Editing Super Bowl XIX (section)

===Miami Dolphins===
{{main|1984 Miami Dolphins season}}
The Dolphins advanced to the Super Bowl for the fifth time in franchise history, but the year began in tragedy as running back [[David Overstreet]] was killed in an automobile accident on June 24 (the team would wear decals on the back of their helmets with the number 20, Overstreet's jersey number). The Dolphins joined the [[Dallas Cowboys]] as the only teams to appear in five Super Bowls. With their loss, the Dolphins also matched the Cowboys 2–3 record in their first five appearances. The 49ers would eventually appear in five Super Bowls as well but would win all of them. Pittsburgh would later join this club as well. Much of the media focus was on Miami's young quarterback, [[Dan Marino]]. In just his second year in the league, he broke nearly every NFL single-season passing record. Marino set a record for the most completions in a season (362) and became the first quarterback to throw for over 5,000 yards, reaching a total of 5,084. He set the record for the most games throwing for at least 300 passing yards (9) and the most games with 400 yards (4). Marino's 48 touchdown passes broke the previous record of 36, which was held by both [[George Blanda]] for the [[1961 Houston Oilers season|Houston Oilers]] in [[1961 AFL season|1961]] and [[Y. A. Tittle]] for the [[1963 New York Giants season|New York Giants]] in [[1963 NFL season|1963]]. And he had the most games (6) and the most consecutive games (4) with at least 4 touchdown passes.

Thus going into Super Bowl XIX, many sports writers predicted that it would be the first of many Super Bowls that Marino would play in during his career. Marino had a unique ability to read the defenses quickly before setting up to throw, and his skill of quickly releasing the ball made it very difficult for defenders to sack him. In addition, he had protection given to him by an offensive line led by their All-Pro, and future Hall of Fame center [[Dwight Stephenson]] and Pro Bowl guard [[Ed Newman]].  Coming into Super Bowl XIX, Marino had only been sacked 13 times in the regular season and not once in the playoffs.

The Dolphins had a number of offensive threats for Marino to use. Wide receivers [[Mark Clayton (American football, born 1961)|Mark Clayton]] (73 receptions, 1,389 yards, 18 touchdowns) and [[Mark Duper]] (71 receptions, 1,306 yards, 8 touchdowns) became the first teammates to each gain over 1,300 receiving yards in one season, while Clayton's 18 touchdown catches broke the NFL single-season record of 17 set by [[Don Hutson]] in 1942. Receiver [[Nat Moore]] caught 43 passes for 574 yards and 6 touchdowns, while tight end [[Dan Johnson (American football)|Dan Johnson]] contributed 34 receptions for 426 yards. While Miami's main offensive attack was passing, they still had a trio of great running backs: [[Tony Nathan]], [[Woody Bennett]], and Joe Carter. Both Nathan and Bennett finished the season with over 1,000 combined rushing and receiving yards, while Carter contributed 495 rushing yards.  Despite Miami's superb offense, punter [[Reggie Roby]] still made the Pro Bowl, averaging 44.7 yards per punt with a net gain average of 38.7.

However, the Dolphins' defense was a little suspect. They tied the Houston Oilers and the [[Minnesota Vikings]] for the most rushing yards allowed during the regular season (4.7 yards per attempt), and ranked just 19th in fewest yards allowed (5,759). The main bright spots on the defense were safeties, brothers [[Lyle Blackwood|Lyle]] and [[Glenn Blackwood]], along with Pro Bowl inside linebacker [[A. J. Duhe]], Pro Bowl nose tackle [[Bob Baumhower]], and defensive end [[Doug Betters]]. [[Glenn Blackwood]] had picked off 6 passes during the season and returned them for 169 yards, while Betters recorded 14 sacks and a fumble recovery. Linebacker [[Charles Bowser]] was also a big contributor, recording 9 sacks and one fumble recovery.

Despite their defensive flaws, the Dolphins finished 7th in the NFL in points allowed (298 points). Their powerful offense led the NFL in scoring (513 points) and total yards gained (7,064), and helped the team reach an AFC best 14–2 regular season record.<ref>{{Cite web |title=1984 NFL Standings & Team Stats |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1984/index.htm |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=[[Pro Football Reference]] |language=en}}</ref>