‘72 Dolphins hold Jets’ Joe Namath to 152 yards passing in a 27-17 victory

Dolphins 27, Jets 17 (Oct. 8, 1972)

Even though the ‘72 season was only three weeks old, the Dolphins were the only undefeated team left in the NFL as they traveled to Shea Stadium to put their 3-0 record on the line.

Eventually Miami would emerge victorious but not without a battle from a still-pretty-good Jets team led by quarterback Joe Namath, just three seasons removed from winning the Super Bowl.

Things did not start well for Miami as Namath took the opening kickoff and led his team downfield on a 13-play, 65-yard drive to go up 7-0. Lady luck shined on the Jets as well when running back Cliff McClain fumbled on the 1-yard line but guard Randy Rasmussen was there to fall on the loose ball for the score.

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The Dolphins would dominate the rest of the first half as they equaled the score one minute into the second quarterback when, with Miami facing a third-and-14, Bob Griese found Howard Twilley for a 16-yard touchdown. Miami would put together another long drive just before halftime (62 yards in nine plays) resulting in a Jim Kiick 6-yard touchdown run 2:32 before halftime.

The lead could have been larger but kicker Garo Yepremian missed field-goal attempts from 38 and 43 yards.

After Yepremian made one from 27 early in the third quarter to make it 17-7, a key swing moment in the game occurred when the Jets had a first-and-goal on the Miami 1. New York never made it into the end zone as the Dolphins No-Name defense stiffened and forced a short Bobby Howfield field goal to make it 17-10.

After Kiick scored again from 3 yards out on the first play of the fourth quarter and the Miami defense got a quick three-and-out on Namath on the ensuing possession, the Dolphins looked like they would cruise home. But punt returner Charles Leigh fumbled, giving the Jets the ball at the Miami 20 and five plays later running back Emerson Boozer plunged over from 1 yard out. Suddenly it was 24-17 with 10:17 still left in the game.

But the Dolphins, despite 63,000-plus Jets fans screaming and yelling, went on another extended drive resulting in a 43-Tyard Yepremian field goal with 5:38 left and that was that.

“I gave out a big sigh of relief when it was over because anything can happen when you’re playing against Joe Namath,” said safety Dick Anderson after the defense held Namath to an uncharacteristically low 152 yards passing. “Even with a few seconds left in the game, he’s still capable of throwing a couple of touchdown passes so I was glad to see the clock hit all zeroes.”