1979 Miami Dolphins season
Encyclopedia
The 1979 Miami Dolphins season was the 14th year of existence for the Miami Dolphins
franchise. Although they finished at 10–6, one win fewer than the previous year, they were still able to win the AFC East Division outright. They ultimately lost in the division round of the NFL playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers
.
AFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday December 30, 1979): at Pittsburgh Steelers
returned to the Dolphins in 1979 for one last season before retiring, after leaving in 1975 for the World Football League
and spending the next three seasons after with the New York Giants
. He led the team with 837 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, in addition to one receiving touchdown. His return led to him being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
franchise. Although they finished at 10–6, one win fewer than the previous year, they were still able to win the AFC East Division outright. They ultimately lost in the division round of the NFL playoffs to the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
.
NFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | ||||
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Dolphins points | Opponents | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | Sept. 2 | at Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Win | 9 | 7 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | Sept. 9 | Seattle Seahawks Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team... |
Win | 19 | 10 | 2–0 | |
| 3 | Sept. 16 | at Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960... |
Win | 27 | 12 | 3–0 | |
| 4 | Sept. 23 | Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Win | 31 | 16 | 4–0 | |
| 5 | Sept. 30 | at New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss | 27 | 33 | 4–1 | |
| 6 | Oct. 8 | at Oakland Raiders Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss | 3 | 13 | 4–2 | |
| 7 | Oct. 14 | Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Win | 17 | 7 | 5–2 | |
| 8 | Oct. 21 | at New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
Loss | 13 | 28 | 5–3 | |
| 9 | Oct. 28 | Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... |
Win | 27 | 7 | 6–3 | |
| 10 | Nov. 5 | Houston Oilers Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter... |
Loss | 6 | 9 | 6–4 | |
| 11 | Nov. 11 | Baltimore Colts | Win | 19 | 0 | 7–4 | |
| 12 | Nov. 18 | at Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss (OT) | 24 | 30 | 7–5 | |
| 13 | Nov. 25 | at Baltimore Colts | Win | 28 | 24 | 8–5 | |
| 14 | Nov. 29 | New England Patriots New England Patriots The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... |
Win | 39 | 24 | 9–5 | |
| 15 | Dec. 9 | at Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
Win | 28 | 10 | 10–5 | |
| 16 | Dec. 15 | New York Jets New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
Loss | 24 | 27 | 10–6 | |
Standings
| AFC East AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. There are four members: Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots , and New York Jets... |
||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 341 | 257 |
| New England Patriots 1979 New England Patriots season The New England Patriots finished the National Football League's 1979 season with a record of nine wins and seven losses, and finished second in the AFC East division.-Staff:-Schedule:- Standings :-Roster:... |
9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 411 | 326 |
| New York Jets 1979 New York Jets season The 1979 New York Jets season was the 20th season for the team and the 10th in the National Football League. It began with the team trying to improve upon its 8–8 record from 1978 under head coach Walt Michaels. The Jets finished the season with a record of 8–8.-Schedule:- Standings :-Week 1: vs... |
8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 337 | 383 |
| Buffalo Bills 1979 Buffalo Bills season The 1979 Buffalo Bills season was the 20th season for the club and its 10th in the National Football League.-NFL Draft:-Roster:-Schedule:- Standings :-References:* * *... |
7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 268 | 279 |
| Baltimore Colts 1979 Baltimore Colts season The 1979 Baltimore Colts season was the 27th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1979 season with a record of 5 wins and 11 losses, and finished fifth in the AFC East division.... |
5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 271 | 351 |
AFC Divisional Playoff (Sunday December 30, 1979): at Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
Awards and honors
Larry CsonkaLarry Csonka
Larry Richard Csonka is a former collegiate and professional American football fullback.-Childhood:One of six children, Csonka was born in Stow, Ohio where he was raised on a farm by his Hungarian family...
returned to the Dolphins in 1979 for one last season before retiring, after leaving in 1975 for the World Football League
World Football League
The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...
and spending the next three seasons after with the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He led the team with 837 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, in addition to one receiving touchdown. His return led to him being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year.