Miami Dolphins

Dolphins opened ’72 season with a dominating 20-10 victory against the Chiefs

By Bill Daley Special to the Miami Herald
FILE - In this July 1976 photo, Miami Dolphins’ Jake Scott poses for a photo. Scott, the star safety who was the most valuable player in the Super Bowl that completed the Dolphins’ 1972 perfect season, died Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, in Atlanta. He was 75. Scott died after a fall down a stairway that left him in a coma, former teammate Dick Anderson said. (AP Photo/James P. Kerlin, File)
FILE - In this July 1976 photo, Miami Dolphins’ Jake Scott poses for a photo. Scott, the star safety who was the most valuable player in the Super Bowl that completed the Dolphins’ 1972 perfect season, died Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, in Atlanta. He was 75. Scott died after a fall down a stairway that left him in a coma, former teammate Dick Anderson said. (AP Photo/James P. Kerlin, File) JAMES P. KERLIN AP

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Perfect Memories

Fifty years ago, the Miami Dolphins became the first NFL franchise to have a perfect season, an accomplishment that has never been matched. A look back at a legendary team that put South Florida on the sports map.

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DOLPHINS 20, CHIEFS 10 (Sept. 17, 1972)

Don Shula wasn’t exactly thrilled when the schedule came out and he saw that his team, on the heels of an epic playoff overtime upset of the Chiefs the previous Christmas Day, would be heading back to Kansas City to open the ’72 season. In addition, the Chiefs were christening their brand new Arrowhead Stadium, so the stage was set for the revenge-minded Chiefs.


But, on a brutally hot day with temperatures exceeding 100 degrees on the field, it mattered little as Miami, especially on defense, dominated from the start.


A Bob Griese-to-Marlin Briscoe 14-yard TD pass in the first quarter staked the Dolphins to a 7-0 lead before a Garo Yepremian 47-yard field goal 1:04 before halftime made it 10-0.

Then came the crucial moment in the game when, on the next play after the kickoff, Jake Scott picked off a Len Dawson pass giving Miami a short field at the Kansas City 40.

Griese found Paul Warfield for 29 yards on the first play after Scott’s pick down to the 11 and two plays later, Larry Csonka, who finished the game with 118 yards on 21 carries, scored on a 2-yard run with 22 seconds left giving Miami a commanding 17-0 lead at the half.

The teams traded field goals in the third quarter and it mattered little that the Chiefs wound up with more total yards than the Dolphins (332-296) when it was over because much of it came during garbage time in the fourth quarter. Only a 4-yard touchdown pass from Dawson to Willie Frazier with just nine seconds left made a game dominated by the Dolphins look closer than it was.

“I felt before the game that this team [Kansas City] had the entire offseason to think about that last game and with the opening of the new stadium, it gave them added momentum,” said Dolphins coach Don Shula after the game. “We were prepared for the worst, but we were ready to play. We were able to capitalize on some errors and later got into ball control. I’m so happy about this victory.”

This story was originally published September 14, 2022 at 8:30 AM.

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Perfect Memories

Fifty years ago, the Miami Dolphins became the first NFL franchise to have a perfect season, an accomplishment that has never been matched. A look back at a legendary team that put South Florida on the sports map.

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