The 1972 season began well with the Dolphins winning their first four games, including a close, hard-fought battle against the Minnesota Vikings in week three. But in week five at home against the San Diego Chargers, starting quarterback Bob Griese went down with a broken ankle and was out for the season. Enter veteran quarterback Earl Morrall, who fit so perfectly into the offense that the Dolphins didn't miss a beat. They defeated the Chargers and then reeled off nine more consecutive wins to finish with the first 14-0 regular season record in the history of the NFL.
After beating the Cleveland Browns in the division championship, the 15-0 Dolphins had to go on the road to face the 12-3 Pittsburgh Steelers at Three Rivers Stadium. This was because home field advantage in 1972 rotated by division and not by record. At halftime of a close game, Shula made the decision to replace Morrall with a healthy Bob Griese. Aided by Larry Seiple's 37-yard first down run from punt formation, the Dolphins went on to beat the Steelers 21-17 to go 16-0 and win another trip to the NFL's biggest game. Super Bowl VII matched the unbeaten Miami Dolphins -- a team that led the entire NFL in offense and defense, while boasting the league's first ever pair of 1,000 yard runners in the same backfield -- against the 13-3 Washington Redskins. Surprisingly, the Redskins were favored. Miami won 14-7, in a game that was not as close as the score would suggest. In doing so, they became the first and only undefeated champions in NFL history. The only drama was during the final minutes of the game, in what was later known as "Garo's Gaffe". Miami attempted to cap off their 17–0 perfect season with a 17–0 perfect score shutout with a 41-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian, but instead the game and the season was jeopardized when his kick was blocked. Instead of falling on the loose ball, the Dolphins kicker picked it up, attempted a forward pass, but batted it in the air, and Redskins' cornerback Mike Bass caught it and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown.
Dolphin safety Jake Scott was named Most Valuable Player. He recorded two interceptions for 63 return yards, including a 55-yard return from the end zone during the 4th quarter. Manny Fernandez had a terrific game with 17 tackles, 11 of them solo, because the Redskins made the mistake of trying to block him one-on-one for most of the game.