On January 14, 1973: The Miami Dolphins, as the huge scoreboard at the Los Angeles Coliseum says, are super. They also are perfect. They become the only NFL team to have an unbeaten, untied season, finishing at 17-0 with a 14-7 victory over the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII. “Our team has gone into an area where no other football team has been,” coach Don Shula says. Relying on a ball-control offense, with fullback Larry Csonka running for 112 yards on 15 carries, quarterback Bob Griese throws only 11 passes. One of his eight completions is a 28-yard touchdown pass to Howard Twilley in the first quarter to give Miami a 7-0 lead. Jim Kiick’s one-yard run makes it 14-0 just before halftime. The Redskins get their only score when a botched field-goal attempt by Miami’s Garo Yepremian results in a 49-yard touchdown return by Mike Bass with 2:07 left in the game. Miami’s “No-Name Defense” holds the Redskins to 228 yards and safety Jake Scott makes two of the Dolphins’ three interceptions to win MVP honors.
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