Bottom line: The much-maligned Earl Morrall was the mainstay for the Dolphins, starting nine games with 11 touchdown passes, seven interceptions and a 9.1 YPA.
Largely on the basis of a Sports Illustrated cover, it is commonly thought that Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick (521 yards) — dubbed “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” — were the leading running backs. Actually, Csonka (1,117 yards, 6 touchdowns) and Mercury Morris (1,000 yards, 12 touchdowns) were the Dolphins’ most prolific ball carriers.
It’ hard to know where to rank the ’72 Dolphins. They didn’t dominate. They won three games by a total of just seven points and won the three postseason games by just 17 points. If they had lost one of those close games, no one would think of placing them in an all-time top list.
On the plus side, they led the NFL in both points scored and fewest points allowed, and they still are the only unbeaten NFL team in both the regular and postseason. So they deserve to make this list, but not at the top.
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