1972 Miami Dolphins season The 1972 Miami Dolphins are the only National Football League team to have a perfect season , and win the Super Bowl . The undefeated campaign was led by coach Don Shula and notable players Bob Griese , Earl Morrall , and Larry Csonka ( among many others ) . This team went 14 – 0 in the regular season ( prior to the extension of the regular season to 16 games in 1978 by the NFL ) , and won all three post - season games , including Super Bowl VII against the Washington Redskins , to finish 17 – 0 . As of 2010 , the 1972 Dolphins remain the only NFL team to complete an entire season undefeated from the opening game through the Super Bowl ( or championship game ) . In addition , the Dolphins continued their winning streak into the 1973 season to 18 straight games , before losing in the second week . During the 1972 season , Bob Griese ' s ankle was broken in Week 5 as he was sacked by San Diego Chargers defensive tackle Ron East . He was replaced by veteran Earl Morrall for the rest of the regular season . Griese returned to the field as a substitute during the AFC Championship game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and then started for Miami in Super Bowl VII . On the ground , running backs Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris became the first teammates to each rush for 1 , 000 yards in a season . Paul Warfield led the receivers , averaging over 20 yards per catch on 29 receptions . The offensive line included future Hall of Fame members Jim Langer and Larry Little and Pro Bowler Norm Evans . The 1972 Dolphins defensive unit , called the No - Name Defense because Miami ’ s impressive offense received much more publicity , was the league ’ s best that year . It was led by linebacker Nick Buoniconti , end Bill Stanfill , tackle Manny Fernandez , and safeties Dick Anderson and Jake Scott . In all , nine players — Csonka , Morris , Warfield , Little , Evans , Buoniconti , Stanfill , Anderson and Scott — were selected to the Pro Bowl , and Morrall , Stanfill and Anderson were named 1st team All - Pro . Urban legend . There is an urban legend that every season , whenever the last remaining undefeated NFL team loses its first game , all the surviving members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins open bottles of champagne in celebration . Coach Don Shula tried to play down the myth by saying that two players , Dick Anderson and Nick Buoniconti , who live near each other sometimes have a toast together . However , in a college football broadcast on ABC , following the loss of an undefeated team , Bob Griese , after being asked by his colleague , commented that he called former Dolphins , and they had Diet Coke s together . That celebration comes with the connotation that they no longer drink alcoholic beverages , but that a toast was customary . The perfect season . The 1972 Miami Dolphins were the first team to execute a perfect regular season in the modern , post - Merger NFL . They are the only team in NFL history to go undefeated in the regular season and postseason . An enduring controversy is that the 1972 Dolphins played a soft schedule not possible under the current scheduling formula . Prior to the implementation of position scheduling in 1978 , opponents were set by the NFL on a rotating basis . Statistically , the Dolphin ’ s 1972 schedule was one of the weakest played by any team in many years . Their regular - season opponents had an aggregate winning percentage of . 396 and only two opponents had winning records that year ( both were 8 – 6 ) . However , the NFL ' s rules at the time also forced the undefeated Dolphins to play in Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship Game , an obstacle subsequent rule changes ensured no team with a superior record would face again , and the Dolphins won the game on the road to reach the Super Bowl . Other teams are occasionally cited as undefeated based on their regular season record . Among these are : Teams since 1972 which have come close to matching the perfect season are : Television coverage . Remarkably , fans in the Miami area could not catch the home games on television – they either had to be there at the games , listen to the radio , or travel to watch the games on TV . 1972 was the last year that all home games were blacked out on local television even if they did sell out . Super Bowl VII , in fact , was the first game to be televised in the market of origin under new rules which would come into effect the following season – games must be sold out within 72 hours of kickoff time in order to be aired in the market of origin . As all Super Bowls except the first have sold out , none have been blacked out since ( tickets sell out rather quickly due to high demand to see such a major game ) .