Editing Super Bowl VII (section)

==Game summary==
According to Shula, the Dolphins' priority on defense was to stop Larry Brown and force Billy Kilmer to pass. Buoniconti looked at Washington's offensive formation on each play and shifted the defense so it was strongest where he felt Brown would run.<ref name=Buoniconti/> This strategy proved successful. Washington's offensive line also had trouble handling Dolphins' defensive tackle/nose tackle [[Manny Fernandez (American football)|Manny Fernandez]], who was very quick. "He beat their center [[Len Hauss]] like a drum", wrote Buoniconti. Miami's defenders had also drilled in maintaining precise pursuit angles on sweeps to prevent the cut-back running that [[Duane Thomas]] had used to destroy the Dolphins in [[Super Bowl VI]].

Washington's priority on defense was to disrupt Miami's ball-control offense by stopping Larry Csonka.<ref>Shelby Strother, "Playing to Perfection", ''The Super Bowl: Celebrating a Quarter-Century of America's Greatest Game''. Simon & Schuster, 1990 {{ISBN|0-671-72798-2}}</ref> They also intended to shut down Paul Warfield by [[double coverage|double-covering]] him.<ref>Dave Hyde, ''Still Perfect!'', p. 256.</ref>

With a game-time kickoff temperature of {{convert|84|F}}, this is the warmest Super Bowl to date. It came the year after the coldest game in [[Super Bowl VI]] which registered a temperature at kickoff of {{convert|39|F}}.<ref name="Warmest SB ever" />

===First quarter===
As they did in [[Super Bowl VI]], Miami won the toss and elected to receive. Most of the first quarter was a defensive battle with each team punting on their first two possessions. The Dolphins would, however, get two key breaks. Offensive tackle [[Howard Kindig]] appeared to fumble the snap on their first punt from the Miami 27 and lose the ball to Washington linebacker [[Harold McLinton]], but McLinton was called for slapping at the ball while it was being snapped, for a 5-yard penalty. On the replay of the down, Miami punter [[Larry Seiple]] got the kick away safely. Later, after stopping the Redskins for the second time, Dolphins safety [[Jake Scott]] did not call for a fair catch, as he had not been told to do so by safety [[Dick Anderson]]. Scott fumbled the ball while taking a hit by Redskins cornerback [[Ted Vactor]], but Anderson made the recovery.<ref name="Dolphs Upset Skins for 17-0 Record">{{cite web | title=Dolphins Do It, Upset Skins for 17–0 Record | url=https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/super-bowl-vii-dolphs-upset-skins-17-0-record-article-1.1553595 | first=Larry | last=Fox | date=January 15, 1973 | work=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]] | location=New York | access-date=November 27, 2019 | archive-date=November 28, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128043819/https://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/super-bowl-vii-dolphs-upset-skins-17-0-record-article-1.1553595 | url-status=live }}</ref> Miami then started this drive on their own 37-yard line with 2:55 left in the first quarter. Running back [[Jim Kiick]] started out the drive with two carries for 11 yards. Then quarterback [[Bob Griese]] completed an 18-yard pass to wide receiver [[Paul Warfield]] to reach the Washington 34-yard line. After two more running plays, Griese threw a 28-yard touchdown pass (his longest completion of the game) to wide receiver [[Howard Twilley]] for his only catch of the game. Twilley fooled cornerback [[Pat Fischer]] by faking a route to the inside, then broke to the outside and caught the ball at the 5-yard line, dragging Fischer with him into the end zone. "Griese read us real good all day", said Fischer.<ref name=Strother/> Kicker [[Garo Yepremian]]'s extra point gave the Dolphins a 7–0 lead with one second remaining in the period. (Yepremian noticed that the kick was too low, just like his practice kicks).<ref name="Dave Hyde p264"/>

===Second quarter===
On the third play of the Redskins' ensuing drive, Scott intercepted Redskins quarterback [[Billy Kilmer]]'s pass down the middle intended for wide receiver [[Charley Taylor]] and returned it 8 yards to the Washington 47-yard line. However, a 15-yard ineligible player downfield penalty on the Dolphins nullified Greise's 20-yard pass to tight end [[Marv Fleming]] on the first play after the turnover, and the Dolphins were forced to punt after a three-and-out.

After the Redskins were forced to punt again, Miami reached the 47-yard line with a 13-yard run by fullback [[Larry Csonka]] and an 8-yard run by Kiick. But on the next play, Griese's 47-yard touchdown pass to Warfield was nullified by an illegal formation penalty on Miami's offensive line. On third down, Redskins defensive tackle [[Diron Talbert]] sacked Griese for a 6-yard loss and the Dolphins had to punt.

The Redskins then advanced from their own 17-yard line to the Miami 48-yard line (their first incursion into Miami territory) with less than two minutes left in the half. But on 3rd-and-3, Dolphins linebacker [[Nick Buoniconti]] intercepted a pass by Kilmer at the Miami 41-yard line and returned it 31 yards to the Washington 28-yard line. From there, Kiick and Csonka each ran once for three yards, and then Griese completed a 19-yard pass (his sixth completion in six attempts) to tight end [[Jim Mandich]], who made a diving catch at the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Kiick scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with a block by Csonka, guard [[Larry Little]], and offensive tackle [[Norm Evans]] with just 18 seconds left in the half, giving the Dolphins a lead of 14–0 before halftime (once again, Yepremian noticed his extra point kick was too low).

Miami's defense dominated the Redskins in the first half, limiting Washington to 49 yards rushing, 23 yards passing, and four first downs.

===Third quarter===
The Redskins had more success moving the ball in the second half. They took the second half kickoff and advanced across midfield for only the second time in the game, driving from their own 29-yard line to Miami's 17-yard line in a seven-play drive that featured just two runs. On first down at Miami's 17-yard line, Kilmer threw to Taylor, who was open at the 2-yard line, but Taylor stumbled right before the ball arrived and the ball glanced off his fingertips. After a second-down screen pass to fullback [[Charley Harraway]] fell incomplete, Dolphins defensive tackle [[Manny Fernandez (American football)|Manny Fernandez]] sacked Kilmer on third down for a loss of 8 yards, and Washington's drive ended with no points after kicker [[Curt Knight]]'s ensuing 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. "That was an obvious turning point", said Allen.<ref name=Strother/> Three possessions later, the Dolphins drove 78 yards to Washington's 5-yard line, featuring a 49-yard run by Csonka, the second-longest run in Super Bowl history at the time. However, Redskins safety [[Brig Owens]] intercepted a pass intended for Fleming in the end zone for a touchback.

===Fourth quarter===
Early in the fourth quarter, Washington threatened to score by mounting their most impressive drive of the game, driving 79 yards from their own 11 to Miami's 10-yard line in twelve plays. On second down at the Miami 10-yard line, Kilmer threw to Smith, who was wide open in the end zone, but the ball hit the crossbar of the goalpost and fell incomplete. Then on third down, Scott intercepted Kilmer's pass to Taylor in the end zone and returned it 55 yards to the Redskins 48-yard line.

Miami moved the ball to the Washington 34-yard line on their ensuing drive. Leading 14–0 on 4th-and-4, Shula could have tried for [[Fourth down conversion#F|a conversion]], but thought "What a hell of a way to remember this game" if they could end a perfect 17–0 season with a 17–0 Super Bowl final score.<ref name=autogenerated1 /> He called on Yepremian to attempt a 42-yard field goal in what is now remembered as one of the most famous blunders in NFL lore: "Garo's Gaffe". As had been the case all day, Yepremian's kick was too low, and it was blocked by defensive tackle [[Bill Brundige]]. The ball bounced to Yepremian's right and he reached it before holder [[Earl Morrall]]. But instead of falling on the ball, Yepremian picked it up and, with Brundige bearing down on him, made a frantic attempt to pass the ball to Csonka,<ref>Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick, with Dave Anderson, ''Always on the Run'', p. 218. Random House, 1973 {{OCLC|632348}}</ref> who blocked on field goals. Unfortunately for Miami, the ball slipped out of his hands and went straight up in the air. Yepremian attempted to bat the ball out of bounds,<ref name="Dave Hyde p264"/> but instead batted it back up into the air, and it went right into the arms of cornerback [[Mike Bass]], who returned the fumble 49 yards for a touchdown, the first fumble recovery returned for a touchdown in Super Bowl history, to make the score 14–7 with 2:07 left in the game.

Washington did not try an onside kick following the touchdown, but instead kicked deep. The Redskins were forced to use up all of their timeouts on the Dolphins' ensuing five-play possession, but did force Miami to punt (nearly blocking the punt) from their own 36-yard line with 1:14 remaining in the game, giving themselves a chance to drive for the tying touchdown and force overtime for the first time in Super Bowl history. However, Miami's defense forced two incompletions and a 4-yard loss on a swing pass, and then defensive ends [[Vern Den Herder]] and [[Bill Stanfill]] sacked Kilmer for a 9-yard loss on fourth down, sealing the Dolphins' victory. Following the ball being spotted on the change of possession, the clock was started, as per the rule which existed at the time, and no more plays were run before time expired in the game. Beginning the [[1973 NFL season|following season]] with a new rule change, the clock would not start until the snap following all changes of possession.

Griese finished the game having completed 8 out of 11 passes for 88 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Csonka was the game's leading rusher with 15 carries for 112 yards. Kiick had 38 rushing yards, two receptions for six yards, and a touchdown. Morris had 34 rushing yards. Manny Fernandez had 11 solo tackles and six assists. Kilmer completed six more passes than Griese but finished the game with just 16 more total passing yards and was intercepted three times. Said Kilmer, "I wasn't sharp at all. Good as their defense is, I still should have thrown better."<ref name=Strother/> Washington's Larry Brown rushed for 72 yards on 22 carries and also had five receptions for 26 yards. Redskins receiver [[Roy Jefferson]] was the top receiver of the game, with five catches for 50 yards. Washington amassed almost as many total yards (228) as Miami (253), and actually more first downs (16 to Miami's 12) and more time of possession (32:31 to 27:29). As of 2023, this game is the only Super Bowl where the team with the advantage in time of possession did not score any offensive points.

===Delayed White House visit===
The Dolphins never made the traditional post-game visit to the [[White House]] due to the [[Watergate scandal]], but in August 2013 finally made the trip at the behest of [[Barack Obama]], minus [[Manny Fernandez (American football)|Manny Fernandez]], [[Jim Langer]], and [[Bob Kuechenberg]], who did not attend due to their opposition to the Obama administration.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2013/08/20/president-obama-white-house-welcome-1972-miami-dolphins/ | title=1972 Miami Dolphins visit President Obama, White House | first=Cindy | last=Boren | date=August 20, 2013 | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | access-date=November 27, 2019 | archive-date=June 17, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617042904/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2013/08/20/president-obama-white-house-welcome-1972-miami-dolphins/ | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Garo Yepremian]] was a longtime Republican supporter and friend of former Florida Governor [[Jeb Bush]] but made the trip anyway and had an amusing exchange with President Obama over his long-ago bumble in the game.

===Box score===
{{Americanfootballbox
| bg = #eee
| titlestyle = text-align:center; {{NFLPrimaryStyle|NFL|year=1972|border=2}};
| title = Super Bowl VII: Miami Dolphins 14, Washington Redskins 7
| Road = '''Dolphins (AFC)'''
| R1 = 7
| R2 = 7
| R3 = 0
| R4 = 0
| Home = Redskins (NFC)
| H1 = 0
| H2 = 0
| H3 = 0
| H4 = 7
| stadium = [[Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum]], [[Los Angeles|Los Angeles, California]]
| date = January 14, 1973
| time = 12:49 p.m. [[Pacific Time Zone|PST]]
| weather = {{convert|84|°F|°C}}, sunny, hazy<ref>{{cite news|title=Super Bowl Game-Time Temperatures|url=http://www.profootballhof.com/news/super-bowl-game-time-temperatures/|publisher=[[Pro Football Hall of Fame]]|access-date=March 9, 2018|archive-date=March 7, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307202941/http://www.profootballhof.com/news/super-bowl-game-time-temperatures/|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryStart | VisitorName=MIA | HomeName=WAS | state=expanded}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry | Quarter=1 | Time=0:01 | Team=MIA | DrivePlays=6 | DriveLength=63 | DriveTime=2:54 | Type=RecTD | Receiver=[[Howard Twilley]] | QB=[[Bob Griese]] | yards=28 | kickresult=good | Kicker=[[Garo Yepremian]] | Visitor=7 | Home=0}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry | Quarter=2 | Time=0:18 | Team=MIA | DrivePlays=5 | DriveLength=27 | DriveTime=1:33 | Type=RushTD | Runner=[[Jim Kiick]] | yards=1 | kickresult=good | Kicker=Yepremian | Visitor=14 | Home=0}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEntry | Quarter=4 | Time=2:07 | Team=WAS | DriveLength=— | DriveTime=— | Type=FumbleTD
 | Def=[[Mike Bass]] | yards=49 | kickresult=good | Kicker=[[Curt Knight]] | Visitor=14 | Home=7}}
{{AmFootballScoreSummaryEnd|Visitor=14|Home=7}}