On This Date in Sports December 9, 1973: Any Given Sunday (50 Years of Following Up Perfection Week 13)
The Miami Dolphins are stunned by the Baltimore Colts 16-3 at Memorial Stadium. The loss ends the Dolphins' ten-game winning streak. Dating back to the 1971 AFC Championship Game, the Dolphins had won five straight games against the Colts by a combined score of 104-0, including a 44-0 win at the Orange Bowl in November. Bob Griese was given the week off as Earl Morrall struggled at quarterback with two interceptions.
With the playoffs and division locked up, Don Shula wanted to give Earl Morrall some action at quarterback. Morrall was pivotal in the unbeaten season, making nine starts for an injured Bob Griese. With close games throughout the season, Morrall did not have much playing time, and Shula wanted to give him the start in case something happened in the playoffs.
The Colts appeared to be an easy win for the 11-1 Dolphins, as they had a record of 2-10 for first-year coach Howard Schnellenberger, the former offensive coordinator for the Dolphins. The Colts came into the game with a six-game losing streak and had gone 18 consecutive quarters without scoring against the Dolphins. That ended with a 19-yard field goal by George Hunt in the first quarter.
The Colts rolled the dice all game, successfully going for fourth down four times, including a fake field goal that set up a Bill Olds touchdown run from the two-yard line in the second quarter. The Colts continued to frustrate the Dolphins in the third quarter as Tom Mitchell caught a touchdown pass from Marty Domres in the third quarter to make it 16-0.
The Colts' defense smothered the Dolphins all day, as they forced three turnovers, including a pair of interceptions deep in Baltimore territory. Earl Morrall passed for 153 yards while completing 11 of 23 passes. However, the most stunning part of the cold day in Baltimore was Miami's inability to run the ball. Mercury Morris was held to seven yards on five carries, while Larry Csonka rushed for 70 yards, carrying the ball 13 times.
The Dolphins would get a ten-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian in the fourth quarter to avoid the shutout but flew home knowing that they had work to do before the playoffs started in two weeks.