Perfect72
It's Only Happened ONCE!
[h=3]Miami and Pittsburgh have faced each other three previous times, and the Dolphins won two of those games, both in memorable fashion. If Miami’s two previous wins is any kind of a guide, featuring game-changing performances from players as diverse as an unheralded punter and a Hall of Fame quarterback, then this year’s edition should be just as memorable.[/h]
[FONT="]When the Dolphins travel to Pittsburgh for Sunday’s AFC playoff game, it won’t be the first time the two teams have tangled in the post-season. They faced each other three previous times, and the Dolphins won two of those games, both in memorable fashion.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The first time the two teams played each other in the playoffs was in the 1972 AFC Championship Game, with the winner advancing to Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins were undefeated heading into that contest, winning all their previous 15 games. Don Shula drove the team hard, using the previous years’ Super Bowl loss to the Dallas Cowboys as motivation all year long. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“I hated the feeling after losing that game, and I didn’t want to feel that away again.” said Shula. “So our goal was not only to get back to the Super Bowl, but to win it.” A loss in the AFC Championship Game would have negated everything they accomplished by winning each of the 15 games preceding it. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Conversely, the Steelers were just beginning their run of success that decade. They were coming off their “Immaculate Reception” victory over the Oakland Raiders the previous week and were looking to make their first-ever appearance in the Super Bowl. [/FONT]
PREFECTION GOES ON THE ROAD
[FONT="]In those days, the AFC championship game was rotated among the three divisions, unlike the seeding method now in place, and Pittsburgh was in line to host the AFC title game in 1972. So on Dec. 31st the Dolphins faced the Steelers in Three Rivers Stadium, and not the Orange Bowl, despite their perfect 15-0 record. Fortunately, despite the mid-winter date, the temperature was in the 60s, conditions more suited to a Dolphins’ home game rather than a Steelers one.
[/FONT][FONT="]Miami opened with Earl Morrall at quarterback, who had replaced the injured Bob Griese in the fifth game of the year, although Griese was finally healthy and available to play. But it was the Steelers who jumped off to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when guard Gerry Mullins recovered quarterback Terry Bradshaw’s fumble in the end zone to finish a 10-play drive. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Dolphins didn’t generate any offense on their first few possessions and it looked like they would hand over the ball back to the Steelers when punter Larry Seiple lined up to kick the ball away yet again in the second quarter. But instead, Seiple pulled the ball back down and scampered 37 yards on the fake punt to give the Dolphins a critical first down. The play kept Miami’s drive alive and Morrall took advantage of it, throwing a nine-yard TD pass to Larry Csonka to knot the game at 7-7. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Watching film of the Steelers I saw they would sometimes turn their backs on the punter to cover the kick and I thought it might give me the opportunity to run,” said Seiple. “So when I saw them do it on that play I decided to take off,” said Seiple. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“A lot of people think of me as a punter, but I was actually drafted as a running back. And I played a lot as a tight end once I joined the Dolphins, so I knew how to run the football. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“I just didn’t want to face Coach Shula if I didn’t make it.” [/FONT]
[FONT="]“That wasn’t my call,” said Shula. “Seiple did it on his own. Thank God he made it.” [/FONT]
[FONT="]“We had position, momentum, everything, when that happened,” said Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll. “That changed the game.” [/FONT]
[FONT="]Indeed it did, although it also took a switch at quarterback. After Morrall continued to struggle and kicker Roy Gerela gave the Steelers a 10-7 lead, Shula inserted Griese into the game in the third quarter, his first game action since suffering a broken leg back in October. And it paid immediate dividends. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Griese ignited a touchdown drive when he connected on a slant pass with Paul Warfield that Warfield turned into a 52-yard gain. Jim Kiick finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give Miami its first lead of the game, 14-10. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Dolphins extended that lead to 21-10 when Griese led the Dolphins on another scoring drive, again capped by a touchdown run by Kiick, this time from three yards out. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bradshaw brought the Steelers back with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Al Young midway through the fourth quarter, but the Dolphins’ “No-Name” defense stiffened and took over the game. They intercepted Bradshaw twice the rest of the way, including one by Nick Buoniconti at midfield with 2-1/2 minutes to play to give the Dolphins a 21-17 win, the AFC title, and a Super Bowl berth. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Dolphin fans know the rest of the story well. Miami went on to Los Angeles where they defeated the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII to close out their 17-0 “Perfect Season” and earn their first NFL Championship. But if it weren’t for an unlikely play by an unknown punter the previous game in Pittsburgh, the Dolphins may not have even made it to LA.
More at LINK: [/FONT]http://www.miamidolphins.com/news/article-1/Dolphins-And-Steelers-Have-A-Long-Playoff-History/191f09d5-6731-4b48-bab1-9d16e7e43218
[FONT="]When the Dolphins travel to Pittsburgh for Sunday’s AFC playoff game, it won’t be the first time the two teams have tangled in the post-season. They faced each other three previous times, and the Dolphins won two of those games, both in memorable fashion.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The first time the two teams played each other in the playoffs was in the 1972 AFC Championship Game, with the winner advancing to Super Bowl VII. The Dolphins were undefeated heading into that contest, winning all their previous 15 games. Don Shula drove the team hard, using the previous years’ Super Bowl loss to the Dallas Cowboys as motivation all year long. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“I hated the feeling after losing that game, and I didn’t want to feel that away again.” said Shula. “So our goal was not only to get back to the Super Bowl, but to win it.” A loss in the AFC Championship Game would have negated everything they accomplished by winning each of the 15 games preceding it. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Conversely, the Steelers were just beginning their run of success that decade. They were coming off their “Immaculate Reception” victory over the Oakland Raiders the previous week and were looking to make their first-ever appearance in the Super Bowl. [/FONT]
PREFECTION GOES ON THE ROAD
[FONT="]In those days, the AFC championship game was rotated among the three divisions, unlike the seeding method now in place, and Pittsburgh was in line to host the AFC title game in 1972. So on Dec. 31st the Dolphins faced the Steelers in Three Rivers Stadium, and not the Orange Bowl, despite their perfect 15-0 record. Fortunately, despite the mid-winter date, the temperature was in the 60s, conditions more suited to a Dolphins’ home game rather than a Steelers one.
[/FONT][FONT="]Miami opened with Earl Morrall at quarterback, who had replaced the injured Bob Griese in the fifth game of the year, although Griese was finally healthy and available to play. But it was the Steelers who jumped off to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter when guard Gerry Mullins recovered quarterback Terry Bradshaw’s fumble in the end zone to finish a 10-play drive. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Dolphins didn’t generate any offense on their first few possessions and it looked like they would hand over the ball back to the Steelers when punter Larry Seiple lined up to kick the ball away yet again in the second quarter. But instead, Seiple pulled the ball back down and scampered 37 yards on the fake punt to give the Dolphins a critical first down. The play kept Miami’s drive alive and Morrall took advantage of it, throwing a nine-yard TD pass to Larry Csonka to knot the game at 7-7. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“Watching film of the Steelers I saw they would sometimes turn their backs on the punter to cover the kick and I thought it might give me the opportunity to run,” said Seiple. “So when I saw them do it on that play I decided to take off,” said Seiple. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“A lot of people think of me as a punter, but I was actually drafted as a running back. And I played a lot as a tight end once I joined the Dolphins, so I knew how to run the football. [/FONT]
[FONT="]“I just didn’t want to face Coach Shula if I didn’t make it.” [/FONT]
[FONT="]“That wasn’t my call,” said Shula. “Seiple did it on his own. Thank God he made it.” [/FONT]
[FONT="]“We had position, momentum, everything, when that happened,” said Pittsburgh coach Chuck Noll. “That changed the game.” [/FONT]
[FONT="]Indeed it did, although it also took a switch at quarterback. After Morrall continued to struggle and kicker Roy Gerela gave the Steelers a 10-7 lead, Shula inserted Griese into the game in the third quarter, his first game action since suffering a broken leg back in October. And it paid immediate dividends. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Griese ignited a touchdown drive when he connected on a slant pass with Paul Warfield that Warfield turned into a 52-yard gain. Jim Kiick finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown run to give Miami its first lead of the game, 14-10. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Dolphins extended that lead to 21-10 when Griese led the Dolphins on another scoring drive, again capped by a touchdown run by Kiick, this time from three yards out. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Bradshaw brought the Steelers back with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Al Young midway through the fourth quarter, but the Dolphins’ “No-Name” defense stiffened and took over the game. They intercepted Bradshaw twice the rest of the way, including one by Nick Buoniconti at midfield with 2-1/2 minutes to play to give the Dolphins a 21-17 win, the AFC title, and a Super Bowl berth. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Dolphin fans know the rest of the story well. Miami went on to Los Angeles where they defeated the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII to close out their 17-0 “Perfect Season” and earn their first NFL Championship. But if it weren’t for an unlikely play by an unknown punter the previous game in Pittsburgh, the Dolphins may not have even made it to LA.
More at LINK: [/FONT]http://www.miamidolphins.com/news/article-1/Dolphins-And-Steelers-Have-A-Long-Playoff-History/191f09d5-6731-4b48-bab1-9d16e7e43218