1979 Miami Dolphins season

14th season in franchise history December 2013 March 2026 Miami Dolphins 1979 10–6 1st AFC East Don Shula Joe Robbie Mike Robbie Miami Orange Bowl Lost Divisional Playoffs(at Steelers) 14–34 None Dolphins seasons 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 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 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. Offseason NFL draft 1979 NFL draft 1979 Miami Dolphins 1 24 Jon Giesler Offensive tackle Michigan yes 2 53 Jeff Toews Guard Washington yes 3 61 Tony Nathan Running back Alabama yes yes 3 63 Mel Land Linebacker Michigan State yes 3 65 Ronnie Lee Offensive tackle Baylor yes 4 107 Steve Howell Fullback Baylor yes 5 134 Don Bessillieu Safety Georgia Tech yes 6 162 Steve Lindquist Guard Nebraska 7 189 Uwe von Schamann Placekicker Oklahoma yes 8 206 Jeff Groth Wide receiver Bowling Green yes 8 215 Glenn Blackwood Safety Texas yes 9 244 Jeff Weston Offensive tackle Notre Dame 10 258 Jerome Stanton Defensive back Michigan State 10 272 Mike Kozlowski Safety Colorado yes 11 299 Mike Blanton Defensive end Georgia Tech 12 327 Larry Fortner Quarterback Miami (OH) no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/mia/1979_draft.htm 1979 Miami Dolphins draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com December 20, 2014 Undrafted free agents + 1979 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeGreg GordonCornerbackWisconsinCleveland GreenTackleSouthernDerek PennRunning backDukeJoel WilliamsLinebackerWisconsin–La Crosse Personnel Coaches / Staff 1979 Miami Dolphins President – Joe Robbie 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 Punting – Tom Keane Roster 1979 Miami Dolphins  7 Guy Benjamin 12 Bob Griese 10 Don Strock 39 Larry Csonka 27 Gary Davis American football 38 Steve Howell American football y 22 Tony Nathan y 38 Bob Torrey running back y 24 Delvin Williams 81 Jimmy Cefalo 82 Duriel Harris 89 Nat Moore 84 Bruce Hardy 86 Ronnie Lee American football y 71 Mike Current T 63 Mark Dennard C 79 Jon Giesler y T 61 Cleveland Green y T 67 Bob Kuechenberg T 68 Eric Laakso G/T 66 Larry Little G 64 Ed Newman G 60 Jeff Toews y G/T 78 Carl Barisich NT 73 Bob Baumhower NT 75 Doug Betters DE 83 Vern Den Herder DE 77 A. J. Duhe DE 58 Kim Bokamper OLB 51 Rusty Chambers ILB 50 Larry Gordon American football OLB 52 Mel Land y ILB 53 Bob Matheson OLB 54 Ralph Ortega ILB 55 Earnie Rhone OLB 56 Steve Towle ILB 46 Don Bessillieu y SS 20 Neal Colzie FS 25 Tim Foley defensive back SS 37 Mike Kozlowski y SS 48 Gerald Small CB 45 Ed Taylor American football CB 41 Norris Thomas CB  4 George Roberts American football P  5 Uwe von Schamann y K 49 Charlie Babb S IR 47 Glenn Blackwood y S IR 31 Norm Bulaich RB IR 62 Jim Langer C IR 87 Andre Tillman TE IR Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 2 at Buffalo Bills W 9–7 1–0 Rich Stadium Recap 2 September 9 Seattle Seahawks W 19–10 2–0 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 3 September 16 at Minnesota Vikings W 27–12 3–0 Metropolitan Stadium Recap 4 September 23 Chicago Bears W 31–16 4–0 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 5 September 30 at New York Jets L 27–33 4–1 Shea Stadium Recap 6 October 8, 1979 at Oakland Raiders L 3–13 4–2 Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Recap 7 October 14 Buffalo Bills W 17–7 5–2 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 8 October 21 at New England Patriots L 13–28 5–3 Schaefer Stadium Recap 9 October 28 Green Bay Packers W 27–7 6–3 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 10 November 5, 1979 Houston Oilers L 6–9 6–4 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 11 November 11 Baltimore Colts W 19–0 7–4 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 12 November 18 at Cleveland Browns L 24–30 (OT) 7–5 Cleveland Stadium Recap 13 November 25 at Baltimore Colts W 28–24 8–5 Memorial Stadium Recap 14 November 29, 1979 New England Patriots W 39–24 9–5 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 15 December 9 at Detroit Lions W 28–10 10–5 Pontiac Silverdome Recap 16 December 15, 1979 New York Jets L 24–27 10–6 Miami Orange Bowl Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1979-mia 1979 Miami Dolphins Standings Playoffs AFC Divisional Playoff: at Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday December 30, 1979 Dolphins 0 0 7 7 Steelers 20 0 7 7 Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 12:30 pm EST 50,214 Cal Lepore NBC Don Criqui (play by play), John Brodie (color commentator) #eee Pittsburgh – Thornton 1 run (Bahr kick) Pittsburgh – Stallworth 17 pass from Bradshaw (kick blocked) Pittsburgh – Swann 20 pass from Bradshaw (Bahr kick) Miami – Harris 7 pass from Griese (von Schamann kick) Pittsburgh – Bleier 1 run (Bahr kick) Pittsburgh – Harris 5 run (Bahr kick) Miami – Csonka 1 run (von Schamann kick) Awards and honors Larry Csonka 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. References External links 1979 Miami Dolphins at Pro-Football-Reference.com Miami Category:Miami Dolphins seasons Category:AFC East championship seasons Miami Dolphins Category:1970s in Miami