1978 Miami Dolphins season
# 1978 Miami Dolphins season

The 1978 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 9th season in the National Football League, the 13th overall, and the 9th under head coach Don Shula. The team returned to the NFL playoffs for the first time since 1974, with an 11–5 record. Quarterback Bob Griese missed the first seven games due to a knee injury. The Dolphins got off to a 5–2 start behind back-up Don Strock. Upon Griese's return, the Dolphins earned a birth to the playoffs as a Wild Card. Helping to lead the Dolphins back to the postseason was Running Back Delvin Williams who set a team record with 1,258 yards rushing on the season. In the first playoff game involving two Wild Cards, the Dolphins were stunned 17-9 by the Houston Oilers at the Orange Bowl. In the process the Dolphins set two notable records: scoring first in all but one of their sixteen regular season games, and never trailing at any point in eleven games. The former record was equalled by the 2004 Patriots, and the latter was beaten by the 2005 Colts.

## Offseason

### NFL Draft

1978 Miami Dolphins draft :

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | 51 | Guy Benjamin | Quarterback | Stanford |
| 3 | 64 | Lyman Smith | Defensive tackle | Duke |
| 3 | 81 | Jimmy Cefalo | Wide receiver | Penn State |
| 4 | 93 | Gerald Small | Cornerback | an Jose State |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Personnel

### Standings

AFC East :

| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| New England $Patriots^{(2)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–2 | 9–3 | 358 | 286 | L1 |
| Miami $Dolphins^{(4)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 5–3 | 8–4 | 372 | 254 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 6–2 | 7–5 | 359 | 364 | L2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–6 | 4–10 | 302 | 354 | W1 |
| Baltimore Colts | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 1–7 | 3–9 | 240 | 421 | L5 |

## Regular season

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | September 3 | at New York Jets | L 20–33 | 0–1 | Shea Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 10 | at Baltimore Colts | W 42–0 | 1–1 | Memorial Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 17 | Buffalo Bills | W 31–24 | 2–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 4 | September 24 | at Philadelphia Eagles | L 3–17 | 2–2 | Veterans Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 1 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 24–10 | 3–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 6 | October 9 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 21–0 | 4–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 7 | October 15 | at San Diego Chargers | W 28–21 | 5–2 | San Diego Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | October 22 | at New England Patriots | L 24–33 | 5–3 | Schaefer Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | October 29 | Baltimore Colts | W 26–8 | 6–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 10 | November 5 | Dallas Cowboys | W 23–16 | 7–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 11 | November 12 | at Buffalo Bills | W 25–24 | 8–3 | Rich Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | November 20 | at Houston Oilers | L 30–35 | 8–4 | Astrodome | Recap |
| 13 | November 26 | New York Jets | L 13–24 | 8–5 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 14 | December 3 | at Washington Redskins | W 16–0 | 9–5 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
| 15 | December 10 | Oakland Raiders | W 23–6 | 10–5 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 16 | December 18 | New England Patriots | W 23–3 | 11–5 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |

### Results

**Week 3**

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Bills | 0 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 24 |
| • Dolphins | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 31 |

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Wild Card | December 24 | Houston Oilers (5) | L 9–17 | 0–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |

### AFC Wildcard Playoff (Sunday December 24, 1978): vs. Houston Oilers

| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Oilers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
| Dolphins | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 |

at Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

* Game time: 4:00 pm EST
* Game weather: 77 °F (25 °C), relative humidity 78%, wind 12 mph (19 km/h)
* Game attendance: 70,036
* Referee: Dick Jorgensen
* TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Len Dawson
