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| Mark Clayton set the NFL touchdown record for most touchdown receptions in a season in the Dolphins' 1984 regular season finale against the Dallas Cowboys. |
But he was not the only Dolphin who set records during the 1984 season.
Wide receiver Mark Clayton would break the NFL record for most touchdown catches in a season in dramatic fashion during the last game of the NFL regular season as the Dolphins hosted the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football.
Like Marino, Clayton was in his second NFL season as he was paired with third-year wide receiver Mark Duper to form the "Marks Brothers".
Clayton and Duper was Marino's favorite targets as both went over 1,000 receiving yards as the Dolphins complied a 13-2 record while Marino broke the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a season, which was held by Y.A. Tittle since 1963, when he threw his 37th touchdown pass of the season in the first quarter of the Dolphins' 45-34 loss to the then Los Angeles Raiders in the 14th game.
As the Dolphins entered their regular season finale, Marino had increased his record to 44 touchdown passes and was 58 yards shy of breaking Dan Fouts' record of most passing yards in a season with 4,802.
If Marino could throw for 256 yards, he could eclipse the 5,000 yard passing mark, a mark that seemed unfathomable in 1984.
Meanwhile, Clayton stood with 15 touchdown catches, two shy of the NFL record that was held by three players: Don Hutson(1942) Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch(1951) and Bill Groman(1961).
If the record were not enough for Don Shula's Dolphins, Miami needed a win to clinch home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
While Miami looked at breaking records and solidifying their playoff position, the Cowboys entered the game looking to get into the playoffs with a win as they stood with a 9-6 record.
The 1984 season had been a tumultuous one as incumbent starting quarterback Danny White had been replaced at the start of the season by Gary Hogeboom.
But after a 12-of-33 for 147 yards and two-interception performance against the then St.Louis Cardinals, head coach Tom Landry reinserted White as the starting quarterback.
If the Cowboys could win or even tie the the Dolphins, they would get the final NFC Wild Card spot.
If they lost, the New York Giants would go to the playoffs and the Cowboys would miss the playoffs for the first time since 1974.
The first big play of the game came midway through the first quarter when Marino was picked off by Cowboys cornerback Ron Fellows on a pass intended for Clayton to give Dallas possession at the Dolphins' 43-yard-line.
The Cowboys drove to the Dolphins' 22-yard-line until White was intercepted by Miami cornerback William Judson in the end zone as White was trying to connect with his fullback Timmy Newsome.
The Dolphins took over at their 20-yard-line and proceeded to drive to the Dallas 34-yard-line as the first quarter come to an end with the game still scoreless and Miami facing a 4th & 2.
With his kicker Uwe von Schmann having a bad season in kicking field goals(he made only 9 of 19), Shula decided to rely on Marino to pick up the two yards needed for the 1st down.
The Dolphins got the 1st down as Marino found Nat Moore for six yards only to have Moore lose the football when he was hit by Cowboys safety Bill Bates at the Dallas 28-yard-line, which was picked up by Fellows who returned the fumble before being tackled at the Cowboys' 40-yard-line.
The Cowboys would go three-and-out on their ensuing possession, punting the ball back to the Dolphins who took over at their 20-yard-line.
The Dolphins lost three yards on two running plays before Marino threw a 22-yard pass to Moore on 3rd & 13 to not only give Miami a 1st down, but also break the record for most passing yards in a season by a quarterback.
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| Dan Marino would throw for 340 yards on 23-of-40 passing and throw four touchdown passes. |
Following the record-breaking pass to Moore, it appeared the Dolphins would punt the ball back to Dallas as Marino threw an incomplete pass on 3rd & 7, only to have Bates be called for roughing the passer, giving Miami 15 yards and a 1st down at the Cowboys' 43-yard-line.
Then on 3rd & 8 from the 41-yard-line, Marino connected with Clayton on a pass over the middle as Clayton made the catch at the Dallas' 25-yard-line, then got a block from Moore to help him spring for the 41-yard touchdown to put Miami on the scoreboard and push Clayton one touchdown closer to tying the NFL record for most touchdown receptions in a season.
After the touchdown, the Cowboys drove from their 27-yard-line to the Dolphins' 28-yard-line until a pair of negative plays sent them backwards.
First, running back Tony Dorsett lost five yards on a screen pass which was followed by a sack of White by Dolphins linebacker Mark Brown for a 12-yard-loss, pushing Dallas back to the Miami 45-yard-line where they were forced to punt the ball away.
Neither team would mount a serious scoring threat on their final drives of the first half as Miami went into the halftime break with a 7-0 lead, but would get the ball to start the second half.
Disaster seemed to strike for the Dolphins on the second play of the second half when running back Tony Nathan fumbled the football which was recovered by Dallas linebacker Mike Hegman at the Miami 21-yard-line, only to have Cowboys defensive tackle John Dutton be called for jumping offsides, negating the fumble recovery and giving the ball back to the Dolphins.
A few plays later, it appeared that the Cowboys had forced another turnover as cornerback Everson Walls intercepted a Marino pass intended for Clayton, only to have Walls be called for pass interference, giving the Dolphins a 1st down at the Cowboys' 38-yard-line.
From there, Marino would complete four of his next six passes for 33 yards, with the last one being a three-yard touchdown to tight end Bruce Hardy to extend the Dolphins' lead to 14-0 with 10:43 left in the third quarter.
After both teams punted on their next possessions, the Cowboys got the ball at their 28-yard-line and gained nine plays in two plays setting up a 3rd & 1 situation when White threw a wobbly pass that was intercepted by Dolphins linebacker Jay Brophy.
However, the interception was nullified when fellow Miami linebacker A.J. Duhe was called for holding, resulting in a Dallas 1st down at their 42-yard-line.
The Cowboys would drive to the Miami 23-yard-line when they were faced with a 4th & 8.
Figuring a field goal would do him no good against the vaunted Dolphins offense, Landry decided to go for it as White took the snap and fired a pass toward the end zone for Duriel Harris which fell incomplete, only to have Dolphins free safety Lyle Blackwood be called for pass interference, giving the Cowboys a 1st & goal at the one-yard-line.
From there, Newsome punched it in for the one-yard touchdown to cut the Dolphins' lead to 14-7 with 1:47 to go in the third quarter.
The score remained 14-7 til the middle of the 4th quarter when the defensive stalemate turned into a track meet.
It all started with an interception as Marino was picked off by Cowboys free safety Michael Downs, whose 25-yard return set the Dallas offense up at the Dolphins' 21-yard-line.
Four plays later, the Cowboys were in the end zone as Newsome scored on a four-yard touchdown run that with Rafael Septein's extra point tied the game at 14 with 7:28 remaining in the 4th quarter.
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| Cowboys fullback Timmy Newsome only ran for 20 yards on six carries, but scored two touchdowns. |
The Dolphins got the ball back at their 20-yard-line where they put together a nine-play, 80-yard drive that saw Marino connect on three straight 3rd down situations.
The first one was a 3rd & 2 at the 28-yard-line where Marino found Duper over the middle for 17 yards and a 1st down at the Dolphins' 45-yard-line.
Then on 3rd & 6 from the Miami 49-yard-line, Marino connected with Nathan for seven yards and a 1st down at the Dallas 44-yard-line.
Finally on 3rd & 5 from the Cowboys' 39-yard-line, Marino threw a pass for Clayton in the left flat, who made the catch at the 30-yard-line and then ran in untouched for his 17th touchdown reception of the season, tying the NFL record for most touchdown catches in a season.
Marino also made history on the touchdown as he eclipsed the 5,000 yard mark, the first time a NFL quarterback had ever done that in NFL history.
Most importantly for the Dolphins, the touchdown gave them a 21-14 lead with 2:30 left in the game.
The Cowboys got the ball back at their 20-yard-line and after White found Dorsett for 14 yards to begin the drive as the two-minute warning hit.
That is when the craziest play of the game occurred as White threw a pass intended for Ron Springs at the Miami 45-yard-line, only to have it tipped by Dolphins cornerback Don McNeal.
But the ball did not go to the ground, but instead went directly into the hands of Cowboys wide receiver Tony Hill, who made the catch and then streaked down the left sideline for a shocking 66-yard touchdown that tied the game at 21 with 1:47 left in regulation.
Miami would get the ball back at their 29-yard-line with a chance to drive down for the winning score.
The drive got off to an auspicious start as Marino hit Nathan on a screen pass, only to have Bates drop him for an one-yard-loss.
An nine-yard pass to Nathan set up a 3rd & 2 from the Dolphins' 39-yard-line, when Marino found Clayton over the middle at the Cowboys' 47-yard-line.
Clayton would then outrun the Dallas defense for a 61-yard touchdown to not only give the Dolphins a 28-21 lead with 51 seconds left, but Clayton his 18th touchdown reception of the season, a new NFL record.
The Cowboys got the ball back at the 20-yard-line with a chance to send the game into overtime but on the second play of the drive, White was intercepted by McNeal, allowing for Marino to take a knee to run out the clock to give the Dolphins a 28-21 victory as Marino finished the regular season with 48 touchdown passes and 5,084 passing yards.
More importantly for the Dolphins, the win gave them the home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, while the loss ended the Cowboys' season and sent the Giants to the Playoffs.
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| Clayton had three touchdown receptions to break the NFL record for most touchdown receptions in a season. |
The Cowboys would make the playoffs the following year with a 10-6 record, good enough to win the NFC East Division, but would be knocked out in the Divisional Round of the Playoffs as they lost to the Los Angeles Rams 20-0, thanks to running back Eric Dickerson's 248 yards, the most rushing yards by a player in a NFL playoff game.
The trip to the '85 playoffs would be the last for White and head coach Landry as White would retire following the 1987 season while Landry would be fired when Jerry Jones bought the Cowboys in February 1989 after 29 seasons as head coach of the Cowboys.
As for the Dolphins, they would knock off the Seattle Seahawks 31-10 in the Divisional Round and the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-28 in the AFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl XIX, where they would fall to the San Francisco 49ers 38-16 in what would be Marino's only Super Bowl appearance.
Marino's record for most touchdown passes in a season would last for 20 years until Peyton Manning broke the record with 49 touchdown passes in 2004.
The record has been broken twice since then with Manning currently the record holder with 55 touchdown passes which he set in 2013.
The passing yards record would stand for 27 years until Drew Brees broke it in 2011 with 5, 476 only to have Manning break it by one yard in 2013 as he finished with 5,477
As for Clayton, his hold on the record of most touchdown receptions in a season only lasted three years as 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice would catch 22 touchdowns in 1987, a record which would stand for 20 years until Randy Moss broke it in 2007 with 23 touchdown receptions.
Clayton would spend eight more years in Miami before leaving for the Green Bay Packers as a free agent for the 1993 season, which was the 11th and final one in his NFL career.
Clayton remains the Dolphins' all-time leader in career receptions with 550 and career touchdown receptions with 81 while ranking 2nd in yards with 8,643, just 226 behind his fellow "Marks Brothers" Mark Duper.
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