1979 Miami Dolphins season: Difference between revisions

{{short description|14th season in franchise history}}

{{Infobox NFL team season

| owner = [[Joe Robbie]]

| general manager = [[Mike Robbie]]

| stadium = [[Miami Orange Bowl]]

| playoffs = Lost [[1979–80 NFL playoffs|Divisional Playoffs]]<br>(at [[1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Steelers]]) 14–34

| pro bowlers = ''' None '''

[[File:Bob Baumhower 1979.jpg|thumb|right|The Dolphins playing against the [[Oakland Raiders]] at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in 1979]]

The '''1979 Miami Dolphins season''' was the franchise's 10th season in the [[National Football League]], the 14th overall, and the 10th under [[List of Miami Dolphins head coaches|head coach]] [[Don Shula]]. 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 Playoffs, the Dolphins were no match for the [[1979 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]] who jumped out to a 20–0 lead in the 1st Quarter to win 34–14 on their way to their second straight Super Bowl title.

The Dolphins failed to have a Pro Bowler this season.

| player = [[Mel Land]]

| player = [[Steve Howell (American football)|Steve Howell]]

| player = [[Jeff Groth (American football)|Jeff Groth]]

| player = [[Jeff Weston (American football)|Jeff Weston]]

<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/1979_draft.htm |title=1979 Miami Dolphins draftees |work=Pro-Football-Reference.com |accessdate=December 20, 2014 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"

|+ 1979 Undrafted Free Agents of note

!Player

!Position

!College

|-

|[[Joel Williams (linebacker)|Joel Williams]]

|Linebacker

|[[University of Wisconsin–La Crosse|Wisconsin–La Crosse]]

|}

* Executive vice president/general manager – [[Mike Robbie]]

* Vice president – [[Don Shula]]

* Director of player personnel – Chuck Connor

* Head coach – Don Shula

* Quarterbacks/receivers – [[Dan Henning]]

* Offensive backs – [[Carl Taseff]]

* Offensive line/running game – [[John Sandusky]]

* Assistant head coach/defense – [[Bill Arnsparger]]

* Defensive line/run defense – [[Mike Scarry]]

* Defensive backs – [[Tom Keane]]

* Special teams – [[Steve Crosby]], Carl Taseff

{{NFLplayer|&nbsp;7|Guy Benjamin}}

{{NFLplayer|10|Don Strock}}

{{NFLplayer|27|Gary Davis|d=American football}}

{{NFLplayer|38|Steve Howell|d=American football|rookie=y|FB}}

{{NFLplayer|22|Tony Nathan|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|38|Bob Torrey|d=running back|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|24|Delvin Williams}}

{{NFLplayer|84|Bruce Hardy}}

{{NFLplayer|86|Ronnie Lee|d=American football|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|63|Mark Dennard|C}}

{{NFLplayer|61|Cleveland Green|rookie=y|T}}

{{NFLplayer|68|Eric Laakso|T}}

{{NFLplayer|64|Ed Newman|G}}

{{NFLplayer|78|Carl Barisich|DT}}

{{NFLplayer|75|Doug Betters|DE}}

{{NFLplayer|51|Rusty Chambers}}

{{NFLplayer|50|Larry Gordon}}

{{NFLplayer|52|Mel Land|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|53|Bob Matheson}}

{{NFLplayer|54|Ralph Ortega}}

{{NFLplayer|55|Earnest Rhone}}

{{NFLplayer|46|Don Bessillieu|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|25|Tim Foley|d=defensive back|SS}}

{{NFLplayer|37|Mike Kozlowski|rookie=y}}

{{NFLplayer|48|Gerald Small}}

{{NFLplayer|45|Ed Taylor|d=American football|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|41|Norris Thomas|CB}}

{{NFLplayer|4|George Roberts|d=American football|P}}

{{NFLplayer|5|Uwe von Schamann|rookie=y|K}}

{{NFLplayer|49|Charlie Babb|SS|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|47|Glenn Blackwood|rookie=y|DB|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|31|Norm Bulaich|RB|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|62|Jim Langer|C|IR}}

{{NFLplayer|60|Jeff Toews|rookie=y|G|IR}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|-

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Miami Dolphins|year=1979|border=2}}"| Week

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Miami Dolphins|year=1979|border=2}}"| Date

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Miami Dolphins|year=1979|border=2}}"| Opponent

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Miami Dolphins|year=1979|border=2}}"| Result

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Miami Dolphins|year=1979|border=2}}"| Record

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Miami Dolphins|year=1979|border=2}}"| Venue

! style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Miami Dolphins|year=1979|border=2}}"| Recap

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 1

| September 2

| at '''[[1979 Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills]]'''

| '''W''' 9–7

| 1–0

| [[Bills Stadium|Rich Stadium]]

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197909020buf.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 2

| September 9

| [[1979 Seattle Seahawks season|Seattle Seahawks]]

| '''W''' 19–10

| 2–0

| [[Miami Orange Bowl]]

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197909090mia.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 3

| September 16

| at [[1979 Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings]]

| '''W''' 27–12

| 3–0

| [[Metropolitan Stadium]]

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197909160min.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 4

| September 23

| [[1979 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]]

| '''W''' 31–16

| 4–0

| Miami Orange Bowl

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197909230mia.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#fcc"

! 5

| September 30

| at '''[[1979 New York Jets season|New York Jets]]'''

| '''L''' 27–33

| 4–1

| [[Shea Stadium]]

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197909300nyj.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#fcc"

! 6

| {{dow tooltip|October 8, 1979}}

| at [[1979 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders]]

| '''L''' 3–13

| 4–2

| [[Oakland Coliseum|Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum]]

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197910080rai.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 7

| October 14

| '''[[1979 Buffalo Bills season|Buffalo Bills]]'''

| '''W''' 17–7

| 5–2

| Miami Orange Bowl

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197910140mia.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#fcc"

! 8

| October 21

| at '''[[1979 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]]'''

| '''L''' 13–28

| 5–3

| [[Foxboro Stadium|Schaefer Stadium]]

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197910210nwe.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 9

| October 28

| [[1979 Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers]]

| '''W''' 27–7

| 6–3

| Miami Orange Bowl

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197910280mia.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#fcc"

! 10

| {{dow tooltip|November 5, 1979}}

| [[1979 Houston Oilers season|Houston Oilers]]

| '''L''' 6–9

| 6–4

| Miami Orange Bowl

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197911050mia.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 11

| November 11

| '''[[1979 Baltimore Colts season|Baltimore Colts]]'''

| W 19–0

| 7–4

| Miami Orange Bowl

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197911110mia.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#fcc"

! 12

| November 18

| at [[1979 Cleveland Browns season|Cleveland Browns]]

| '''L''' 24–30 {{small|(OT)}}

| 7–5

| [[Cleveland Stadium]]

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197911180cle.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 13

| November 25

| at '''[[1979 Baltimore Colts season|Baltimore Colts]]'''

| '''W''' 28–24

| 8–5

| [[Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)|Memorial Stadium]]

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197911250clt.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 14

| {{dow tooltip|November 29, 1979}}

| '''[[1979 New England Patriots season|New England Patriots]]'''

| '''W''' 39–24

| 9–5

| Miami Orange Bowl

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197911290mia.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#cfc"

! 15

| December 9

| at [[1979 Detroit Lions season|Detroit Lions]]

| '''W''' 28–10

| 10–5

| [[Pontiac Silverdome]]

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197912090det.htm Recap]

|-style="background:#fcc"

! 16

| {{dow tooltip|December 15, 1979}}

| '''[[1979 New York Jets season|New York Jets]]'''

| '''L''' 24–27

| 10–6

| Miami Orange Bowl

| [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197912150mia.htm Recap]

|-style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle|Miami Dolphins|year=1979|border=2}}"

|colspan="8"| '''Note:''' Intra-division opponents are in '''bold''' text.

|}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1979-mia|title=1979 Miami Dolphins}}</ref>

* [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/1979.htm 1979 Miami Dolphins] at [[Pro-Football-Reference.com]]

[[Category:1979 in sports in Florida|Miami Dolphins]]

[[Category:1970s in Miami]]

{{Americanfootball-season-stub}}