‘72 Dolphins overcome first big break of the season (to Bob Griese) to roll past Chargers
Dolphins 24, Chargers 10 (Oct. 15, 1972)
With sellout crowds of close to 80,000 now the norm in the Orange Bowl, never had a gathering of so many people gone so silent than midway through the first quarter when the 4-0 Dolphins hosted the San Diego Chargers.
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The reason was that their leader, quarterback Bob Griese was on the field clutching his right leg after he was hit by defensive linemen Deacon Jones and Ron East on a pass attempt The frenzy with which team trainer Bob Lundy, team doctor Herb Virgin and coach Don Shula rushed out on to the field clearly told the story of how serious the moment was.
Griese was eventually carted off in a stretcher where he would eventually be diagnosed with a broken right fibula and dislocated right ankle. His season, or so most everybody thought at the time, appeared to be over.
The immediate task on that day was to find a way to beat the Chargers and remain undefeated. That’s exactly what happened thanks to a great defensive performance and “old bones” as many referred to him, veteran backup quarterback Earl Morrall.
The defense came through with two big plays in the second quarter, first when safety Dick Anderson picked a Mike Garrett fumble right out of the air and rumbled 35 yards to put the Dolphins up 10-3. Then, a few plays later Lloyd Mumphord picked off a John Hadl pass giving the Dolphins offense a short field at the Chargers 34.
Four plays later, Morrall dropped back and found receiver Howard Twilley for an 18-yard score and a 17-3 halftime lead.
When Morrall led the Dolphins on an eight-play, 65 yard drive to open the second half, hitting Paul Warfield for a 19-yard touchdown and 24-3 lead, the OB was rocking again with fans trying not to think about what they had been lost.
The defense took over from there, shutting down Hadl and the San Diego offense the rest of the way, save for a Hadl-to-Cid Edwards short touchdown pass for a late-game window dressing score, and the Dolphins were still a perfect team through five weeks.
“All the good things that happened in the game were reduced by what happened to Griese,” said Shula after the game. “My hat’s off to Earl and the fine job that he did when he went in to the ball game and also the fine job our defense did all day long. The mark of a good football team is what it does under adverse conditions.”
Plenty of long-term concern lay ahead for the Dolphins with the loss of their leader. But another of so many shrewd Shula moves during the previous offseason, bringing in Morrall, who had rescued him in 1968 leading the Colts to a 13-1 regular season and Super Bowl III while being named the league’s MVP, was about to pay big dividends.
