Editing Super Bowl VII (section)

===Miami Dolphins===
{{main article|1972 Miami Dolphins season}}
The Dolphins went undefeated during the season, despite losing their starting quarterback. In the fifth game of the regular season, starter [[Bob Griese]] suffered a fractured right leg and dislocated ankle. In his place, 38-year-old [[Earl Morrall]], a 17-year veteran, led Miami to victory in their nine remaining regular season games, and was the 1972 [[NFL Comeback Player of the Year]]. Morrall had previously played for Dolphins head coach [[Don Shula]] when they were both with the [[History of the Indianapolis Colts|Baltimore Colts]], where Morrall backed up quarterback [[Johnny Unitas]] and started in [[Super Bowl III]].

But Miami also had the same core group of young players who had helped the team advance to the previous year's [[Super Bowl VI]]. (The only Dolphins starter in Super Bowl VII over the age of 30 was 32-year-old [[Nick Buoniconti]].) The Dolphins still had a powerful running attack, spearheaded by running backs [[Larry Csonka]], [[Jim Kiick]] and [[Mercury Morris|Eugene "Mercury" Morris]]. (Morris, who in previous seasons had been used primarily as a kick returner, took over the starting halfback position from Kiick, who had been the starter the previous four years. However, the more-experienced Kiick would start in Super Bowl VII.) Csonka, who had the best season of his career, led the team with 1,117 yards and six touchdowns. Kiick contributed 521 yards and five touchdowns, and also caught 21 passes for 147 yards and another touchdown. Morris, a breakaway runner, rushed for exactly 1,000 yards, caught 15 passes for 168 yards, added another 334 yards returning kickoffs, and scored a league-leading 12 rushing touchdowns. Overall, Miami set a record with 2,960 total rushing yards during the regular season, and became the first team ever to have two players rush for 1,000 yards in one season. Miami led the NFL in points scored (385). Since 1972, only six other teams have had two 1,000 yard rushers in the same backfield, but the Dolphins are the only one of those seven to make it to and win the Super Bowl.

Receiver [[Paul Warfield]] once again provided the run-based Dolphins with an effective deep-threat option, catching 29 passes for 606 yards, an average of 20.9 yards per catch. Miami's offensive line, led by undrafted future [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Famers]] [[Jim Langer]] and [[Larry Little]], was also a key factor in the Dolphins' offensive production. Miami's "No-Name Defense" (a nickname inspired by [[Dallas Cowboys]] head coach [[Tom Landry]] when he could not recall the names of any Dolphins defenders just before Super Bowl VI), led by future [[Pro Football Hall of Fame|Hall of Fame]] linebacker [[Nick Buoniconti]], allowed the fewest points in the league during the regular season (171), and ranked second in the NFL with 26 interceptions. Safety [[Jake Scott]] recorded five interceptions, while [[Lloyd Mumphord]] had four picks and safety [[Dick Anderson]] had three interceptions and led the NFL with five fumble recoveries. Because of injuries to defensive linemen (at the beginning of the season the Dolphins were down to four healthy players at the position), defensive coordinator [[Bill Arnsparger]] created what he called the "53" defense, in which the versatile [[Bob Matheson]] (number 53) would be used as either a defensive end in the standard [[American football strategy|4–3 defense]] or as a fourth linebacker in a [[American football strategy|3–4 defense]], with [[Manny Fernandez (American football)|Manny Fernandez]] at [[nose tackle]]. As a linebacker, Matheson would either rush or drop back into coverage. Said Nick Buoniconti, "Teams would be totally confused."<ref name=Buoniconti>Nick Buoniconti, "Super Bowl VII", ''Super Bowl: The Game of Their Lives'', Danny Peary, editor. Macmillan, 1997. {{ISBN|0-02-860841-0}}</ref> Linebacker [[Doug Swift]] was also a playmaker with three interceptions and a fumble recovery.

The Dolphins' undefeated, untied regular season was the third in NFL history, and the first of the post-[[AFL–NFL merger|merger]] era. The previous two teams to do so, the 1934 and 1942 [[Chicago Bears]], both lost the NFL Championship game. The [[Cleveland Browns]] also completed a perfect season in 1948, including a league championship, while part of the [[All-America Football Conference]] (AAFC), but this feat is recognized only by the [[Pro Football Hall of Fame]], since the NFL does not officially recognize any AAFC records.