1984 Miami Dolphins

The 1984 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 18th season, and 15th in the National Football League. It was also the fifteenth season with the team for head coach Don Shula. The Dolphins sought to build on a spectacular 1983 season where they went 12–4 with rookie quarterback Dan Marino, only to be upended by the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs.

The Dolphins won the 1984 AFC Championship, and appeared in Super Bowl XIX, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 38-16. To date is the last season in which the Dolphins appeared in the Super Bowl.

Second year quarterback Dan Marino's passing ability became the focal point of Miami's offense and in 1984 he exploded to set league records with 5,084 passing yards and 48 touchdowns. (Marino's touchdown record was broken by Peyton Manning twenty years later and the yardage record was broken by Drew Brees twenty-seven years later. The Dolphins attempted early on to make a run at a perfect season twelve years after pulling off the feat, as they won their first eleven games but were upended in overtime by the San Diego Chargers. The Dolphins scored more than 500 points for the first and to date only time in their history, as they scored 513 points and finished 14–2, their best record since the undefeated season.

AFC Divisional Playoff
A year after being upended in the playoffs by the Seattle Seahawks the Dolphins routed Seattle 31–10. Dan Marino threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns despite being intercepted twice by Seahawks defensive back John Harris. The Dolphins rushed for 143 yards and a Tony Nathan rushing score as well.

AFC Championship Game
In a shootout, quarterback Dan Marino led the Dolphins to a victory by throwing for 421 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Steelers quarterback Mark Malone recorded 312 yards and 3 touchdowns, but was intercepted three times.

Scoring summary

 * MIA – FG: Uwe von Schamann 37 yards 3–0 MIA
 * SF – TD: Carl Monroe 33 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) 7–3 SF
 * MIA – TD: Dan Johnson 2 yard pass from Dan Marino (Uwe von Schamann kick) 10–7 MIA
 * SF – TD: Roger Craig 8 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) 14–10 SF
 * SF – TD: Joe Montana 6 yard run (Ray Wersching kick) 21–10 SF
 * SF – TD: Roger Craig 2 yard run (Ray Wersching kick) 28–10 SF
 * MIA – FG: Uwe von Schamann 31 yards 28–13 SF
 * MIA – FG: Uwe von Schamann 30 yards 28–16 SF
 * SF – FG: Ray Wersching 27 yards 31–16 SF
 * SF – TD: Roger Craig 16 yard pass from Joe Montana (Ray Wersching kick) 38–16 SF

Awards and honors

 * Dan Marino, 1984 NFL MVP
 * Dan Marino, 1984 PFWA MVP
 * Dan Marino, 1984 NEA MVP
 * Dan Marino, 1984 NFL Offensive Player of the Year
 * Dan Marino, 1984 UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year
 * Dan Marino, Bert Bell Award

Notes and references

 * Miami Dolphins on Pro Football Reference
 * Miami Dolphins on jt-sw.com