Sunday December 5, 1971
. . . where the 1970s live forever!

NFL game summary for 12/05/1971:



The Patriots closed their home season with an upset victory over the pacemaking Dolphins, highlighted by a pair of TD passes from Jim Plunkett to Randy Vataha and a successful goal line stand against what is regarded as the best rushing attack in the AFC's Eastern Division. Mercury Morris returned the opening kickoff for the Dolphins 94 yards for a TD.

Team stats coming into this game (NFL ranks in parentheses):

TeamRush Yds/GmPass Yds/GmTot Yds/GmTurnovers
OFFENSE189.1  (1)149.4  (14)338.5  (3)15
DEFENSE121.4  (9)142.7  (7)264.1  (8)28
OFFENSE126.6  (14)123.8  (23)250.5  (20)28
DEFENSE141.3  (17)164.9  (20)306.2  (18)18

Line: Dolphins by 14

Team1234F
Miami Dolphins (9-2-1)733013
New England Patriots (5-7-0)17314034

( 7- 0) MIA Mercury Morris 94 yard kickoff return (Garo Yepremian kick) ( 7- 7) NE Jim Nance 6 yard rush (Charlie Gogolak kick) ( 7-14) NE Randy Vataha 26 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Charlie Gogolak kick) ( 7-17) NE Charlie Gogolak 37 yard field goal (10-17) MIA Garo Yepremian 26 yard field goal (10-20) NE Charlie Gogolak 35 yard field goal (13-20) MIA Garo Yepremian 30 yard field goal (13-27) NE Randy Vataha 25 yard pass from Jim Plunkett (Charlie Gogolak kick) (13-34) NE Larry Carwell 53 yard interception return (Charlie Gogolak kick)
                     MIA             NE
First Downs:         12              14
Rushes-yards:        29-98           33-85
Yards/rush:          3.4             2.6
Comp-Att-Yd-INT:     9-22-108-2      16-23-223-0
Sacked-yards:        1-9             0-0
Net pass yards:      99              223
Net yards/pass:      4.3             9.7
Total net yards:     197             308
Total plays:         52 (55% run)    56 (58% run)  
Yards/play:          3.8             5.5
Fumbles-lost:        5-3             2-0
Turnovers:           5               0
Penalties-yards:     3-39            5-37

Attendance: 61,457

Passing:
MIA: Bob Griese, 6 of 12 for 70 yards (1 int); George Mira, 3 of 10 for 38 yards (1 int) NE: Jim Plunkett, 16 of 23 for 223 yards and 2 TDs
Rushing:
MIA: Larry Csonka, 10 for 61 yards; Jim Kiick, 8 for 15 yards; Mercury Morris, 5 for 8 yards; George Mira, 3 for 0 yards; Bob Griese, 2 for 0 yards; Larry Seiple, 1 for 14 yards NE: Carl Garrett, 15 for 57 yards; Jim Nance, 11 for 33 yards and 1 TD; Jim Plunkett, 4 for 1 yard; Bob Gladieux, 1 for 3 yards; Jack Maitland, 1 for -2 yards; Eric Crabtree, 1 for -7 yards
Receiving:
MIA: Howard Twilley, 3 for 39 yards; Paul Warfield, 2 for 46 yards; Karl Noonan, 1 for 12 yards; Jim Kiick, 1 for 9 yards; Mercury Morris, 1 for 8 yards; Larry Csonka, 1 for -6 yards NE: Randy Vataha, 7 for 129 yards and 2 TDs; Jim Nance, 3 for 10 yards; Hubie Bryant, 2 for 31 yards; Eric Crabtree, 2 for 30 yards; Tom Beer, 1 for 21 yards; Carl Garrett, 1 for 2 yards
Kick returns:
MIA: Charlie Leigh, 4 for 99 yards; Hubert Ginn, 2 for 52 yards; Mercury Morris, 1 for 94 yards and 1 TD NE: Carl Garrett, 2 for 30 yards; Hubie Bryant, 1 for 23 yards; Jack Maitland, 1 for 21 yards
Punt returns:
MIA: Jake Scott, 1 for 27 yards
Interceptions:
NE: Larry Carwell, 1 for 53 yards and 1 TD; John Outlaw, 1 for 29 yards
Punting:
MIA: Larry Seiple, 3 for 118 yards NE: Tom Janik, 6 for 195 yards
Field Goals:
MIA: Garo Yepremian, 2/2 NE: Charlie Gogolak, 2/2


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