1978 Miami Dolphins season

13th season in franchise history December 2013 March 2026 Miami Dolphins 1978 11–5 2nd AFC East Joe Robbie Mike Robbie Don Shula Miami Orange Bowl Lost Wild Card Playoffs(vs. Oilers) 9–17 2 DT Bob Baumhower SS Tim Foley Dolphins seasons thumb|310px|The Dolphins playing against the Houston Oilers in the 1978 AFC wild card game. The 1978 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, the 13th overall, and the 9th under head coach Don Shula. The team returned to the NFL playoffs for the first time since 1974, with an 11–5 record. Quarterback Bob Griese missed the first seven games due to a knee injury. The Dolphins got off to a 5–2 start behind back-up Don Strock. Upon Griese's return, the Dolphins earned a berth to the playoffs as a Wild Card. Helping to lead the Dolphins back to the postseason was running back Delvin Williams, who set a team record with 1,258 yards rushing on the season. In the first playoff game involving two Wild Cards, the Dolphins were stunned 17–9 by the Houston Oilers at the Orange Bowl. In the process the Dolphins set two notable records: scoring first in all but one of their sixteen regular season games,In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the regular season, team scored first and never trailing at any point in eleven games.In a single season, from 1940 to 2012, in the regular season, team never trailed during game The former record was equalled by the 2004 Patriots, and the latter was beaten by the 2005 Colts. Offseason NFL draft 1978 NFL draft 1978 Miami Dolphins 2 51 Guy Benjamin Quarterback Stanford yes 3 64 Lyman Smith Defensive tackle Duke 3 81 Jimmy Cefalo Wide receiver Penn State yes 4 93 Gerald Small Cornerback San Jose State yes 4 106 Eric Laakso Tackle Tulane yes 5 111 Ted Burgmeier Safety Notre Dame no 6 163 Doug Betters Defensive end Nevada yes yes 7 178 Karl Baldischwiler Tackle Oklahoma no 7 190 Lloyd Henry Wide receiver Northeast Missouri State no 8 217 Sean Clancy Linebacker Amherst yes 9 247 Bruce Hardy Tight end Arizona State yes 10 274 Mark Dennard Center Texas A&M yes 12 331 Mike Moore Running back Middle Tennessee State no 12 333 Bill Kenney Quarterback Northern Colorado no yes no Undrafted free agents + 1978 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeSteve ArndtsCenterEastern MichiganJohn BristorCornerbackWaynesburgRod BroadwayDefensive endNorth CarolinaZac HendersonSafetyOklahomaGregg LazzaroTight endFlorida StateRobert MossDefensive endJackson StateVic RivasGuardFlorida StateMike ShumannWide receiverFlorida State Personnel Staff 1978 Miami Dolphins President – Joe Robbie Vice President – Don Shula Executive Vice-President - Mike Robbie Head coach – Don Shula Offense/Receivers/Passing Game – Howard Schnellenberger 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 – Carl Taseff Punting – Tom Keane Roster Miami Dolphins 1978  7 Guy Benjamin y 12 Bob Griese 10 Don Strock 34 Jim Braxton 31 Norm Bulaich 27 Gary Davis American football 38 Leroy Harris running back 24 Delvin Williams 81 Jimmy Cefalo y 82 Duriel Harris 89 Nat Moore 85 Bo Rather 84 Bruce Hardy y 80 Loaird McCreary 87 Andre Tillman 71 Mike Current T 67 Bob Kuechenberg G 68 Eric Laakso y G/T 62 Jim Langer C 66 Larry Little G 60 Melvin Mitchell G 79 Wayne Moore American football T 65 Wally Pesuit C 76 John Alexander defensive end DE 78 Carl Barisich NT 73 Bob Baumhower NT 75 Doug Betters y DE 83 Vern Den Herder DE 77 A. J. Duhe DE 58 Kim Bokamper OLB 51 Rusty Chambers ILB 57 Sean Clancy American football y OLB 50 Larry Gordon American football OLB 53 Bob Matheson ILB 55 Earnie Rhone ILB 56 Steve Towle ILB 49 Charlie Babb FS 44 Charles Cornelius gridiron football CB 25 Tim Foley defensive back SS 45 Curtis Johnson cornerback CB 48 Gerald Small y CB 41 Norris Thomas CB 21 Rick Volk FS  4 George Roberts American football y P  1 Garo Yepremian K 63 Mark Dennard y C IR 88 Lloyd Henry y WR IR 64 Ed Newman G IR 36 Don Nottingham RB IR 70 Bob Simpson American football DE IR 74 Steve Young offensive tackle T IR Standings Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 3 at New York Jets L 20–33 0–1 Shea Stadium Recap 2 September 10 at Baltimore Colts W 42–0 1–1 Memorial Stadium Recap 3 September 17 Buffalo Bills W 31–24 2–1 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 4 September 24 at Philadelphia Eagles L 3–17 2–2 Veterans Stadium Recap 5 October 1 St. Louis Cardinals W 24–10 3–2 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 6 October 9, 1978 Cincinnati Bengals W 21–0 4–2 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 7 October 15 at San Diego Chargers W 28–21 5–2 San Diego Stadium Recap 8 October 22 at New England Patriots L 24–33 5–3 Schaefer Stadium Recap 9 October 29 Baltimore Colts W 26–8 6–3 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 10 November 5 Dallas Cowboys W 23–16 7–3 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 11 November 12 at Buffalo Bills W 25–24 8–3 Rich Stadium Recap 12 November 20, 1978 at Houston Oilers L 30–35 8–4 Astrodome Recap 13 November 26 New York Jets L 13–24 8–5 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 14 December 3 at Washington Redskins W 16–0 9–5 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Recap 15 December 10 Oakland Raiders W 23–6 10–5 Miami Orange Bowl Recap 16 December 18, 1978 New England Patriots W 23–3 11–5 Miami Orange Bowl Recap Results Week 3 Bills 0 7 3 14 Dolphins 7 7 10 7 September 17 Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida 4:00 p.m. 82 F; Wind 12 mph on yes 1 MIA Leroy Harris 4 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 2 BUF Terry Miller 1 yard run (Tom Dempsey kick) Tie 7–7 2 MIA Andre Tillman 6 yard pass from Don Strock (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 14–7 3 MIA Garo Yepremian 49 yard field goal MIA 17–7 3 BUF Tom Dempsey 46 yard field goal MIA 17–10 3 MIA Gary Davis 65 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 24–10 4 BUF Frank Lewis 92 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Tom Dempsey kick) MIA 24–17 4 MIA Delvin Williams 18 yard run (Garo Yepremian kick) MIA 31–17 4 BUF Roland Hooks 4 yard pass from Joe Ferguson (Tom Dempsey kick) MIA 31–24 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com Playoffs Round Date Opponent (seed) Result Record Venue Recap Wild Card December 24 Houston Oilers (5) L 9–17 0–1 Miami Orange Bowl Recap AFC Wildcard Playoff (Sunday December 24, 1978): vs. Houston Oilers text-align:center; background:#eee Game summary Oilers 7 0 0 10 Dolphins 7 0 0 2 Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida 4:00 pm EST 77 F, relative humidity 78%, wind 12 mph on 70,036 Dick Jorgensen NBC Dick Enberg and Len Dawson Scoring MIA – Tillman 13 pass from Griese (Yepremian kick) MIA 7–0 HOU – Wilson 13 pass from Pastorini (Fritsch kick) 7–7 HOU – field goal Fritsch 35 HOU 10–7 HOU – Campbell 1 run (Fritsch kick) HOU 17–7 MIA – Safety, Pastorini ran out of end zone HOU 17–9 Awards and honors Milestones Notes and references Miami Dolphins on Pro Football Reference Miami Dolphins on jt-sw.com Miami Category:Miami Dolphins seasons Miami Dolphins Category:1970s in Miami