 George Roberts P				Reserve lists 63 Mark Dennard C (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 88 Lloyd Henry WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 36 Don Nottingham FB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) 74 Steve Young T (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Rookies in italics updated {{{Date}}} {{{Active}}} active, {{{PS}}} practice squad, {{{unsigned}}} unsigned → AFC rosters → NFC rosters

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
New England Patriots⁽²⁾	11	5	0	.688	6–2	9–3	358	286	L1
Miami Dolphins⁽⁴⁾	11	5	0	.688	5–3	8–4	372	254	W3
New York Jets	8	8	0	.500	6–2	7–5	359	364	L2
Buffalo Bills	5	11	0	.313	2–6	4–10	302	354	W1
Baltimore Colts	5	11	0	.313	1–7	3–9	240	421	L5

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 3	at New York Jets	L 20–33	0–1	Shea Stadium	Recap
2	September 10	at Baltimore Colts	W 42–0	1–1	Memorial Stadium	Recap
3	September 17	Buffalo Bills	W 31–24	2–1	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
4	September 24	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 3–17	2–2	Veterans Stadium	Recap
5	October 1	St. Louis Cardinals	W 24–10	3–2	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
6	October 9	Cincinnati Bengals	W 21–0	4–2	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
7	October 15	at San Diego Chargers	W 28–21	5–2	San Diego Stadium	Recap
8	October 22	at New England Patriots	L 24–33	5–3	Schaefer Stadium	Recap
9	October 29	Baltimore Colts	W 26–8	6–3	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
10	November 5	Dallas Cowboys	W 23–16	7–3	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
11	November 12	at Buffalo Bills	W 25–24	8–3	Rich Stadium	Recap
12	November 20	at Houston Oilers	L 30–35	8–4	Astrodome	Recap
13	November 26	New York Jets	L 13–24	8–5	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
14	December 3	at Washington Redskins	W 16–0	9–5	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	Recap
15	December 10	Oakland Raiders	W 23–6	10–5	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap
16	December 18	New England Patriots	W 23–3	11–5	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap

Results

Week 3

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bills	0	7	3	14	24
• Dolphins	7	7	10	7	31

Date: September 17
Location: Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
Game start: 4:00 p.m.
Game weather: 82 °F (28 °C); Wind 12 mph (19 km/h)

^[3]

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent (seed)	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Wild Card	December 24	Houston Oilers (5)	L 9–17	0–1	Miami Orange Bowl	Recap

AFC Wildcard Playoff (Sunday December 24, 1978): vs. Houston Oilers

Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	7	0	0	10	17
Dolphins	7	0	0	2	9

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

Game time: 4:00 pm EST
Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), relative humidity 78%, wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
Game attendance: 70,036
Referee: Dick Jorgensen
TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Len Dawson

Game information
Scoring MIA – Tillman 13 pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 HOU – Wilson 13 pass from Pastorini (Fritsch kick) 7–7 HOU – field goal Fritsch 35 HOU 10–7 HOU – Campbell 1 run (Fritsch kick) HOU 17–7 MIA – Safety, Pastorini ran out of end zone HOU 17–9

Awards and honors

Milestones

Notes and references

[1] In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the regular season, team scored first

[2] In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the regular season, team never trailed during game

[3] Pro-Football-Reference.com

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