1979 Miami Dolphins season

1979 Miami Dolphins season
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 1970s (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.

Offseason

NFL draft

1979 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
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

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1979 Miami Dolphins staff
	Front office President – Joe Robbie Executive Vice President/General Manager – Mike Robbie Vice President – Don Shula Director of Player Personnel – Chuck Connor Head coaches Head Coach – Don Shula Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Receivers – Dan Henning 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 – Steve Crosby, Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane

Regular season

Schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Dolphins points	Opponents	Record	Attendance
1	Sep 2	at Buffalo Bills	Win	9	7	1–0	69,441
2	Sep 9	Seattle Seahawks	Win	19	10	2–0	56,233
3	Sep 16	at Minnesota Vikings	Win	27	12	3–0	46,187
4	Sep 23	Chicago Bears	Win	31	16	4–0	66,011
5	Sep 30	at New York Jets	Loss	27	33	4–1	51,496
6	Oct 8	at Oakland Raiders	Loss	3	13	4–2	52,419
7	Oct 14	Buffalo Bills	Win	17	7	5–2	45,597
8	Oct 21	at New England Patriots	Loss	13	28	5–3	61,096
9	Oct 28	Green Bay Packers	Win	27	7	6–3	47,741
10	Nov 5	Houston Oilers	Loss	6	9	6–4	70,273
11	Nov 11	Baltimore Colts	Win	19	0	7–4	50,193
12	Nov 18	at Cleveland Browns	Loss (OT)	24	30	7–5	80,374
13	Nov 25	at Baltimore Colts	Win	28	24	8–5	38,016
14	Nov 29	New England Patriots	Win	39	24	9–5	69,174
15	Dec 9	at Detroit Lions	Win	28	10	10–5	78,087
16	Dec 15	New York Jets	Loss	24	27	10–6	49,915

^[2]

Standings

AFC East
	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
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
Pittsburgh – Thornton 1 run (Bahr kick) Pittsburgh – Stallworth 17 pass from Bradshaw (kick blocked) Pittsburgh – Swann 20 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick) Miami – Harris 7 pass from Griese (von Schamann kick) Pittsburgh – Bleier 1 run (Bahr kick) Pittsburgh – Harris 5 run (Bahr kick) Miami – Csonka 1 run (von Schamann kick)

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

1. "1979 Miami Dolphins draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 20, 2014.
2. http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1979-mia

External links

• 1979 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com