By: Randy Campbell (OLD DOLFAN)
GAME 10: Miami @ Buffalo, Nov. 18, 1973
Fans of the Buffalo Bills understandably were frustrated as their team prepared to play the first place Miami Dolphins on this cold (37 degrees) and windy November day in Buffalo. At the half way point of the 14-game season, their Bills were 5-2, only one game behind Miami in the AFC East. Buffalo star running back OJ Simpson was having the greatest season ever by any NFL running back. Yet the Bills laid a goose egg in week #8 at New Orleans. ZERO points against the lowly Saints was absolutely inexcusable and frustrating!
Then, last week, the Bills were playing at home in their brand new edifice known as Rich Stadium. It was a MUST WIN game vs. the Bengals. Buffalo was favored. Yet, when the game ended, the Bills had lost this key game 16-13. The frustration level grew exponentially! Buffalo had fallen to 5-4, now three games behind the hated Miami Dolphins!
The frustration level of Buffalo fans was about to get worse! Much worse!!
It was bad enough to suffer through SEVEN CONSECUTIVE LOSSES TO MIAMI (beginning in 1970). Now, Buffalonians faced the REAL PROSPECT of being knocked-out of the divisional race by their bitter rivals from Miami! Little did they know that not only would Miami destroy their beloved Bills today, ending their 1973 playoff dreams. Miami, also, would go on to win 20 CONSECUTIVE GAMES against the Bills, making Buffalo “0 for the’70’s” against the Miami Dolphins – – – an all-time record for most consecutive wins against an opponent in NFL history!!
The Miami Dolphins were playing their BEST football of the season as they confidently cruised into Buffalo. They had won six consecutive games, most by a wide margin. Their offense averaged 31 points per game during this streak. And their defense was on pace to give up the FEWEST POINTS EVER in a 14-game season! Even the special teams scored two touchdowns (courtesy of Tim Foley) in last week’s 44-0 destruction of the Baltimore Colts!
Head coach Don Shula wanted his team to repeat their fast start from the first Buffalo game played in Miami in week #6. In that game, the Dolphins exploded for 21 points in the second quarter on their way to an easy 27-6 victory.
Shula knew that over 80,000 Bills’ fans would cram Rich Stadium, hoping for revenge against the Dolphins. Shula believed he could prevent this huge crowd from becoming a factor by striking early and often.
Miami began their first drive from their own 20 yard line. On third and six from the 36, Griese found TE Jim Mandich wide open over the middle for a first down at Miami’s 49. Methodically, Griese moved the ball down the field to the Bills’ 18 yard line. It was third and two. Griese handed off to Jim Kiick for just a one yard gain. On fourth and one, all 80,000 fans were standing and screaming!! They expected a hand off to Csonka. Instead, Griese spun and handed the ball to Kiick. He followed a nice block by Bob Kuechenberg and gained two yards for a vital first down.
On third and five from the Bills’ 10, Griese tossed a swing pass to Kiick who was stopped one yard short of a first down at he six! Again, it was fourth down! Again, 80,000 Bills’ fans stood up and hollered! Again, Griese handed off to Jim Kiick, who gained FIVE YARDS and a first and goal at the one! Deflated Buffalo fans took a seat as Larry Csonka roared into the end zone on the next play! 80 yards, 18 plays, and just under nine minutes off the clock! 7-0 Miami, after the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter Miami’s Mercury Morris broke free on a 45 yard run into Buffalo territory. Garo Yepremian’s 39-yard field goal through cold, gusty, winds gave the Dolphins a 10-0 lead.
Buffalo head coach Lou Saban KNEW his team would have to respond. His Bills drove 77 yards, mostly on hard running by OJ Simpson and fullback Jim Braxton. On first and goal at the Miami three, QB Joe Ferguson was stopped at the two by “Captain 
Crunch,” hard nosed Miami linebacker Mike Kolen. A run by Braxton put the ball at the ONE! On third and goal, Kolen CRUSHED OJ SIMPSON FOR NO GAIN!!!!
Again, Buffalo fans stood up for a fourth down play! AGAIN, BRAXTON WAS STOPPED COLD BY MIKE KOLEN and the Dolphins took over at the ONE!!–Me and my “BOYZ” went absolutely NUTS as we watched the game on TV!! –Buffalo fans COULD NOT BELIEVE IT!!
Later, the Bills’ offense began yet another long drive. Again, they had success running the ball into Miami territory. QB Joe Ferguson decided it was time to throw the ball. It was intercepted by (WHO ELSE?) Mike Kolen!! Kolen returned the pick all the way to the Buffalo 40 yard line!! Bob Griese sensed it was time to go for the kill. Paul Warfield was double teamed. So Griese passed to wide open TE Jim Mandich. Mandich rumbled all the way to the Bills’ 17 yard line! On the next play Griese noticed Warfield had only one player guarding him. Warfield, using his Olympic sprinter’s speed, blew by the single coverage and caught Griese’s pass for an all-too-easy 17 yard touchdown pass! It was 17-0, Miami! And just like the earlier game between these teams, the game was essentially over by halftime.
Buffalo would continue to move the ball during the second half. But their drives always failed once they crossed into Miami territory. When the final gun sounded, Miami had preserved their 17-0 halftime advantage. And their defense had limited Buffalo’s offense to a grand total of SIX POINTS IN TWO GAMES during the 1973 season!
Disappointed Buffalo fans filed out of Rich Stadium on this cold and dreary day. Their team had lost to Miami for the eighth consecutive time! Little did they know they would lose their next 12 consecutive games to the Miami Dolphins! A dejected OJ Simpson reportedly was in tears as he sat in the Bills’ post game locker room.
In Miami’s locker, player of the game Mike Kolen had a smile as wide as Niagara Falls! And defensive line coach Mike Scarry celebrated as he received his first game ball from a jubilant Don Shula. The Dolphins had clinched the AFC East title and a spot in the playoffs! But there was precious time for celebration. The Dolphins’ next game, in just four days, was at one of the NFL’s best teams – – the Dallas Cowboys!
The 1973 Miami Dolphins were now 9-1.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197311180buf.htm
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PRESEASON GAME #1 IS TOMORROW VS THE BEARS @ SOLDIER FIELD.
Go Dolphins!
Finsmob Unleashed 
Anything else would be uncivilized!
People say dumb shit all the time.
Thursday Nite Football will be interesting:
Hewitt, Hull, Luc & Vigil all UDFA LB’s looking to stick. I definitely think Vigil does, he was my fav before the teams started signing UDFA’s.
Hewitt could surprise too, he fast like a SS @ LB, but needs more NFL muscle to ever become a 3 down LB. ST’s is calling his name tho.
Hull is my next fav, but can he hold up injury wise?
Luc is more a 2 down run thumper to me, not gonna be good in coverage or lateral pursuit. I’d like to see him or Hull get some looks as FB in short yardage sits. Could be interesting, even as just a lead blocker.
When we use a FB, maybe once or twice a game. I like the idea of Mitchell playing FB. 🙂
Cause ya saw it mentioned in practice…lol
But hell yeah, make him Refrigerator 2.0
The Flying Pig says:
August 12, 2015 at 5:31 pm
Brady took the same position he has been taking
and probably the same position he will
he doesn;t want a suspension or to admit guilt
when brady gets off free i am changing my opinion on the discussion we had here the other day about cheating to win. i say go for it. i would love players to just start cheating left and right. all players not just fin players. then would for love one of them to get caught and just say ‘suspend me i dont care, i will just take you to court’
wyoming85 says:
August 12, 2015 at 5:31 pm
Deflate gate on one blog!
Tanny can’t hit the deep ball on the other!
😦 😦 😦
lol, shows what that other blog knows. everyone knows tanny’s problem is his pocket awareness.
The first 3 don’t make sense compared to the Phins complete overhaul. I’m a bit of a homer, but Miami is clearly #1 or #2 here!
sweet. I’m looking forward to Mathews. I’ve always liked him. Saw an interview of him on finsiders the other day. I think he’s going to be dad soon.
BTW. my wife an I found out a few weeks ago that we’re gonna be new parents as well. We had wait longer to tell people because of our age. Kind of old for our age to be new parents and start again but why not? We have one 10 year old son. So this will be our second son.
Amen brother…that’s awesome….Congrats to you and yours!
Bucky Brooks kinda of sold Landry short
congrats boulder.
thanks man appreciate it.
thanks gdp. Unfortunately growing up in boulder he’ll be another liberal 🙂
This was not planned. We were pretty shocked.
tim,
did you see the catch phillips had on that punt. That boy know how to handle a football. I want him as a FB.
Congrats Boulder
are you going to name the kid “Philbin”?
😉
thanks. actually we don’t have a name yet. We’ll consider it if we win a playoff game this year 🙂
piggy,
its due date is Feb 12. We win the superbowl and that boys name is philbin LOL
Lombardi is another suggestion …lol
or ryan or Ndamukong. cause we won’t win any superbowls without either one of these guys (both) playing like a super stars.
ok we win superbowl the name is ryan the middle name is Ndamukong. Of course I have to clear it with the wife 🙂
Pretty cool poster
OD
Who is 73
Boulder, did you read/hear how Philbin likes to throw a monkey wrench in at the end of practice? 🙂
yup. the video was awesome. everyone cheers as soon as he catches it. Philbin is growing on me. He just had to win now
Do you have the Phillips punt return video link? I haven’t caught it.
http://www.seahawks.com/video/2015/02/22/oklahoma-defensive-lineman-jordan-phillips-runs-40
At first I read Vic Beasley’s time and was like WTF?
But Phillips time was good for a guy his size
You can see that he has the physical tools to be special
A lot of things have to go right for him, like any other player
Keep your head On straight
Avoid injuries
Play around other talent
It can really work out well for him
But NFL careers are so hard to predict
He really might be a very good player though
All the tools are there
I liked what Mayock said about him. I think the lazy tag was overblown. So what, now we ask grizzly bears to do what bunny rabbits to do? LOL
Congrats Boulder!!!!!
Just talking to mine tonight about scholarships!
Long ways to go brother! 🙂
thanks bud! I know. Just signed up for 22 years. 🙂
tim,
here it is.
http://www.miamidolphins.com/multimedia/videos/Highlight-Of-The-Day-Big-Man-With-A-Big-Catch/8cc5a25a-78c2-4fd8-84d8-183af7e5c475
Awesome, love the music. 🙂
Everyone says he’s a freak talent at 6-5+ 330, along with ‘The Freak’ in Suh and the under-appreciated Mitchell? LOL
He was a BPA pick in the 2nd rd just like what the Jets did at #6 with Williams. Take the best player. Smart!
I agree.
LOL @ Boulder on a liberal kid.
Hey the unplanned kids turn out to be the best sometimes. My sister & bro-inlaw had 3 kids early in their marriage, all evenly spaced apart by 1 1/2 years, girl, boy, girl…then boom about 12 years later a great lil boy. Love my lil nephew.
Glad you are keeping him, liberal or not. You guys will love raising him.
^name suggestion: Tanny Boulder 😉
Ryan? I mentioned above we win the super bowl and the kid will be named either philbin or ryan Ndamukong as 1st and middle name.
Csonka Boulder 😉
BTW that’s what we’re hoping. our other son is gonna be kind of a parent as well. you know changing diapers 🙂
Hey, that’s conservative parenting right there…lol
Boulder, I also agree, Philbin is growing on me too, but he’s got to start getting his team over the .500 hump!!!
I think he needs to either get in the playoffs or win 10 games to keep his job. But what do I Know. Ross loves him.
every time I guess on the fate of Philbin I lose a bet to Jahn. So I won’t get in that game anymore. At least not yet 🙂
Really? Does he? LOL
Congrats to you and your wife Boulder. I don’t recall if you’ve mentioned your age, but it’s not so bad being older parents. I remember when I told my sister I was having another baby when my son was on the way. First thing she said was, You’ll be 60 when he graduates from high school! lol
47, she’s 42 🙂
thank you.
For me, Philbin needs 10 wins to stay, or one helluva good excuse @ 9 wins, but 8-8 or less is time to see what’s out there coaching wise.
Boulder, sorry I missed the anniversary. Congrats! Awesome stuff!
its not an anniversary. We’re having a baby 🙂
Boulder,
Congrats! I wish you and your wife all the best.
thank you.