[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Flashback 1972: Miami Survives Closest Call[/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]By Sal Maiorana
NFL Insider[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Oct. 1, 1972 -- the Minnesota Vikings had a chance to alter history and eliminate the Dolphins from future "greatest team" arguments. Instead, the Vikings blew an eight-point lead in the final four minutes and lost a 16-14 decision.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]This was Miami's toughest game of the year, one of only three games in which it trailed in the fourth quarter. Take it from former Dolphins coach Don Shula.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"The game I remember most is the Minnesota game," he says. "We needed ten points to win it. I chose to go for a field goal first and Garo Yepremian kicked a 51-yarder. Then we had to get the ball back, which we did, and we drove down for the touchdown. We needed those points, and we got them."[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]t was a glorious fall day in Minneapolis, with 70-degree temperatures, clear skies, and the wind a very mild 7 miles per hour. Metropolitan Stadium, site of so many cold, snowy affairs, could have been the Orange Bowl on this spectacular day as the Dolphins met the NFC powerhouse Vikings.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The Vikings' renowned Purple People Eaters defense stuffed Miami on the opening possession, and Minnesota struck paydirt on its fifth offensive snap when Fran Tarkenton fired a 56-yard touchdown pass to John Gilliam for a 7-0 lead.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The Dolphins, who would go on to set an NFL single-season rushing record of 2,960 yards, were unable to establish their punishing ground attack in the first half. Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris, who would become the first teammates to surpass 1,000 yards rushing each, were stymied again and again by the tremendous Minnesota defense led by Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall, and linebacker Wally Hilgenberg.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Miami's passing game didn't fare any better, as Bob Griese completed just 5 of 14 attempts for 24 yards before the intermission. However, the Dolphins' No-Name defense was equally stingy after Gilliam's lightning-bolt score. On Minnesota's next six possessions, it gained a total of 70 yards.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Fittingly, Miami's first points were set up by the defense, as cornerback Tim Foley picked off a Tarkenton pass on the third play of the third quarter to set up Yepremian's 38-yard field goal. After a Minnesota punt, the Dolphins mounted a 42-yard drive that ended with Yepremian's 42-yard field goal, and with 9:37 gone in the quarter the Dolphins were within a point at 7-6.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The Vikings responded, however, as Bill Brown's 1-yard plunge on fourth down capped a 13-play, 80-yard drive for a 14-6 lead 33 seconds into the final period. Given the way Minnesota's defense was playing, the eight-point deficit seemed insurmountable, especially when linebacker Roy Winston picked off a Griese pass on the ensuing series.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Undaunted, the Dolphins refused to quit. [/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Griese drove them into position for Yepremian's 51-yard field goal, which at the time was the longest of his career and in club history. The key was a fourth-and-1 gamble from the Miami 29 that Morris converted with a 3-yard run.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"If we'd given up then and punted, behind 14-6, we would have had too little time to score both a field goal and a touchdown," Griese said.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Now it was up to the Miami defense to get the ball back for Griese, and it did so in three plays. Mike Eischeid's punt was fair caught by Dick Anderson at the Miami 41 with 2:11 remaining.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]Facing a second-and-8 situation, the Dolphins benefited from a marginal 15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty on Minnesota defensive tackle Bob Lurtsema that resulted in a first down at the Vikings' 42.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"Don Shula still sends me a Christmas card every year thanking me," Lurtsema recalled, wryly.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]A 14-yard Morris run and two Howard Twilley receptions later, Miami was at the 3, at which point Griese found tight end Jim Mandich wide open in the end zone for the winning score with 1:28 to play.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The Dolphins' march to perfection was still on track -- barely.[/SIZE][/FONT]
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[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]"That was the game that really made us," Dolphins guard Bob Kuechenberg said. "Those were the Vikings in the heyday of the Purple People Eaters. We didn't know how good we were yet, but we found out."[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]SOURCES: Miami Herald, Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Tampa Tribune, Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press, New York Times, Sports Illustra[/SIZE][/FONT]
