Five snapshots from the Dolphins-Redskins series...
Jan. 14, 1973
We have to start, of course, with the first meeting between the teams, which just happened to be Super Bowl VII at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This was the capper to the perfect season, as the Dolphins came in with a 16-0 record — 14-0 in the regular season and playoff victories against the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers. The game wasn't nearly as close as the 14-7 final score might suggest because Washington's touchdown came as the result of kicker Garo Yepremian's infamous blunder when he "tried" to throw a pass after a late field goal attempt was blocked. Had he made the field goal, the Dolphins would have won 17-0, which would have been the most perfect way possible to cap a 17-0 season. Regardless, the victory gave the Dolphins their first Super Bowl title.
Sept. 2, 1984
The Dolphins opened the 1984 season with a lot of hopes based on Dan Marino's rookie season of 1983, but the opening challenge was a difficult one — on the road against a Redskins team coming off back-to-back Super Bowl appearances. No problem. Marino set the tone for one of the greatest passing seasons in NFL history that day when he threw five touchdown passes, including two to Mark Duper, in a convincing 35-17 victory.
Dec. 20, 1987
The Dolphins needed a victory to stay in playoff contention when they played host to the Redskins on Sunday night on the next-to-last weekend of the regular season. The Redskins came in with a 10-3 record and were on their way to their second Super Bowl title of the 1980s. Marino and Duper again came through in a game that featured six lead changes. The last came when Marino threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Duper with 1:07 left to give the Dolphins a 23-21 victory. Marino finished the game with 393 yards and three touchdowns, all of them to Duper, who had six catches for 170 yards.
Nov. 23, 2003
This was another Sunday night game in Miami and this one started off great for the Dolphins, who got an 80-yard touchdown pass from Brian Griese to James McKnight on the third offensive snap of the game. But Washington then took control and the Dolphins found themselves trailing 23-10 late in the third quarter. The Dolphins decided to turn to quarterback Jay Fiedler, who was available after missing the previous four games with an injury, and he proceeded to lead the Dolphins to two long touchdown drives. Both of them were capped by Ricky Williams touchdown runs, the first coming on a fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line after Williams twice had been stuffed for no gain. The Dolphins, who were wearing orange jerseys that night for the first time in franchise history, clinched the victory when McKnight recovered a muffed punt on the last play before the two-minute warning.
Sept. 13, 2015
The teams' most recent meeting, like the 1984 game, was a season opener at Washington. The game was tied 10-10 in the fourth quarter before Jarvis Landry provided the winning margin with a 69-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Dolphins secured the 17-10 victory after two defensive stops (one with an interception by Brice McCain and the other with a stop on downs) when Lamar Miller picked up three first downs to kill the final 2:17 off the clock.
