Ranking the Dolphins' Super Bowl Teams

The 1972 Dolphins rank among the best teams in NFL history
Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese (12) in action against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Dolphins defeated the Redskins 14-7 completing a 17-0 undefeated season.
Miami Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese (12) in action against the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Dolphins defeated the Redskins 14-7 completing a 17-0 undefeated season. / Darryl Norenberg-Imagn Images
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As Super Bowl week kicks off in New Orleans on Monday, media coverage will focus on the two teams involved in the big game this season but also on past title games and superlatives.

That actually began last week, and one media exercise had Nate Davis of USA Today ranking the 59 best Super Bowl teams — winners or losers — in honor of this being Super Bowl LIX.

The Dolphins' two Super Bowl championship teams made it into Davis' top 10, with the perfect 1972 Dolphins coming in at number 4 and the 1973 team coming in at number 10.

The only three Super Bowl teams ranked ahead of the 1972 Dolphins were the 1985 Chicago Bears (who the Dolphins defeated in the regular season), the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, and the 1989 49ers.

This is what Davis wrote about the '72 Dolphins: "Yes, it's the only team to win a Super Bowl without dropping a game (17-0), and there's no real counterargument for 'perfection.' But it's also a lazy argument. Miami won its three postseason games by a combined 17 points. It also feasted on a horrid regular-season schedule that included just two teams finishing with winning records (both a middling 8-6). This isn't meant to shade the Fins and their 'No-Name Defense,' a roster with six Hall of Famers plus Don Shula, the winningest coach in NFL history. But context matters, and it already seems a concession ranking the '72 Dolphins ahead of 1970s contemporaries in Pittsburgh, Dallas and even Oakland. A special group indeed, but not the most special for my money."

OUR DOLPHINS SUPER BOWL TEAM RANKINGS

1. 1973 Team — Yes, this is blasphemy in some circles because that team was 12-2 compared to the 14-0 team of 1972, but the schedule has to be considered (as Davis wrote) and we also have to consider this team winning its three playoff games by 18, 17 and 17 points.

2. 1972 Team — Again, we get those defending this team — and we certainly wouldn't want to upset Larry Csonka, who's expressed some strong opinions about this — but we'll point out this team actually allowed more points than the 1973 team and it's also one of three Super Bowl winners to not win a playoff game by more than seven points (along with the 2001 Patriots and the 2022 Chiefs).

3. 1984 Team — The 1984 Dolphins started the season by winning their first 11 games and finished 14-2 with their record-setting offense. Even if the defense and running game couldn't be considered great, the passing game was so good that this team would have won the Super Bowl in many other seasons but just couldn't match that 1984 49ers team's balance.

4. 1971 Team — This was an awfully young but also awfully talented team. The Dolphins finished 10-3-1 that season before recording the breakthrough victory in the playoff game at Kansas City (the longest game in NFL history). The Super Bowl was not a good representation of this 1971 Dolphins team, which committed three turnovers in a 24-3 loss that also saw Bob Griese give up a sack for a 29-yard loss (yes, 29 yards).

5. 1982 Team — The 1982 Dolphins went to the Super Bowl in the strike-shortened season after finishing 7-2 in the regular season and then defeating New England, San Diego and the New York Jets in the eight-team AFC playoffs. The Killer B's defense was about as good as it gets and the running game was solid, but the passing game simply wasn't Super Bowl caliber, which is what led to the drafting of Dan Marino a few months later.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.