16. 1991 HOUSTON OILERS at 1. 1972 SUPER BOWL CHAMPION MIAMI DOLPHINS
1. 1972 SUPER BOWL CHAMPION MIAMI DOLPHINS
Record: 14-0
Pythag: 12-2
Off: 1st
Def: 1st
1st AFC East
d. Browns Div Rnd 20-14
d. Steelers AFC Title 21-17
d. Redskins Super Bowl 14-7
HC Don Shula OC Howard Schnellenberger DC Bill Arnsbarger
Orange Bowl: 75 degrees
Rick Weaver/Lou Creekmur
Offense
QB Earl Morrall 38 All Pro
RB Mercury Morris 25
RB Larry Csonka 26
WR Howard Twilley 29
WR Paul Warfield 30
TE Marv Fleming 30
LT Doug Crusan 26
LG Bob Kuechenberg 25
C Jim Langer 24
RG Larry Little 27 All Pro
RT Norm Evans 30
Defense
LDE Vern Den Herder 24
LDT Manny Fernandez 26
RDT Bob Heinz 25
RDE Bill Stanfill 25 All Pro
LLB Doug Swift 24
MLB Nick Buoniconti 32
RLB Mike Kolen 24
LCB Tim Foley 24
RCB Curtis Johnson 24
SS Dick Anderson 26 All Pro
FS Jake Scott 27
K Garo Yepremian 28
P Larry Seiple 27
KR/PR Charlie Leigh 27
Here's the 13th overall seed in the tournament, the only undefeated team in the field, the '72 Dolphins, first in both offense and defense and looking to be the 5th Miami team in rnd 2. Quarterback is a point of contention - Earl Morrall's 38, All Pro, 12 scores and 7 picks, and he was the starter most of the season -- in replacement of Bob Griese, 27, who came back and won the Super Bowl. Morrall will start this game. A thousand yards plus rushing each for 25 year old Mercury Morris and 26 year old Larry Csonka. 27 year old Larry Little is an All Pro. 2 All pros on the other side of the ball, 25 year old Bill Stanfill, 26 year old Dick Anderson.
16. 1991 HOUSTON OILERS
Record: 11-5
Pythag: 12-4
Off: 4th
Def: 6th
1st AFC Central
d. Jets WC 17-10
lost Div Rnd Broncos 26-24
d. '73 Steelers 17-4
HC Jack Pardee OC Kevin Gilbride DC Jim Eddy
Offense
QB Warren Moon 35 Washington
RB Allen Pinkett 27 N Dame
WR Curtis Duncan 26 Nwestern
WR Ernest Givens 27 Louisville
WR Drew Hill 35 Geo Tech
WR Haywood Jeffires 27 All Pro NC St
LT Don Maggs 30 Tulane
LG Mike Munchak 31 All Pro Penn St
C Bruce Matthews 30 USC
LG Doug Dawson 30 Texas
RT David Williams 25 Florida
Defense
LDE William Fuller 29 UNC
LDT Ray Childress 29 A&M
RDT Doug Smith 31 Auburn
RDE Sean Jones 29 Neastern
LLB Lamar Lathon 24 Houston
MLB Al Smith 27 Utah St
RLB Johnny Meads 30 Nicholls St
LCB Cris Dishman 26 All Pro Purdue
RCB Richard Johnson 28 Wisc
SS Bubba McDowell 25 Miami
FS Bo Orlando 25 W Virginia
K Al Del Greco 29 Auburn
P Greg Montgomery 27 Mich St
KR/PR Pat Coleman 24 Ole Miss
The '93 Oilers won the region 11 play in game against the '71 Dolphins and then gave the top seeds a helluva game; the Run & Shoot just is a tough matchup and we might see that here. It's pretty close to a rematch given that this is a 16/1 matchup. 4th in offense, Warren Moon is 35, 25 scores and 21 picks. 10 TDs for 27 year old Allen Pinkett. How about 3000+ yds for the WR trio of 27 year old Ernest Givens, 35 year old Drew Hill, and the All Pro, 27 year old Haywood Jeffires, who caught a hundred balls. 25 combined sacks for 29 year old William Fuller and 29 year old Sean Jones. Cris Dishman is a 26 year old All Pro with 6 picks. Houston knocked off the '73 Steelers to make this game.
Time to do it - The 1/16 game in Region 13 - let's go to the Orange Bowl.
1st Qtr
Oilers start at the 22.
1/10 - Warren Moon to pass - checkdown to Lorenzo White, 4 yards.
2/6 - Allen Pinkett gets 2.
3/4 - Pinkett gets 6.
1/10 - Moon --- finds Drew Hill, 16 yards to midfield.
1/10 - 17 yard big pickup for White, Oilers at the 33.
1/10 - Incomplete
2/10 - Pinkett gets 4.
3/6 - Moon - finds Lorenzo White, he fights his way to the sticks -- Oilers at the 25.
1/10 - Nick Buoniconti sacks Moon
2/14 - Give to White, he's stacked up.
3/14 - Moon -- to Drew Hill - Hill is there for another first down, Oilers at the 10 yard line.
1/goal - Incomplete
2/goal - Pinkett for 3.
3/goal - Moon -- End Zone -- Ernest Givens --- TOUCHDOWN OILERS - 7 yard score from Moon to Givens -- that's a 78 yard opening drive for a score -- the 16th seeded Oilers go up on the Perfect Dolphins.
Miami at the 34.
They get a first down, Csonka 16 yard run - but a Sean Jones sack ends the drive - Miami punts.
Oilers at the 20. 3 and out.
Dolphins in good shape at their own 42.
1/10 - Mercury Morris for 9.
2/1 - Incomplete
3/1 - Csonka gets 7 to the Oiler 42.
1/10 - Morris is stopped.
2/10 - Give to Jim Kiick, he's met in the backfield and loses a yard.
3/11 - Earl Morrall - Otto Stowe -- Stowe gets to the 35, short of the first down as the quarter ends.
2nd Qtr: Oilers 7 Dolphins 0
Houston took half the quarter to drive and score - Miami is at the Houston 35 on a 4th and 3.
Shula's going for it.
4/3 - Give to Mercury Morris -- and he is met by the Oiler line and stopped cold! Big stop by the Oilers, Houston takes possession.
Two plays lose two yards and on third down Moon is Picked Off by Jake Scott -- Scott intercepts Moon and the Dolphins take over at the Oiler 48, the Steelers intercepted Moon 4 times in the play in game, Miami gets him here.
But they go 3 and out -- William Fuller sacks Morrall and Miami punts. Oilers start at their own 21, 12 minutes left in the half, still leading 7-0.
1/10 - 3 yards for Pinkett.
2/7 - Big gain for White - 24 yards for Lorenzo White.
1/10 - Moon to Haywood Jeffires, 11 yards and the Oilers are at the Miami 41.
1/10 - Moon is flushed, pulls it down, Moon gets 6 yards.
2/4 - Moon to Jeffires - 13 yards and another first down- Houston is at the 22.
1/10 - White is stopped
2/10 - Moon under a lot of pressure, able to get out of bounds and gains a yard
3/9 - Moon -- End Zone ---- Picked Off by Dick Anderson! Anderson intercepts Moon in the endzone -- Anderson runs it out to the 8 yard line, Miami has their second INT.
7 minutes left in the half, still 7-0, Houston has had its way on both sides of the ball, but only leads 7-0.
1/10 - Csonka gets Miami some breathing room with a 10 yard run.
1/10 - Morris busts one -- a 42 yard run to daylight -- Miami is all the way out to the Oiler 40.
1/10 - Csonka gets 1
2/9 - Kiick get 1
3/8 - Morrall -- looking downfield -- he's got Howard Twilley -- Twilley takes the ball all the way to the 11 yard line! Big play for Morrall and Miami is at the 11 with 3 minutes left in the half.
1/10 - Csonka 5 yard gain
2/5 - Morris gets a yard
3/4 - Morrall --- End Zone - Marv Fleming --- TOUCHDOWN DOLPHINS - that's a 92 yard TD drive for Miami and we are tied up at the 2 minute warning.
Oilers at the 15.
1/10 - Moon - Hill, 10 yards.
1/10 - Moon, Hill, 12 yards.
1/10 - Give to Pinkett, he goes to the 44, 8 yard pickup and Houston uses its first timeout with 1:04 left in the half.
2/2 - Give to Pinkett and he picks it up. Clock moving.
1/10 - Incomplete
2/10 - Moon - Ernest Givens, that's a first down to the Miami 39, Oilers stop the clock at 38 seconds left.
1/10 - Moon -- in trouble -- dump to Givens on the sideline, 3 yard gain, 28 seconds left.
2/7 - Moon is sacked by Bill Stanfill -- Oilers back at the Miami 40, 14 seconds left, Houston calls timeout, 3rd and 11.
3/11 - Moon --- End Zone --- Moon ---- Incomplete
End of the half -- looooong FG attempt for Del Greco.....
And he misses it. halftime.
3rd Qtr: Dolphins 7 Oilers 7
All 12 top seeds have won, Miami's in a fight here - Oilers have had the better end of the game, but we are tied at 7.
Dolphins start at the 17
3 and out. Oilers in great field position after a Coleman return, at the Miami 42.
One first down - Moon 10 yards to Hill. But the drive ends here - Oilers decide not to go for the long FG, instead they punt - Miami has to start deep in their own end at the 8.
1/10 - Csonka loses a yard.
2/11 - Csonka gets it back.
3/10 - Morrall finds Twilley -- 31 yard gain to the 39.
1/10 - Kiick stopped at the line
2/10 - Morris gets a dozen yards across midfield.
1/10 - Csonka gets 6
2/4 - Morall -- he goes downfield to Fleming, 18 yard pickup, Miami just rolling down the field now.
1/10 - Kiick gets 2 yards
2/8 - Csonka picks it up, Miami is at the 14.
1/10 - Kiick gets 1
2/9 - Incomplete
3/9 - Morrall - to Morris -- Mercury Morris great pickup - Morris gets to the sticks at the 4 yard line.
1/goal -- Morall -- Endzone --- Incomplete
2.goal - Give to Morris....Mercury Morris fights his way Into the End Zone -- TOUCHDOWN DOLPHINS - 92 yard TD drive for Morrall and Miami, Miami takes its first lead of the day with less than 2 minutes to go in the third quarter.
Oilers at the 23.
3 and out - prior to the punt, the quarter ends.
4th Qtr: Dolphins 14 Oilers 7
Long Miami TD drive, Miami has the lead and is about to get the ball - top seeded Dolphins maybe about to put some distance here ahead of Houston.
Miami at the 35 after the punt.
3 and out - William Fuller sacks Morrall, his second sack after 2 sacks in the play in game. Houston will start at the 35.
1/10 - Moon -- downfield to Duncan, 20 yards and Houston crosses midfield.
1/10 - Moon - Pinkett, 9 yard pickup.
2/1 - White gets the first down and Houston's at the 31.
The drive ends here -- Del Greco FG cuts the deficit to 14-10 with less than 10 minutes to play.
Miami at the 36.
They get a first down, 10 yard pass to Stowe - but the drive ends - Miami punts and so Houston takes possession at their own 21.
3 and out - Manny Fernandez sack of Moon on the drive - Miami gets the ball back at their own 44 yard line with less than 5 minutes to go and a 4 point lead.
Miami looking to oick up some first downs here, move to clock.
But they don't - big 3 and out - the Oiler defense forces a punt, Houston takes over with 3 minutes to go at their own 18.
1/10 - Moon ---- Givens, 14 yards.
1/10 - Moon -- Jeffires -- 10 yards and Houston's at the 42.
1/10 - Incomplete and a holding call on the next play moves Houston back to their own 32 at the 2 minute warning.
2/20 - Incomplete
3/20 - Moon --- Downfield to Hill - 23 yards, big, big pickup and Houston stops the clock as they cross midfield. 1:38 to go.
1/10 - It's a give to Pinkett, he runs for 8 yards, clock moving
2/2 - Give to Pinkett, he picks it up, Oilers use their second timeout at the Miami 36 yard line with 64 seconds left.
Here we are. The Perfect Dolphins are up 4 on the 16th seed in the region, the '91 Oilers, Houston's got a first down at the 36, 1:04 left, 1 timeout.
1/10 - Huge safety blitz for Miami, Jake Scott sacks Moon - Houston forced to use their final timeout, Houston back at the 43 with 54 seconds to go.
2/17 - Moon....Moon forced to dump it to Pinkett, he's out of bounds at the 41, 46 seconds left. 3rd and loooong.
3/15 - Moon ---- Moon to Givens -- Givens in space -- Givens in space -- Givens is going to pick up the first down to the 21 yard line and he is out of bounds! Huge play - Oilers at the 21 with 33 seconds to go in the game. First down.
1/10 - Moon -- Moon under heat -- Moon is sacked by Nick Buoniconti - that might be it - that's a big play - Moon scrambling to his feet --
2/15 - Incomplete, Moon spikes the ball to stop the clock. But now Houston's got just 18 seconds left, they're at the Miami 26, it's 3rd and 15 and Houston is out of timeouts.
3/15 - Moon - Moon -- Moon finds Tony Jones -- Jones has a big first down and he gets out of bounds, there's 6 seconds left to go in the game -- Houston is at the Miami 9 yard line!
Wow -- the drama.
The 13th overall seed in the tournament -- the Perfect Miami Dolphins are clinging, clinging to a 4 point lead.
The '91 Oilers, the 16th seeds in the region, winners of a play in round, have the ball at the Miami 9 yard line.
6 seconds left. One play to go.
1/goal - Moon....Moon - End Zone....Jeffires TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWN! TOUCHDOWWWNNNNNNN!!! WARREN MOON TO HAYWOOD JEFFIRES TOUCHDOWN!!!
In a stunner, an absolute stunner - the 1991 Oilers come to Miami in rnd 1 and knock off the Perfect Dolphins.
There won't be an extra point, the Oilers pour onto the field -- any Houston fans in the crowd rush the field - it is a stunning, perhaps the most stunning result of any football game in the history of the sport - Warren Moon 9 yard score at the gun to Haywood Jeffires and the top seeds in Region 13, the only perfect team in the tournament - they are gone!
Final: Oilers 16 Dolphins 14
Wow.
Moon: 26 for 40, 281 yds, 2 TD/2 INT
Morrall: 7 for 13, 115 yds, 1 TD
White: 10 carries, 49 yds
Morris: 13 carries, 79 yds, TD
Jeffires, 7 catches, 58 yds, TD
Twilley: 2 catches, 60 yds
Fuller: 2 sacks
Scott: sack, INT
Player of the Game: Warren Moon
