Historical Miami: 1973 Team Holds This "unique" Record

['Deep]

Hard to remember that far back but I DO REMEMBER the absolute BS that we had to play on the road in Oakland despite the better record etc.

Oakland had the better record at 12-2, Miami was 11-3. We still got screwed because 1974 was the final year the league rotated home field in the playoffs. Miami was the #2 seed in the AFC and should've hosted #3 Pittsburgh while #1 Oakland would've hosted #4 Buffalo.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Oakland had the better record at 12-2, Miami was 11-3. We still got screwed because 1974 was the final year the league rotated home field in the playoffs. Miami was the #2 seed in the AFC and should've hosted #3 Pittsburgh while #1 Oakland would've hosted #4 Buffalo.

Definitely like the way the playoff system is now with teams earning home field.

Hard to fathom for younger fans that Miami at 14-0 in 1972 had to go to Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

Definitely like the way the playoff system is now with teams earning home field.

Hard to fathom for younger fans that Miami at 14-0 in 1972 had to go to Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship.

There wasn't as much gripe about it as younger fans might imagine. The home field was kind of an afterthought in comparison to the wild card aspect, which was being applauded.

In prior years there had been many examples of a deserving team not making the playoffs despite a great record. Once the merger added that wild card component, it took quite awhile for anyone to fully care about home field, and then the notion of adding a second wild card team was even further on the back burner.

The signature example of an unfortunate team had been in the final years prior to the merger, during 1967 when the Colts and Rams each finished with a record of 11-1-2 in the same NFL division, the Coastal division. But the Colts did not make the playoffs due to tiebreaker procedures. It is probably the best team in the history of any American team sport that did not make the playoffs. Baltimore scored nearly twice as many points as it allowed yet was excluded.

I was a young kid and just starting to follow and understand football. But all season the networks were flooded with talk about the two great teams in the same division, with the season finale between the two teams that was inevitably going to decide matters, and one of the two teams staying home for the playoffs. That was when the wild card topic started becoming seriously discussed, although that term was not applied.

When the Colts lost the Super Bowl as huge favorite over Namath and the Jets the following season, it was extra frustration given what the team had experienced in prior years. Not only had an 11-1-2 season failed to produce a playoff berth one year earlier, but the 1965 team lost an incredibly controversial overtime playoff game at Green Bay. The famous Packers kicker Don Chandler clearly missed a short field goal with about 2 minutes remaining and Green Bay trailing 10-7. Chandler threw up his arms in disbelief at the failure. But it was not judged a failure by the referee under that short upright. Somehow the kick was ruled good. Baltimore protested but to no avail. It was like the Saints two weeks ago.

And just like the blown call in the Saints game may spark changes to the replay rule, the 1965 situation caused the uprights to be lengthened. They were incredibly short in 1965. Then much later they were raised again.

Vince Lombardi won a 1965 NFL Championship that most likely he never should have competed for. Chandler conceded decades later that the kick was sailing wide when he looked up. Chandler then hit the game winner in overtime.

I mention this type of stuff when I realize younger fans are not always being told about pivotal but strange events from many decades earlier. When I was a young man I enjoyed it when older guys would detail sporting events from long before my time.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

There wasn't as much gripe about it as younger fans might imagine. The home field was kind of an afterthought in comparison to the wild card aspect, which was being applauded.

In prior years there had been many examples of a deserving team not making the playoffs despite a great record. Once the merger added that wild card component, it took quite awhile for anyone to fully care about home field, and then the notion of adding a second wild card team was even further on the back burner.

The signature example of an unfortunate team had been in the final years prior to the merger, during 1967 when the Colts and Rams each finished with a record of 11-1-2 in the same NFL division, the Coastal division. But the Colts did not make the playoffs due to tiebreaker procedures. It is probably the best team in the history of any American team sport that did not make the playoffs. Baltimore scored nearly twice as many points as it allowed yet was excluded.

I was a young kid and just starting to follow and understand football. But all season the networks were flooded with talk about the two great teams in the same division, with the season finale between the two teams that was inevitably going to decide matters, and one of the two teams staying home for the playoffs. That was when the wild card topic started becoming seriously discussed, although that term was not applied.

When the Colts lost the Super Bowl as huge favorite over Namath and the Jets the following season, it was extra frustration given what the team had experienced in prior years. Not only had an 11-1-2 season failed to produce a playoff berth one year earlier, but the 1965 team lost an incredibly controversial overtime playoff game at Green Bay. The famous Packers kicker Don Chandler clearly missed a short field goal with about 2 minutes remaining and Green Bay trailing 10-7. Chandler threw up his arms in disbelief at the failure. But it was not judged a failure by the referee under that short upright. Somehow the kick was ruled good. Baltimore protested but to no avail. It was like the Saints two weeks ago.

And just like the blown call in the Saints game may spark changes to the replay rule, the 1965 situation caused the uprights to be lengthened. They were incredibly short in 1965. Then much later they were raised again.

Vince Lombardi won a 1965 NFL Championship that most likely he never should have competed for. Chandler conceded decades later that the kick was sailing wide when he looked up. Chandler then hit the game winner in overtime.

I mention this type of stuff when I realize younger fans are not always being told about pivotal but strange events from many decades earlier. When I was a young man I enjoyed it when older guys would detail sporting events from long before my time.

A few years before I started watching football, but that' amazing to think 11-1-2 doesn't get in.

I do recall Miami missing twice in the 70's with a 10-4 record.

 

[Fins1971]

Something a lot of people never consider when discussing the great defenses in NFL history...the “no name defense” allowed 1 offensive touchdown in back to back Superbowls... a grand total of 7 points in two Superbowls.

Manny Fernandez was unblock-able in both of those games.

 

[SF Dolphin Fan]

Manny Fernandez was unblock-able in both of those games.

That defense was so underrated. Miami allowed just one explosive play in the Super Bowl VII - a 15-yard pass completion. That was an absolutely dominant defensive performance.

Minnesota's only score in Super Bowl VIII came in the fourth quarter with the game already decided.

 

[Third Eye]

LOL. Yea, you're right. Hard to remember that far back but I DO REMEMBER the absolute BS that we had to play on the road in Oakland despite the better record etc. And that dirty snake getting a lucky TD pass with like no time left... It was awful. And if had been in Miami (where it 100% should have been) it wouldn't have been close!

True Story!

I remember Sea of Hands as a very young boy. I think my dad took me to get a haircut and as I’m in the chair it’s all unfolding with the Stabler pass as he’s falling. Raiders win and I start crying in the chair trying not to let anyone know. My first of many times crying for this team.

Your post got me thinking in that why the game was played in Oakland. I looked up the 1974 regular season standings and clearly Miami should’ve been the 2 seed at 11-3. But for some reason Miami opened playoffs at Oakland who was 12-2. Meanwhile the Steelers at 10-3-1 hosted the wildcard Bills who were 9-5.

Does anyone have any idea how and why these playoff pairings happened?

 

[BigNastyFish]

I remember Sea of Hands as a very young boy. I think my dad took me to get a haircut and as I’m in the chair it’s all unfolding with the Stabler pass as he’s falling. Raiders win and I start crying in the chair trying not to let anyone know. My first of many times crying for this team.

Your post got me thinking in that why the game was played in Oakland. I looked up the 1974 regular season standings and clearly Miami should’ve been the 2 seed at 11-3. But for some reason Miami opened playoffs at Oakland who was 12-2. Meanwhile the Steelers at 10-3-1 hosted the wildcard Bills who were 9-5.

Does anyone have any idea how and why these playoff pairings happened?

Yea, someone else addressed this elsewhere -- back in the day the NFL had some kind of "rotational" deal in the payoffs that was soon replaced with simple seeding...