1974 Miami Dolphins season
# 1974 Miami Dolphins season

The 1974 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 5th season in the National Football League, the 9th overall, and the 5th under head coach Don Shula. The team entered the 1974 season as two-time defending Super Bowl champions. They could not improve on their 12-2 record from last season and finished 11-3. Despite this, the Dolphins finished first in the AFC East for the fourth consecutive season, and they finished with the second best record in the NFL. In the playoffs, the Raiders beat the Dolphins in the AFC Divisional Playoff Game in the famous "Sea of Hands" game.

## Offseason

### NFL Draft

1974 Miami Dolphins draft :

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 26 | Don Reese | Defensive tackle | Jackson State |
| 2 | 38 | Andre Tillman | Tight end | Texas Tech |
| 2 | 47 | Benny Malone | Running back | Arizona State |
| 2 | 52 | Jeris White | Defensive back | Hawaii |
| 3 | 78 | Nat Moore * | Wide receiver | Florida |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | September 15 | at New England Patriots | L 24–34 | 0–1 | Schaefer Stadium | Recap |
| 2 | September 22 | at Buffalo Bills | W 24–16 | 1–1 | Rich Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 29 | at San Diego Chargers | W 28 –21 | 2–1 | San Diego Stadium | Recap |
| 4 | October 7 | New York Jets | W 21–17 | 3–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 5 | October 13 | at Washington Redskins | L 17–20 | 3–2 | Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | October 20 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 9–3 | 4–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 7 | October 27 | Baltimore Colts | W 17– 7 | 5–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 8 | November 3 | Atlanta Falcons | W 42–7 | 6–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 9 | November 10 | at New Orleans Saints | W 21–0 | 7–2 | Tulane Stadium | Recap |
| 10 | November 17 | Buffalo Bills | W 35–28 | 8–2 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 11 | November 24 | at New York Jets | L 14–17 | 8–3 | Shea Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | December 2 | Cincinnati Bengals | W 24–3 | 9–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |
| 13 | December 8 | at Baltimore Colts | W 17–16 | 10–3 | Memorial Stadium | Recap |
| 14 | December 15 | New England Patriots | W 34–27 | 11–3 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap |

### Standings

AFC East :

| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Miami Dolphins | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 6–2 | 9–2 | 327 | 216 | W3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 5–3 | 7–4 | 264 | 244 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 5–6 | 279 | 300 | W6 |
| New England Patriots | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 4–7 | 348 | 289 | L3 |
| Baltimore Colts | 2 | 12 | 0 | .143 | 1–7 | 1–10 | 190 | 329 | L4 |

## Playoffs

### AFC Divisional Playoff

| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Dolphins | 7 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 26 |
| Raiders | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |

at Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, California

* Date: December 21, 1974
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. PST
* Game attendance: 53,023
* Referee: Ben Dreith
* TV announcers (NBC): Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis and Don Meredith
