Super Bowl VII - Game Summary

Game Summary

According to Buoniconti, the Dolphins' priority on defense was to stop Larry Brown and force Kilmer to pass. Buoniconti looked at Washington's offensive formation on each play and shifted the defense so it was strongest where he felt Brown would run. This strategy proved successful. Washington's offensive line also had trouble handling Dolphins' defensive tackle/nose tackle Manny Fernandez, who was very quick. "He beat their center Len Hauss like a drum," wrote Buoniconti. Miami's defenders had also drilled in maintaining precise pursuit angles on sweeps to prevent the cut-back running that Duane Thomas had used to destroy the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI.

Washington's priority on defense was to disrupt Miami's ball-control offense by stopping Larry Csonka. They also intended to shut down Paul Warfield by double-covering him.

As they had in Super Bowl VI, Miami won the toss and elected to receive. Most of the first quarter was a defensive battle with each team punting on their first two possessions. Then Miami got the ball on their own 37-yard line with 2:55 left in the first quarter. Running back Jim Kiick started out the drive with two carries for eleven yards. Then quarterback Bob Griese completed an 18-yard pass to wide receiver Paul Warfield to reach the Washington 34-yard line. After two more running plays, on third and four Griese threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to receiver Howard Twilley (his only catch of the game). Twilley fooled Pat Fischer by faking a route to the inside, then broke to the outside and caught the ball at the five-yard line, dragging Fischer into the end zone. "Griese read us real good all day," said Fischer. Yepremian's extra point gave the Dolphins a 7-0 lead with one second remaining in the period. (Yepremian noticed that the kick was too low, just like his practice kicks).

On the third play of the Redskins' ensuing drive, Miami safety Jake Scott intercepted quarterback Billy Kilmer's pass down the middle intended for Taylor and returned it eight yards to the Washington 47-yard line. However a 15-yard illegal man downfield penalty on left guard Bob Kuechenberg nullified a 20-yard pass completion to tight end Marv Fleming on the first play after the turnover, and the Dolphins were forced to punt after three more plays.

After the Redskins were forced to punt again, Miami reached the 47-yard line with a 13-yard run by Larry Csonka and an 8-yard run by Kiick. But on the next play, Griese's 47-yard touchdown pass to Warfield was nullified by an illegal procedure penalty on receiver Marlin Briscoe (Briscoe's first, and only, play of the game). Then on third down, Redskins defensive tackle Diron Talbert sacked Griese for a 6-yard loss and the Dolphins had to punt.

The Redskins then advanced from their own 17-yard line to the Miami 48-yard line (their first incursion into Miami territory) with less than two minutes left in the half. But on third down and three yards to go, Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti intercepted Kilmer's pass to tight end Jerry Smith at the Miami 41-yard line and returned it 32 yards to the Washington 27-yard line. From there, Kiick and Csonka each ran once for three yards, and then Griese completed a 19-yard pass (his sixth completion in six attempts) to tight end Jim Mandich, who made a diving catch at the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Kiick scored on a 1-yard blast behind Little and Csonka with just 18 seconds left in the half, and Yepremian's extra point gave the Dolphins a lead of 14–0 before halftime (once again, Yepremian noticed the kick was too low).

Miami's defense dominated the Redskins in the first half, limiting Washington to 49 yards rushing, 23 yards passing, and four first downs.

The Redskins had more success moving the ball in the second half. They took the second half kickoff and advanced across midfield for only the second time in the game, driving from their own 30-yard line to Miami's 17-yard line in a seven-play drive that featured just two runs. On first down at Miami's 17-yard line, Kilmer threw to Charley Taylor, who was open at the 2-yard line, but Taylor stumbled right before the ball arrived and the ball glanced off his fingertips. After a second-down screen pass to Harraway fell incomplete, left tackle Manny Fernandez sacked Kilmer on third down for a loss of eight yards, and Washington's drive ended with no points after kicker Curt Knight's ensuing 32-yard field goal attempt was wide right. "That was an obvious turning point," said Allen. Later in the period, the Dolphins drove 78 yards to Washington's 5-yard line, featuring a 49-yard run by Csonka, the second-longest run in Super Bowl history at the time. However, Redskins defensive back Brig Owens intercepted a pass intended for Fleming in the end zone for a touchback.

Early in the fourth quarter, Washington threatened to score by mounting its most impressive drive of the game, driving 79 yards from its own 11 to Miami's 10-yard line in twelve plays. On second down at the Miami 10-yard line, Kilmer threw to tight end Jerry Smith in the end zone. Smith was wide open, but the ball hit the crossbar of the goalpost and fell incomplete. Then on third down, Scott intercepted Kilmer's pass to Taylor in the end zone and returned it 55 yards to the Redskins 48-yard line.

Miami moved the ball to the 34-yard line on their ensuing drive. Leading 14-0 on 4th down with 4 yards to go, Shula could have tried for a conversion, but thought "What a hell of a way to remember this game" if they could end a perfect 17-0 season with a 17-0 Super Bowl final score. He called on kicker Garo Yepremian to attempt a 42-yard field goal in what is now remembered as one of the most famous blunders in NFL lore: "Garo's Gaffe". As had been the case all day, Yepremian's kick was too low, and it was blocked by Washington defensive tackle Bill Brundige. The ball bounced to Yepremian's right and he reached it before holder Earl Morrall. But instead of falling on the ball, Yepremian picked it up and, with Brundige bearing down on him, made a frantic attempt to pass the ball to Csonka, who blocked on field goals. Unfortunately for Miami, the ball slipped out of his hands and went straight up in the air. Yepremian attempted to bat the ball out of bounds, but instead batted it back up into the air, and it went right into the arms of Redskins cornerback Mike Bass, who returned the fumble 49 yards for a touchdown to make the score 14-7 with 2:07 left in the game.

To the surprise of some, the Redskins did not try an onside kick, but instead kicked deep. The Redskins were forced to use up all of their timeouts on the Dolphins' ensuing five-play possession, but forced Miami to punt (nearly blocking the punt) from its own 36-yard line with 1:14 remaining in the game, giving themselves a chance to drive for the tying touchdown. However, Miami's defense forced two incompletions and a 4-yard loss on a swing pass, and then defensive end Vern Den Herder's 9-yard sack on fourth down as time expired in the game.

Griese finished the game having completed 8 out of 11 pass completions for 88 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Csonka was the game's leading rusher with 15 carries for 112 yards. Kiick had 38 rushing yards, two receptions for six yards, and a touchdown. Morris had 34 rushing yards. Manny Fernandez had 11 solo tackles and six assists. Kilmer completed six more passes then Griese, but finished the game with just 16 more total passing yards and was intercepted three times. Said Kilmer, "I wasn't sharp at all. Good as their defense is, I still should have thrown better." Washington's Larry Brown rushed for 72 yards on 22 carries and also had five receptions for 26 yards. Redskins receiver Roy Jefferson was the top receiver of the game, with five catches for 50 yards. Washington amassed almost as many total yards (228) as Miami (253), and actually more first downs (16 to Miami's 12). The main historical effect of Garo's Gaffe was to ruin Miami's chance for a Super Bowl shutout (which has never happened for any winning team as of 2012) and to produce a 14-7 final score that wrongly implied the game was close.