1971: Colts Beat Cowboys in Super Bowl V with FG in Last Seconds

It has been referred to as the “Blooper Bowl” for the sloppiness of much of the play, yet Super Bowl V was also a closely-fought contest that came down to the final seconds. It was the first to be played in the newly-restructured NFL and, unlike its four predecessors, was no longer a contest between champions of rival leagues – it now served as the NFL Championship game.

The American Football Conference (AFC) was the remnant of the American Football League that had merged into the NFL for the 1970 season, although its Super Bowl representative was one of three existing franchises from the older league that was moved into the AFC in order to provide two balanced 13-team conferences. The Baltimore Colts had gone 11-2-1 in 1970 to win the AFC East, and had beaten the Bengals in the Divisional round and Raiders for the conference title.

The Colts were an aging club with a new head coach in Don McCafferty, who had replaced Don Shula when he departed for Miami. 37-year-old QB Johnny Unitas still guided the offense, with occasional relief from 36-year-old backup Earl Morrall. The running game was mediocre due to injuries, while wide receivers Eddie Hinton and Roy Jefferson were primary targets for the passing game. The defense was solid, however, featuring DE Bubba Smith, MLB Mike Curtis, OLB Ted Hendricks, and safeties Rick Volk and Jerry Logan.


Representing the National Football Conference (NFC), the old NFL minus the three transferred clubs, were the Dallas Cowboys. Under Head Coach Tom Landry, the Cowboys were in the postseason for the fifth consecutive year and topped the NFC East at 10-4 before beating the Lions and 49ers to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time. QB Craig Morton (pictured at right) fended off a challenge from second-year backup Roger Staubach and the running game didn’t suffer when RB Calvin Hill was injured and replaced by rookie FB Duane Thomas. Like the Colts, defense was the key to the team’s success and included such stalwarts as DT Bob Lilly, DE George Andrie, MLB Lee Roy Jordan, OLB Chuck Howley, CB Mel Renfro, and safeties Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters.

The game was played at the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 17, 1971 with 80,055 fans in attendance on a pleasant day under clear skies. Dallas got the initial break of the game in the first quarter when Howley intercepted a Unitas pass. The Cowboys weren’t able to move the ball and had to punt, but got it back when Baltimore DB Ron Gardin fumbled the kick and Harris recovered at the Colts’ nine yard line. Dallas couldn’t score a touchdown, with Morton overthrowing WR Reggie Rucker in the end zone on third down, but Mike Clark kicked a 14-yard field goal to put the Cowboys ahead at 3-0.


Late in the opening period, the Cowboys commenced a drive that covered 57 yards in eight plays, featuring a 41-yard pass play from Morton to WR Bob Hayes, and, just into the second quarter, culminated in another Clark field goal, from 30 yards. The Colts responded quickly as, on the third play of the ensuing possession, Unitas fired a pass intended for Hinton that the wide receiver tipped and, after Renfro of the Cowboys also got a hand on it, TE John Mackey (pictured at left), who had been trailing the play, grabbed the ball at the Dallas 45 and ran unmolested the rest of the way for a 75-yard touchdown. The extra point attempt was blocked by DB Mark Washington, leaving the score tied at 6-6.

The Cowboys got another break halfway through the period when Unitas, forced to run out of the pocket, was hit hard by Jordan and fumbled; DT Jethro Pugh recovered for Dallas at the Baltimore 28. Three plays later, Morton connected with Thomas on a swing pass for a seven-yard touchdown.

Unitas left the game due to a rib injury and Morrall took over at quarterback for the Colts. Morrall started off well, completing two passes as Baltimore’s offense drove quickly down to the Dallas two yard line. However, three straight runs gained just a yard and on fourth-and-goal at the one, Coach McCafferty chose to go for the touchdown rather than attempt an easy field goal. Morrall’s pass intended for TE Tom Mitchell was incomplete and the Colts came away empty. The Cowboys led by 13-6 at halftime.

It looked as though Dallas might take decisive control of the game when the Colts fumbled away the second half kickoff at their own 21 yard line and the Cowboys proceeded to drive down to the one. But Thomas fumbled when hit by Baltimore’s Logan and CB Jim Duncan recovered for the Colts. Baltimore drove to the Dallas 44 in 11 plays, but Jim O’Brien was short on a 52-yard field goal attempt.

Baltimore failed to capitalize on a couple more opportunities as the second half progressed. Still in the third quarter, Morrall threw a pass to FB Tom Nowatzke that covered 45 yards to the Dallas 15 before the slow-footed back was pulled down from behind by CB Herb Adderley (pictured below). Following two running plays, Morrall threw into the end zone on third-and-six and was intercepted by Howley.


On their next possession, and now into the fourth quarter, the Colts tried a flea-flicker play, with Morrall pitching out to HB Sam Havrilak. However, due to Bob Lilly’s presence in the backfield near the quarterback, Havrilak didn’t toss it back and threw downfield. Eddie Hinton had broken into the clear and hauled in the pass at the Dallas 20 and appeared to be on his way to a score when he was hit hard by safety Cornell Green at the five and fumbled. The loose ball bounced through the end zone for a touchback despite the pursuit of several players.

Finally, three plays later it was Baltimore’s turn to benefit from a turnover. A pass from Morton intended for FB Walt Garrison was intercepted by Volk, who returned it 30 yards to the Dallas three. Two plays later, Nowatzke scored from two yards out, and with the successful PAT the score was tied at 13-13 with 7:35 remaining on the clock.

The teams traded punts, and with just inside of two minutes remaining, the Cowboys gained possession at the Baltimore 48. Thomas lost a yard on the first play and Morton was sacked by DT Fred Miller for a nine-yard loss on the second. To make matters worse, a holding penalty on the Cowboys took the ball all the way back to the Dallas 27 with the time down to 1:09. Morton threw a pass intended for HB Dan Reeves, but the ball bounced off the halfback’s hands as he was being hit by Logan and was intercepted by Curtis, who ran it back 13 yards to the Dallas 28.

The Colts ran two plays to the Dallas 25, running 50 seconds off the clock and setting up the field goal attempt. O’Brien, who had missed an extra point and a long field goal earlier, was successful from 32 yards (pictured at top) and the Colts came away as champions by a score of 16-13.

Baltimore outgained the Cowboys (329 yards to 217) and led in first downs (14 to 9). However, the numbers that drew the most attention were the 11 turnovers (7 by the Colts on four fumbles and three interceptions, 4 by Dallas on a fumble and three interceptions) and 14 penalties (10 called on the Cowboys, 4 on Baltimore).

Johnny Unitas completed just three of nine passes for 88 yards, with the TD on the deflected pass and two interceptions. Earl Morrall (pictured below), who gained some measure of vindication after having a poor performance in the Super Bowl III upset loss to the Jets, was successful on 7 of 15 throws for 147 yards with one picked off. Neither team was able to move the ball well on the ground, and of the 69 rushing yards for the Colts, Tom Nowatzke accounted for 33 on 10 carries with a TD while rookie RB Norm Bulaich, who had run well in the prior playoff games, carried 18 times for just 28 yards. Roy Jefferson caught three passes for 52 yards while John Mackey, with the long TD, gained a club-leading 80 yards on two receptions.


For the Cowboys, Craig Morton went to the air 26 times and completed 12 for 127 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions. Walt Garrison ran for 65 yards on 12 attempts while Duane Thomas was held to 35 yards on 18 carries. Dan Reeves led the team with 5 pass receptions for 46 yards out of the backfield - only one completion wasn’t to a running back, and that was the 41-yard reception by Hayes in the first half.

Among the contest’s oddities, Chuck Howley (pictured below) became the first member of a losing team to be named MVP of the game. “It’s nice, but I wish we had won the game,” he said.


“The big play was in the third period,” said Tom Landry. “That was when Duane Thomas fumbled on the Colt goal line. If he had scored, we would have had a 20-6 lead and the Colts would have had to do a lot of catching up. After that, it was nothing but errors for us.”

While John Mackey commented afterward, “We were lucky and I’d rather be lucky than good”, veteran OT Bob Vogel said, “So what if we were lucky? I’ve had luck decide against us so many times that I’m sick of it…The way I look at it, we’re getting the Super Bowl ring because we won the games that counted. We deserve it.”

For the Colts as a team, as well as Morrall personally, the win laid to rest the ghost of the Super Bowl upset two years before. It was also a last hurrah for many of the older players who had made the club an annual contender for several seasons, including Unitas, Morrall, Vogel, Mackey, Logan, and DT Billy Ray Smith. While Baltimore advanced to the AFC Championship game in ’71, most of those veterans were gone soon thereafter and the next time the franchise played in a Super Bowl, it was representing Indianapolis following the 2006 season.

The defeat added to the perception of the Cowboys as a team that came up short in big games, which was not eradicated until the next year when they dominated the Dolphins to win their first championship in Super Bowl VI.

1970: Blanda Comes Off Bench for First of Five Straight Clutch Performances

Entering the 1970 NFL season, Oakland’s 43-year-old George Blanda was typically viewed as an over-the-hill backup quarterback who was still able to play pro football because of his placekicking ability. He had thrown just 13 passes in 1969 in relief of Daryle Lamonica, who had been selected Player of the Year by UPI in the American Football League’s last season and was still in his prime at age 29. Moreover, Ken Stabler had been drafted out of Alabama in the second round in ’68, and while injuries had kept him sidelined, he was expected to be ready for a more active role in ’70.

Blanda had been around for 20 years after being taken in the 12th round of the 1949 NFL draft out of Kentucky by the Chicago Bears. In 10 years with the Bears (he was briefly dealt to the Colts in 1950 but was brought back after just a week), he had a contentious relationship with owner/Head Coach George Halas and battled for playing time at quarterback. He handled the placekicking competently and even had occasion to play at linebacker and in the defensive backfield.

Blanda retired from the Bears following the 1958 season but returned to pro football in ’60 with the Houston Oilers of the new American Football League. The Oilers won the first two league championships with Blanda at the helm, and he set a then-record with 36 touchdown passes in 1961 (he set a more dubious record by tossing 42 interceptions in ’62). The Oilers released him after the 1966 season and he signed with the Raiders as a placekicker/backup QB. Behind Lamonica, he started one game in three years.

The Raiders were off to a slow start in ’70 and were 2-2-1 as they hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on October 25. In the second quarter, with the score tied at 7-7, Lamonica was sidelined with a bad back. Head Coach John Madden, who at 34 was nine years younger than the 21st-year veteran, sent Blanda into the game. An apparent scoring pass to TE Raymond Chester was called back due to a penalty, but on the next series a 44-yard pass to WR Warren Wells counted for a touchdown and put the Raiders ahead at 14-7. Before the half was over, Blanda kicked a 27-yard field goal and tossed another TD pass, of 19 yards to Chester.

In the third quarter, Blanda tossed a second touchdown pass to Chester that covered 43 yards and Oakland cruised to a 31-14 win. Blanda had come off the bench to complete 7 of 12 passes for 148 yards with three touchdowns against one interception. But the heroics were only just beginning.

The following week at Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium, Lamonica was back behind center as the Raiders were locked in a tight struggle against the defending-champion Chiefs. With eight seconds left to play, Kansas City was ahead by a 17-14 score, but Blanda was successful on a 48-yard field goal into the wind that salvaged a 17-17 tie.

The Raiders were now in first place as they hosted the Cleveland Browns on November 8. Early on, it seemed as though Oakland had the contest in hand as they took a 13-0 lead in the second quarter, thanks to two Blanda field goals of nine and 42 yards with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Lamonica to HB Charlie Smith in between. But Cleveland scored on a 10-yard pass from QB Bill Nelsen to HB Leroy Kelly and then Don Cockroft booted a 42-yard field goal to narrow the Raiders’ lead to 13-10 at halftime.

On the last play of the third quarter, Browns FB Bo Scott took off on a 63-yard touchdown run that put Cleveland in the lead by 17-13. On the next Oakland series, Browns DE Ron Snidow blind-sided Lamonica, causing him to leave the game with an injured shoulder. The Raiders punted, but CB Nemiah Wilson intercepted a pass deep in his own territory. However, it seemed as though the Blanda luck had run out when the old pro immediately tossed an interception in return.

Four plays after Blanda was picked off, Cockroft kicked a 32-yard field goal to extend the Cleveland lead to 20-13. Oakland’s offense took over with 4:11 remaining on the clock. Blanda completed three passes, and on a key fourth-and-16 play at the Browns’ 31 yard line threw an off-balance pass that WR Fred Biletnikoff caught for 17 yards and a first down. On the next play, Blanda threw for the end zone and connected with Wells for a 14-yard touchdown. Blanda kicked the extra point, and the game was tied at 20-20 with only a little over a minute remaining.

It looked as though the Raiders might end up with a tie for the second straight week (regular season overtime in the NFL was still four years away), but CB Kent McCloughan intercepted a Nelsen pass and returned it to the Oakland 46. Now down to 34 seconds and no time outs left, Blanda threw two incomplete passes – and was hit hard by DE Jack Gregory after each. A pass to FB Hewritt Dixon gained nine yards to the Cleveland 45 and with three seconds remaining, Blanda attempted a 52-yard field goal – his longest as a Raider. The kick was good, to the wild delirium of the crowd at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and Oakland came away with a stunning 23-20 win.

The heroics continued for a fourth straight week at Denver’s Mile High Stadium. Once again, Lamonica threw two TD passes and Blanda kicked a field goal to stake the Raiders to a 17-6 lead after three quarters. The Broncos rallied, with QB Pete Liske throwing a 10-yard TD pass to TE Jim Whalen and then running the ball over on a quarterback sneak to take a 19-17 advantage. And once more, Blanda rallied the Raiders in the last minute on a drive that culminated in a 20-yard touchdown pass to Biletnikoff and 24-19 win.

Finally, while Lamonica went the distance in a home game against the San Diego Chargers, it was Blanda breaking a 17-17 tie in the fourth quarter with a 16-yard field goal that produced a 20-17 victory for the Raiders. Over the course of five consecutive weeks, the 43-year-old veteran had made the game-saving plays that allowed Oakland to go 4-0-1 in that span. The streak caught the imagination of football fans across the country, making the gruff veteran something of a modern folk hero.

It all ended with a loss at Detroit, and the Raiders split their remaining games to end up topping the AFC West with a record of 8-4-2. They defeated Miami in the Divisional round but lost to the Baltimore Colts in the first AFC Championship game – even Blanda’s relief efforts couldn’t overcome the tough Baltimore defense.


George Blanda appeared as a quarterback in six games and completed 29 of 55 passes (52.7 %) for 461 yards (8.4 yards per attempt) with six touchdowns and five interceptions. He was, of course, the placekicker in all 14 contests and was successful on 16 of 29 field goals and all 36 extra point attempts for a total of 84 points. Even with his limited play at quarterback in addition to the kicking, Blanda received the Bert Bell trophy as NFL MVP from the Maxwell Club.

Blanda went on to play another five years, even seeing brief action at quarterback in his final season at the age of 48. At the end of his career in 1975, he was the NFL’s all-time scoring leader (counting his AFL seasons as well) with 2002 points. He also held the career record for field goals (335) and extra points (943), as well as passes intercepted (277). Except for the career extra points, all of those have since been eclipsed (he lived to see Brett Favre break the record for career interception passes, one he was glad to no longer hold) but perhaps most significantly, his record for most seasons played (26) remains. Blanda was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.

1970: Joe Kapp Debuts with Patriots in Loss to Chiefs

QB Joe Kapp had led the Minnesota Vikings to the NFL Championship with a Pro Bowl season in 1969. The Vikings had then lost to the AFL-champion Kansas City Chiefs in the last pre-merger Super Bowl. In the offseason, the 32-year-old Kapp, who had played out his option, failed to come to terms with the Vikings for another contract. The dispute lingered into the 1970 season and on October 2 the veteran quarterback signed with the Boston Patriots for a reported $500,000.

The Patriots were coming off three straight losing seasons and had gone 4-10 in 1969 under first-year Head Coach Clive Rush. The team certainly had to be hoping that Kapp would bring his habit of winning to Boston. He had led the University of California to the 1959 Rose Bowl as an option quarterback. Foregoing the NFL (he was an 18th-round draft choice of the Washington Redskins) for the Canadian Football League, he was the quarterback for the British Columbia Lions when they appeared in back-to-back Grey Cup games in 1963 and ’64, winning the second one. Finally, he joined another CFL refugee, Head Coach Bud Grant, in Minnesota in 1967.

Kapp didn’t throw picturesque passes or display great technique as a quarterback, but what he lacked in skill he made up for with fiery, charismatic leadership. Sticking to his roots as a college option quarterback, he was a good (and very willing) runner and also threw well on the run.

The Patriots had won their opening game against Miami before losing the next two contests. With Kapp hurriedly learning the offense in preparation for his first action of the season, the team traveled to, coincidentally, Kansas City, where they took on the Chiefs at Municipal Stadium on October 11.

The defending-champion Chiefs were also 1-2 and playing without star QB Len Dawson, who had a knee injury, although as Head Coach Hank Stram said afterward, he could have played if necessary. Third-year backup Mike Livingston was behind center. Mike Taliaferro, the holdover quarterback from ’69, again started for the Patriots.

Boston scored first, late in the opening quarter, after DB Art McMahon recovered a fumbled fair catch by Kansas City HB Ed Podolak. The result was a 25-yard Gino Cappelletti field goal.

The first KC touchdown came in the second quarter following a 70-yard drive that was sustained by a roughing the kicker penalty on the Patriots and ended with FB Robert “The Tank” Holmes running in from a yard out. Later in the period Jan Stenerud booted a 42-yard field goal and the Chiefs held a 10-3 lead at halftime.

Kapp replaced Taliaferro in the second half. He might not have been very familiar with the plays, but he looked ready. As Chiefs DE Jerry Mays said, “When Joe came up for that first play, he looked like Reddy Kilowatt. His eyes were flashing and you could see the excitement on his face. He worried us. He has that ability to lift a team.”

The initial impression that Kapp exuded didn’t yield results. The third quarter was scoreless, and early in the fourth quarter, Kansas City drove 55 yards in seven plays after SS Jim Kearney intercepted a pass by Kapp at the Patriots’ 33 yard line. A clip on the return moved the ball back to the 45. But the resulting drive, highlighted by a 33-yard run by Podolak (making up for the earlier muffed punt), resulted in Holmes again scoring a short touchdown, this time on a two-yard run.

Another Kapp pass was intercepted by LB Bobby Bell at the Boston 25. Stenerud kicked a 24-yard field goal for a 23-3 KC lead. Kapp finally connected with WR Bake Turner for a 12-yard touchdown in the last two minutes and the final score was 23-10 as the Chiefs won handily.

After the game, Kapp said “It’s terrible to lose. I don’t like to lose, what else can I say?” Asked how familiar he was with Boston’s offense, he replied “it was pretty obvious out there – very little.”

Kapp completed two of 11 passes for 16 yards and was intercepted twice and sacked twice, although one of the completions was for a touchdown. Overall, the Chiefs intercepted six passes as Taliaferro’s numbers were also poor (three completions in 12 attempts for 30 yards with four interceptions). Wide receivers Turner and Ron Sellers combined for five receptions for 46 yards and a TD. HB Carl Garrett was a bright spot, rushing for 53 yards on 10 carries.

Boston managed just 105 yards of total offense, compared to 346 for Kansas City. 272 of those yards for the Chiefs came on the ground, as Mike Livingston went to the air just 14 times, completing 8 for 85 yards with one intercepted. Robert Holmes was the leading receiver with two catches for 28 yards while also contributing 35 yards on 13 carries, including the two touchdowns. Ed Podolak led KC with 81 yards on 10 carries and RB Warren McVea added another 71 yards on 8 attempts.

Of the six passes intercepted, Jim Kearney and CB Jim Marsalis each had two. In addition, Jerrel Wilson had an outstanding day punting, averaging 56.7 yards on his five kicks, with a long punt of 63 yards.

Kapp might have been frustrated by his performance, but Coach Rush had only praise for his new quarterback. “For his first game with us, he did well,” Rush said. “We're trying to feed him slowly as possible on our system.” Added Hank Stram, “Kapp will help Boston. He did extremely well having been in camp only a week. He'll give that team a great lift because he's an inspirational leader.”

Alas, the high hopes for Kapp in Boston didn’t work out. The Patriots ended up at the bottom of the AFC East with a 2-12 record and the eccentric Clive Rush was replaced halfway through the season by John Mazur. Kansas City went 7-5-2 for second place in the AFC West.

The Patriots had the lowest-ranked offense in the newly-expanded NFL and Joe Kapp was the lowest-ranked passer (Taliaferro was just ahead of him) as he completed only 44.7 percent of his throws (98 of 219) for 1104 yards (5.0 yards per attempt) with just three touchdowns against 17 interceptions. Kapp’s emotional leadership couldn’t begin to compensate for a weak supporting caste.

The 1970 season proved to be Kapp’s last – the Patriots wanted him back, but with a cut in pay, and he retired (he also filed an anti-trust suit against the NFL that failed).

With the first choice in the 1971 draft, the Patriots, with a rich quarterback class to choose from, took Heisman Trophy-winner Jim Plunkett from Stanford. They also moved to a new stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts for ’71 and were renamed the New England Patriots.

1970: Don Shula Leaves Colts for Dolphins

After four seasons of existence, the Miami Dolphins had gone a combined 15-39-2 under Head Coach George Wilson. Moreover, they were not drawing well, averaging less than half the capacity of the 75,000-seat Orange Bowl. Managing partner Joe Robbie concluded that radical steps were necessary and on February 18, 1970 he signed Don Shula away from the Baltimore Colts to become the new head coach.

Shula demanded a great deal to leave the Colts – not only a large and long-term contract, but a percentage of the team; he was also made a vice-president. It was determined by NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle that Robbie had been guilty of tampering in his pursuit of Shula, and so the Dolphins also had to surrender their first draft pick for 1971 to the Colts as well (Baltimore used the pick to select RB Don McCauley from North Carolina).

Shula came to Miami with a solid reputation. He was hired by the Colts in 1963 at the age of 33 to succeed Weeb Ewbank, who had built the team into a championship club in 1958 and ’59. By his second season, the Colts were champions of the Western Conference, and they won a league title in ’68, although they lost the subsequent Super Bowl to the AFL’s New York Jets. His record after seven seasons in Baltimore was 71-23-4 for a very healthy .755 winning percentage, although the Colts had underachieved in the postseason, going 2-3.

Shula was still young, at 40, and if he had encountered problems in the playoffs, he had certainly built teams that could be counted on to contend regularly.

“I’m not a miracle worker,” said the new coach upon taking the job. “I have no magic formulas. The only way I know is hard work.”

While not a great deal was initially expected, Shula did have talent to work with. On offense, QB Bob Griese had shown poise and promise in his first three pro seasons, although he had certainly taken plenty of lumps. The second most significant offseason acquisition after Shula had been WR Paul Warfield, who was obtained from the Browns and was well established as one of the best deep threats in the NFL. They also picked up TE Marv Fleming from Green Bay, a further asset to the passing game.

FB Larry Csonka had been considered something of an underachiever after coming out of Syracuse in 1968. He was matched in the backfield with overachieving HB Jim Kiick. The aging offensive line had gained unsung guard Larry Little in ’69.

Defensively, the team had strong performers in second-year DE Bill Stanfill and veteran LB Nick Buoniconti, who had been obtained from the Patriots the year before. DT Manny Fernandez was another rising talent on the line. Dick Anderson had a tough second season at safety, while young players like Lloyd Mumphord and Tim Foley were available in the defensive backfield.

There may not have been any miracles or magic formulas, but the Dolphins did far better than expected. After breaking out to a 4-1 start, three mid-season defeats (two of them crushing shutouts) evened Miami’s tally at 4-4. But they won the remaining six contests to end up with a stunning 10-4 record and wild card spot in the postseason.

The running game was the best in the AFC, generating a total of 2082 yards at a healthy 4.2 yards-per-carry clip. Csonka led the way with 874 yards, finally realizing his potential. Kiick contributed 658 yards and was the only running back to make the Top 10 in both rushing yards and pass receptions in the conference (42 catches for 497 yards). An added bonus was HB Eugene “Mercury” Morris, almost exclusively a kick return specialist in his 1969 rookie season but Shula worked him into the offense as an outside running threat and he averaged 6.8 yards-per-attempt on 60 carries for 409 yards.

Griese suffered growing pains at quarterback, but benefited from the improved ground game and the enhanced receiving corps. Warfield caught just 28 passes (he missed three full games due to injury), but they were good for 703 yards and a whopping 25.1 yards-per-reception and six touchdowns. The much-maligned offensive line of 1969 improved markedly under the guidance of assistant coach Monte Clark, especially Little and Bob Kuechenberg at guard and tackles Norm Evans and Doug Crusan.

The bend-but-don’t-break defense gave up yards but surrendered an AFC-lowest 228 points. Rookies Mike Kolen and Doug Swift became starters at linebacker, flanking Buoniconti, with good results, and newcomers Jake Scott at free safety and cornerback Curtis Johnson helped to upgrade the secondary. Another newcomer, Garo Yepremian, also contributed by connecting on 22 of 29 field goal attempts to lead the league with a 75.9 percentage.

The stage was thus set for Shula to lead the Dolphins to three consecutive conference championships and two Super Bowl victories (finally removing the stigma of failing in big games). Over the course of 26 seasons in Miami, through 1995, his teams accumulated 257 wins against 133 losses with two ties for a winning percentage of .659. The Dolphins went to the playoffs in 16 of those campaigns, going 17-14 while reaching the Super Bowl five times and winning two of them.

Including the years in Baltimore, Shula ended up as the winningest coach in NFL history with 328 victories. He certainly proved to be worth the price Joe Robbie and the Dolphins paid to get him, steep as it might have appeared at the time.