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| Don Nottingham(36) hugs Bob Griese after his game-winning touchdown against the Bills in 1974. |
In week 10 of the 1974 NFL season, the Miami Dolphins hosted the Buffalo Bills in a game where the winner would take sole position of 1st place in the AFC East division.
Both teams came in with identical 7-2 records as Miami had already defeated the Bills 24-16 in Buffalo eight weeks prior to the ir rematch with the Bills in the Orange Bowl.
The Dolphins were the favorites as they were the two-time defending Super Bowl champions under head coach Don Shula, who had turned Miami into the premier team in the NFL since his arrival in south Florida in 1970.
Shula had led the Dolphins to the playoffs all four seasons since he become the Miami head coach which included three straight Super Bowl appearances and a 17-0 season in 1972.
The Dolphins' offense featured one of the NFL's top rushing attacks in the backfield of fullback Larry Csonka, tailback Mercury Morris, and Jim Kiick to go along with quarterback Bob Griese and his favorite target, wide receiver Paul Warfield.
With this offense plus the vaunted "No-Name" defense, Miami hoped to extend their 28-game winning streak at the Orange Bowl as they prepared to host the Bills, a team the Dolphins had not lost to since 1969.
While the Dolphins were seeking a third straight Super Bowl title, the Bills were just hoping to go back to the playoffs, a feat that Buffalo had not accomplished since 1966 when they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFL Championship Game.
Buffalo was led by head coach Lou Saban, who was in his second stint as the Bills' head coach after holding that position from 1960-1965 as he led the Bills to two AFL championships.
The best player on the Bills was clearly running back O.J. Simpson, who had run for 2,003 yards the year before but had only rushed for 762 yards up to this point in the 1974 season as the "Juice" was battling a knee injury.
But with the help of second-year quarterback Joe Ferguson and an improved defense, the Bills came into their game with the Dolphins with a chance to take over 1st place in the AFC East.
After both teams went three-and-out on their opening possessions of the game, the Bills would begin their second possession at the Miami 31-yard-line thanks in large part to a 17-yard punt return by Donnie Walker.
Buffalo would put the ball in the air on three straight plays with Ferguson connecting on only one of those passes, an eight-yarder to Simpson, to set up a 40-yard field goal attempt by John Leypoldt.
However, the Dolphins' Larry Ball would block the kick to keep the game scoreless and give the ball to the Miami offense at their 28-yard-line.
The Dolphins would pick up one 1st down before punting the ball back to the Bills, who would go three-and-out on their ensuing possession as Buffalo punter Marv Bateman's punt would only go 17 yards to give Miami the ball at the Buffalo 43-yard-line.
Two runs for six yards and an incomplete pass would lead to a 54-yard field goal attempt by Garo Yepremian would fall short of the uprights as the game remained scoreless.
The two teams would exchange punts as the game moved into the second quarter when the Dolphins defense forced the first turnover of the game when Miami linebacker Bob Matheson knocked the ball loose from Simpson at the end of an 18-yard run as cornerback Tim Foley made the recovery to give the Dolphins the ball at the Buffalo 35-yard-line.
Griese would complete a 26-yard pass to Nat Moore to give Miami a 1st & goal at the Bills' nine-yard-line when Benny Malone ran for five yards to make it 2nd & goal from the four-yard-line when disaster appeared to strike.
That is when Griese fired a pass toward the end zone intended for Warfield which was intercepted by Bills strong safety Tony Greene, who ran it out of the end zone for an apparent 105-yard pick-six, only to have it called back because of a holding penalty on Bills cornerback Robert James to nullify the Buffalo touchdown and give the Dolphins a 1st down at the two-yard-line.
Griese would then hand the ball off to Csonka, who punched it in for the two-yard touchdown to give the Dolphins a 7-0 lead with 8:16 remaining in the second quarter.
The score was still 7-0 when the Dolphins took over at their 13-yard-line with 2:41 left before halftime as it appeared that Miami seemed content on running out the clock in the first half as they only moved 11 yards on five plays to set up 3rd & 11 from their 24-yard-line with 44 seconds left.
But Greise would complete a 27-yard pass to Moore to give the Dolphins a 1st down at the Buffalo 49-yard-line when Griese fired a bomb to Warfield who would make the catch for the 49-yard touchdown to extend Miami's lead to 14-0 with 26 seconds left in the half.
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| Paul Warfield would catch four passes for 139 yards and score one touchdown. |
The Bills would get the ball back at their 40-yard-line as Ferguson would complete a 12-yard pass to Simpson then scramble for seven yards to set up a 58-yard field goal attempt by Leypoldt which was blocked to end the first half with the Dolphins ahead 14-0 and set to get the ball to start the second half.
Miami would go three-and-out on its opening possession of the second half as the Bills would take over at their 45-yard-line when the Buffalo offense relied on its running game to drive down the field.
The Bills would run the ball on nine of the 11 plays on their 55-yard drive which ended with an one-yard touchdown run by Ferguson to cut the Dolphins' lead in half to 14-7 with 8:44 to go in the third quarter.
Following an exchange of punts, the Dolphins got the ball back at their 13-yard-line as four straight running plays picked up 21 yards to set up 3rd & 1 from the Miami 34-yard-line when Griese connected with Warfield again on another long pass, this time for 54 yards that with a roughing-the-passer penalty gave the Dolphins a 1st & goal at the Bills' six-yard-line.
After a run by Morris went for no gain, Griese handed the ball off to Csonka, who would run it in for a six-yard touchdown to push the Miami lead back to 14 points at 21-7 with 1:48 left in the third quarter.
Things would go from bad to worse for the Bills on their next possession when Ferguson was sacked by Dolphins defensive end Bill Stanfill, injuring the quarterback's right knee to knock him out of the game as rookie Gary Marangi would come in to replace Ferguson.
Marangi's first play would be a handoff to Simpson, who could not pick up the 1st down as the Bills would punt the ball back to the Dolphins, who would take over at their 37-yard-line as the fourth quarter was set to begin.
Two plays for six yards and an offsides penalty would give the Dolphins a 1st down at their 48-yard-line when Griese handed the ball off to Morris, who fumbled the football as Bills linebacker Dave Washington scooped up the fumble and ran it in for a 42-yard touchdown to cut the Miami lead to 21-14 with 13:58 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins would begin their next possession at their 36-yard-line as Csonka would run for four yards to set up 2nd & 6 when Griese completed a 20-yard pass to Moore, only to have James knock the ball loose as Washington would make his second fumble recovery in as many possessions to give the ball back to the Bills at their 44-yard-line.
Marangi would hand the ball off to fullback Jim Braxton, who would run for 12 yards to give the Bills a 1st down at the Miami 44-yard-line when Marangi fumbled a snap from center, which he recovered to make it 2nd & 10 when the rookie quarterback faked a handoff and fired a 44-yard touchdown pass to J.D. Hill that with the extra point tied the game at 21 with 11:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Dolphins would begin their next possession at their 19-yard-line as five straight running plays picked up 25 yards before Griese put the ball back in the air as he completed a two-yard pass to tight end Jim Mandich to set up 3rd & 9 when Griese tried to hit Moore on a deep pass only to have Buffalo free safety Neil Craig make the interception.
But just like the 105-yard pick six that was nullified in the second quarter, the interception would not stand as James would be called for pass interference to give the Dolphins a fresh set of downs at the Buffalo 23-yard-line.
Two straight running plays would pick up 12 yards until fullback Don Nottingham would run it in for a 11-yard touchdown to give the Dolphins a 28-21 lead with 5:01 left in regulation.
Following a 23-yard return by Wallace Francis on the ensuing kickoff, the Bills would begin their next possession at their 29-yard-line with 4:50 left on the clock and needing a touchdown plus an extra point to tie the game.
The drive would begin with Marangi scrambling for seven yards which was followed by Simpson being dropped for a three-yard loss to set up 3rd & 6 when Marangi completed a 14-yard pass to Ahmad Rashad to give the Bills a 1st down at their 47-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass, Marangi would scramble again, this time running for 16 yards to give the Bills a fresh set of downs at the Miami 37-yard-line as the two-minute warning hit.
Marangi would throw complete two straight passes to Braxton which gained 14 yards before firing a 21-yard pass to Bob Chandler to give the Bills a 1st & goal at the Dolphins' two-yard-line.
After Marangi was dropped for a three-yard loss on 1st down, Marangi would find Chandler in the end zone for the five-yard touchdown that with the extra point tied the game at 28 with 56 seconds left in regulation.
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| Gary Marangi completed six of nine passes for 98 yards and threw two touchdowns in relief of an injured Joe Ferguson. |
It appeared that the game was destined for overtime as the Dolphins would get the ball at their 19-yrd-line with just 51 seconds to drive down the field and at least attempt a game-winning field goal.
That is when Griese fired a 31-yard pass for Warfield to give the Dolphins a 1st down at the 50-yard-line as Kiick would get his hands on the next two plays, first catching a 12-yard pass from Griese, then running for 15 yards to put Miami at the Buffalo 23-yard-line with 24 seconds to go.
Griese would then hand the ball off to Nottingham on a draw play as the "Human Bowling Ball" would run it for the 23-yard touchdown to give the Dolphins a 35-28 lead with 19 seconds left following Miami's four-play, 81-yard drive that took only 32 seconds to complete.
The Bills would get the ball back at their 33-yard-line as Marangi would throw an incomplete pass, then theow a desperation pass as time expired which was intercepted by Dolphins linebacker Nick Buoniconti to end the game with Miami on top 35-28 and in first place in the AFC East.
Despite the heartbreaking loss, the Bills would make the playoffs as they would finish the season with a 9-5 record to earn the AFC's Wild Card spot (There was only one in 1974) as Buffalo would travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers in the Divisional Round which Pittsburgh won 32-14 in what would be the only playoff game in Simpson's career.
As for the Dolphins, they would go on to win the AFC East for the fourth year in a row as they finished the season with a 11-3 record.
However, their chances at a third straight Super Bowl title would end in a "Sea of Hands" as the Dolphins fell to the Oakland Raiders 28-26 in a classic AFC divisional playoff that the Raiders won on Clearnce Davis's game-winning eight-yard touchdown pass amongst several Miami defenders.
