1977 Miami Dolphins season

1977 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach	Don Shula
Home field	Orange Bowl
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	did not qualify

The 1977 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 12th as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins improved upon their previous season's output of 6–8, winning ten games.^[1] After suffering their first losing season under Coach Don Shula, the Dolphins bounced back to finish 10-4. Bob Griese had a stellar year, despite being forced to wear thick eyeglasses due to a problem with his contacts. Griese whose season is highlighted by a six Touchdowns, 503-yard game in St. Louis against the Cardinals is named Player of the year by the Maxwell Club of Philadelphia. Despite the improvement, the team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the third straight season.

Personnel

Staff

1977 Miami Dolphins staff
	Front office President – Joe Robbie Vice President – Don Shula Director of Player Personnel – Bobby Beathard 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

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 18, 1977	at Buffalo Bills	W 13–0	76,097
2	September 25, 1977	at San Francisco 49ers	W 19–15	40,503
3	October 2, 1977	Houston Oilers	W 27–7	49,619
4	October 9, 1977	at Baltimore Colts	L 45–28	57,829
5	October 16, 1977	New York Jets	W 21–17	43,446
6	October 23, 1977	Seattle Seahawks	W 31–13	29,855
7	October 30, 1977	San Diego Chargers	L 14–13	40,670
8	November 6, 1977	at New York Jets	W 14–10	51,582
9	November 13, 1977	New England Patriots	W 17–5	67,502
10	November 20, 1977	at Cincinnati Bengals	L 23–17	46,733
11	November 24, 1977	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 55–14	50,269
12	December 5, 1977	Baltimore Colts	W 17–6	68,977
13	December 11, 1977	at New England Patriots	L 14–10	61,064
14	December 17, 1977	Buffalo Bills	W 31–14	39,626

Results

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total • Dolphins 14 14 20 7 55 Cardinals 7 0 0 7 14 Date: November 24 Location: Busch Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri Game start: 2:30 p.m. Game weather: 39°F; Wind 8

Scoring summary 1 MIA Nat Moore 4 yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 1 MIA Duriel Harris 7 yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 14–0 1 STL Terry Metcalf 1 yard run (Jim Bakken kick) MIA 14–7 2 MIA Nat Moore 9 yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 21–7 2 MIA Nat Moore 28 yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 28–7 3 MIA Gary Davis 17 yard pass from Bob Griese (kick failed) MIA 34–7 3 MIA Andre Tillman 37 yard pass from Bob Griese (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 41–7 3 MIA Leroy Harris 4 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 48–7 4 STL Ike Harris 19 yard pass from Jim Hart (Jim Bakken kick) MIA 48–14 4 MIA Benny Malone 4 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 55–14

• Bob Griese 15/23, 207 Yds, 6 TD, INT

^[2]

Standings

AFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts^(2)	10	4	0	.714	6–2	9–3	295	221	W1
Miami Dolphins	10	4	0	.714	6–2	8–4	313	197	W1
New England Patriots	9	5	0	.643	4–4	7–5	278	217	L1
New York Jets	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	191	300	L2
Buffalo Bills	3	11	0	.214	2–6	2–10	160	313	L1

Awards and honors

• Bob Griese, Bert Bell Award^[3]

References

1. 1977 Miami Dolphins
2. Pro-Football-Reference.com
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 19, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-28.

External links

• 1977 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com