The Miami Dolphins were a team in transition as they
hosted the Oakland Raiders on October 3, 1970. A losing franchise since
entering the American Football League in 1966, they also had trouble drawing
fans and owner Joe Robbie had taken the big step of luring Don Shula away from
the Colts to be head coach. Another move that significantly benefited the
offense was the acquisition of WR Paul Warfield (pictured above) from the Browns. Added to a mix
that included rising young players in QB Bob Griese, FB Larry Csonka, and HB
Jim Kiick, Warfield brought a much-needed element of speed to the wide receiver
position. However, the Dolphins were also starting five rookies on defense. Miami
was 1-1 coming into the game against Oakland, a team it had never beaten.
The Raiders, under second-year Head Coach John Madden,
were perennial contenders that had reached the last three AFL title games,
winning one of them. However, they were off to a slow start, sporting a record
of 0-1-1 as they faced the Dolphins. The offense, directed by QB Daryle
Lamonica, was still proficient but the defense was giving up points.
There was a good crowd of 57,140 in attendance for the Saturday
night game at the Orange Bowl. The first quarter was scoreless as the teams
traded punts and Miami CB Curtis Johnson intercepted a Lamonica pass at his 28
yard line. However, on the first play of the second quarter Bob Griese threw to
Paul Warfield for a 49-yard touchdown. Garo Yepremian added the extra point for
a 7-0 lead.
A torrential downpour struck soon thereafter that flooded
the field but finally let up at halftime. Lamonica again threw an interception,
this time by SS Dick Anderson, giving the Dolphins possession at the Oakland
33. But three plays later, Griese was picked off by CB Willie Brown.
HB Charlie Smith immediately took off for a 16-yard gain
and the Raiders kept the ball on the ground as Smith and FB Hewritt Dixon ran
the ball effectively in the rain. The drive stalled at the Miami 35, but George
Blanda’s field goal attempt was blocked by CB Lloyd Mumphord.
Following the blocked kick, the Dolphins took over in
Oakland territory and a short possession yielded a missed 49-yard field goal
try by Yepremian. Another pass by Lamonica was intercepted, this time by
Mumphord, however Miami was unable to move the ball and punted. WR Rod Sherman
returned the kick 45 yards to the Dolphins’ 37 and the Raiders made good use of
the field position. They went 32 yards in seven plays and Blanda kicked a
12-yard field goal with 27 seconds left in the half. There was still time
remaining and the first half ended with Yepremian booting a 47-yard field goal.
Miami took a 10-3 lead into the intermission.
The Dolphins had to punt following their first series of
the third quarter and Oakland proceeded to go 64 yards in 13 plays. They got a
break when rookie TE Raymond Chester, having caught a pass from Lamonica on
third down, fumbled but WR Warren Wells recovered and reached the Miami 38.
Again Smith and Dixon ran the ball well and Wells gained 14 yards on a reverse.
Blanda capped the series with a 17-yard field goal to narrow Miami’s margin to
10-6.
Following a punt by the Raiders early in the fourth
quarter, the Dolphins took over at their 20. On a second-and-10 play, Griese
connected with Warfield for a 54-yard gain to the Oakland 24. Three plays
later, Griese passed to Warfield again for a 17-yard touchdown and, with the
successful PAT, a 17-6 lead.
Oakland’s next possession ended with another Lamonica
interception and, following a punt by the Dolphins, the Raiders gambled on a
fourth-and-one play at their own 35 and Lamonica was stopped for no gain.
The Dolphins extended their lead with a 40-yard Yepremian
field goal. FB Marv Hubbard returned the ensuing kickoff 25 yards to the
Oakland 49 and, with just over two minutes remaining, Lamonica went to the air
three times, the third for a 36-yard touchdown to Wells against Miami’s prevent
defense. Blanda’s extra point made it a seven-point game, but the onside kick
was recovered by the Dolphins and Miami was able to run out the clock for a
20-13 win.
The Raiders led in total yards (334 to 279) and first
downs (14 to 7). They outrushed the Dolphins by 180 yards to 104. However,
Oakland also turned the ball over four times, to one suffered by Miami,
although the Dolphins drew 11 penalties at a cost of 135 yards, to 6 flags
thrown on the Raiders.
Bob Griese completed just 8 of 16 passes for 180 yards,
but two were for touchdowns while one was intercepted. Paul Warfield had three
catches for 120 yards and both TDs. Larry Csonka led the running game with 62
yards on 10 carries and Jim Kiick ran the ball 20 times for 44 yards and added
34 yards on two pass receptions.
For the Raiders, Daryle Lamonica was successful on 12 of
22 throws for 154 yards and a TD but also tossed four interceptions. Charlie
Smith gained 68 yards on 15 rushing attempts and Hewritt Dixon was right behind
with 67 yards on 14 carries. Warren Wells (pictured at left) had three catches for 61 yards and a
TD and also ran the ball three times for another 34 yards. Fred Biletnikoff
also caught the ball three times, for 36 yards.
The Dolphins won their next two contests before losing
three straight, but then regained their footing and were victorious in their
remaining games to finish at 10-4. It was good enough to place second in the
AFC East and qualify as the Wild Card team in the playoffs. Oakland recovered
to go 6-0-1 in its next seven games and 8-4-2 overall, which placed them first
in the AFC West. The Raiders got their revenge on the Dolphins in the AFC
Divisional playoff round, winning 21-14, but lost the AFC Championship game to
the Colts.
Paul Warfield missed three games due to injury but
received Pro Bowl recognition as he averaged a spectacular 25.1 yards-per-catch
on 28 receptions for 703 yards with six touchdowns. Bob Griese also was a Pro
Bowl selection, completing 58 percent of his passes for 2019 yards and 12 TDs,
although with 17 interceptions.
