Ranking the 15 most dramatic finishes in Super Bowl history

12. Super Bowl VII

The Miami Dolphins went into Super Bowl VII at 16-0, as they aimed to become the first post-merger NFL team to ever complete a season with a perfect record. Trying to stop them were the Washington Redskins, who had an 11-3 regular season.

The early part of the game ended up being rather dull, as the perfect Dolphins looked to wrap up the season with a shut out of the Redskins. With a 14-0 lead late into the fourth quarter, Miami decided to go for a field goal which would have pushed their lead to 17 points.

The Redskins had not yet given up and they wound up blocking the field goal attempt by Miami kicker Garo Yepremian. In what was later dubbed “Garo’s Gaffe,” the kicker picked the ball up and tried to throw for a first down, rather than simply fall on the ball and stop the bleeding.

Yepremian’s pass looked similar to Brucie from the Longest Yard after eating popcorn, and it slipped straight up into the air and landed in the hands of Redskins corner Mike Bass, who sprinted for a touchdown.

All of a sudden, the nail-biting ensued. Miami was held to a three-and-out and their punt was then nearly blocked just like the field goal moments before. The Dolphins dodged that bullet and were able to get a sack of Washington quarterback Bill Kilmer on fourth down to end the game.

To date, this was the lowest scoring Super Bowl and the Dolphins are still the only team with a perfect record all the way through the Super Bowl.

Next: No. 11