Super Bowl power rankings: Who’s the best loser?
By John Buhler
40. 1971 Miami Dolphins, Super Bowl VI
The 1971 Miami Dolphins went 10-3-1 en route to their first trip to the Super Bowl. The Dolphins beat the Kansas City Chiefs in double overtime in the AFC Divisional round and knocked off the Baltimore Colts in the 1971 AFC Championship to get there.
In Super Bowl VI at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, the Dolphins would face a Dallas Cowboys team that had played in the previous Super Bowl, but came up three points short of the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V, 16-13. Dallas would use its Super Bowl experience the previous year to handle the Dolphins, 24-3, in Super Bowl VI.
Miami wasn’t a major underdog to the Cowboys in Super Bowl VI, with Dallas laying only six points. However, losing to Dallas by 21 points and not getting in the end zone seriously hurts the 1971 Dolphins in these rankings. In fact, they are the only team in Super Bowl history to not score a touchdown in 49 years.
Miami wasn’t ready for the big stage in Super Bowl VI and head coach Don Shula did everything to make sure that his team was ready for the 1972 NFL season. Miami would go 14-0 in 1972 and win the Super Bowl over the Washington Redskins the very next season. No team since the 1972 Dolphins has gone undefeated and went on to win a Super Bowl.
The loss to the Cowboys in Super Bowl VI was ugly, but it stood as the necessary groundwork for Shula and the 1972 Dolphins to put together the only perfect season in professional football.
Next: 39. 1974 Minnesota Vikings