Dolphins-Steelers Series Highlights

Revisiting some of the most memorable moments from past games between the Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers
Jasen Vinlove - USA Today Sports
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It's not a coincidence that the Miami Dolphins' 50th-year anniversary celebration of their 1972 perfect team will come on a night they're facing the Pittsburgh Steelers.

It was, after all, the Steelers that the Dolphins defeated in the 1972 AFC Championship Game on their way to the only perfect season in NFL history.

That 21-17 Dolphins victory at the old Three Rivers Stadium — home field for the conference championship games in those days was determined on a rotation basis — will be most remembered for Larry Seiple's 37-yard run out of punt formation to spark the Dolphins after a slow start.

It was, as it turns out, just one of the many memorable moments — some good, some bad — from Dolphins-Steelers games through the years.

1973 — Dick Anderson's memorable Monday night

Safety Dick Anderson earned NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1973 when the Dolphins repeated as Super Bowl champions, and his crowning moment probably came when he came up with four interceptions, two returned for touchdowns, in a 30-26 Monday night victory against the Steelers in December. That game also will be remembered for the intentional safety the Dolphins took late in the game, which had Howard Cosell going crazy about the genius of Don Shula.

1981 — Vigorito shines on Thursday night

In an early-season Thursday night game at the Orange Bowl, the Dolphins routed the Steelers 30-10 and the big play was an 87-yard punt return for a touchdown by rookie fifth-round pick Tom Vigorito.

1984 season — The Marino show in the AFC title game

The second Dolphins-Steelers AFC title game wasn't anywhere near as close as the first, and that was because the Steelers simply had no answer for Dan Marino and the Dolphins passing game. Marino passed for 421 yards and four touchdowns.

1989 — Tough day in the rain

The Dolphins are supposed to be more accustomed to the South Florida rain than their opponents, but — pardon the pun — they were the ones who looked like fish out of water — on this November day when pouring rain turned Joe Robbie Stadium into a muddy mess. Miami led 14-0 before Pittsburgh roared back for a 34-14 victory, and images of players sliding down the field dominated the day.

1998 — Zach attack

Linebacker Zach Thomas was a big-time player for the Dolphins in his first two seasons, but he took his game to another level (first All-Pro nod) in 1998 and one of his big moments came in Week 3 when his pick-six highlighted a 21-0 victory.

2006 — A disappointing debut

After the Steelers won Super Bowl XL, it was the Dolphins who were chosen to face them in the NFL kickoff game in 2006 and it looked like they were on their way to an upset victory in Daunte Culpepper as they led 17-14 midway through the fourth quarter. But everything fell apart after tight end Heath Miller got behind the defense for an 87-yard touchdown in Pittsburgh's 28-17 victory.

2007 — The slop-fest at Heinz Field

The 2007 season was nightmarish for the Dolphins, but the Monday night game at Heinz Field in late November was almost funny. Playing on a messy field that had hosted high school and college games all weekend and not drained, the Steelers and Dolphins slopped their way to a 3-0 final (Pittsburgh won). The best testimonial to that game was the image of Brandon Fields' punt literally getting stuck in the mud after landing.

2014 — The questionable fumble/no recovery call

Who can forget the ending of Pititsburgh's 23-22 victory, Ben Roethlisberger's fumble near the goal line that the Dolphins apparently recovered but that wasn't ruled a lost fumble because referee Gene Steratore said it couldn't determined definitely that there was a clea recovery?

2016 — Ajayi's eye-opening outing

There was no reason to expect much from his October game at Hard Rock Stadium with the Dolphins coming in with a 1-4 record, but the day ended with Jay Ajayi's first of three 200-yard rushing performances in 2016 and a 30-15 victory that propelled a run of nine wins in 11 games that secured a playoff berth.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.