Dolphins Battered
by Chiefs
Sept 25, 1967
By Bill Braucher
The 90-degree atmosphere was more suitable for a safari than football, but the Dolphins felt a stiff breeze as 36,272 spectators suffered Sunday in the Orange Bowl.
Kansas City's five-alarm Chiefs ran through,
around and passed over the outclassed Dolphins In a 24-0 victory never in
doubt from the moment slippery Mike Garrett romped 34 yards with a Len Dawson
screen pass to score early in the second quarter.
Halfback Bert
Coan added a touchdown from the two, which closed a 47-yard march later in
the quarter. The second of three Jan Stenerud placements made it 14-0 at the
half.
Dawson and flanker
Otis Taylor collaborated on a 57-yard scoring pass to put the Chiefs beyond
reach in the fourth quarter, and Stenerud booted a 21-yard field goal, soccer
style, for good measure with 6:40 left to play.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins were shut out for the second time
in their American Football League tenure. The Buffalo Bills blanked them,
29-0, last fall.
Sunday they came reasonably close just once, in the final minutes when quarterback understudy Pete Beathard fumbled over to linebacker John Bramlett at the Kansas City 15.
This prosperity was short lived. On the
next play Joe Auer fumbled it back to safety Johnny Robinson. Otherwise the
Dolphins penetrated no deeper than the Kansas City 41 in the third period.
The most fun for Miamians was watching Larry Seiple punt. The rookie from Kentucky, who came near failing to make the club, punted five times for a 48.4 average and saved the Dolphins from a worse fate. Furthermore, the height of Larry's punts resulted in a return yardage of minus one for Noland Smith, the Chiefs 6-0 flanker who is supposed to be good at this sort of thing.
The Dolphins'
first defeat, after a 35-21 victory, over Denver in last Sunday's opener,
was compounded by a head injury to quarterback Bob Griese early in the fourth
quarter.
The rookie from
Purdue, who performed ably although rushed to distraction most of the afternoon,
was driven to Mercy Hospital for observation.
Coach George
Wilson hoped, at least, that Griese would be all right and seemed to think
so in the dressing room.
“He didn't know what he was doing after getting
hit,” said Wilson. “but he looks like he'll be OK."
If not, the blow
would be crippling to the Dolphins, who lost No. 1 quarterback John Stofa
with a broken ankle in the Denver game. Griese will be examined for a possible
concussion.
The cool Hoosier
deserved a kinder fate than Kansas City in his first start after a remarkable
performance in relief of Stofa last Sunday. Despite a constant rush, Griese
managed to complete 11 of 22 passes for 101 yards. He was dumped five times
and had two passes intercepted.
Five of Griese’s
passes were caught by Jack Clancy, the rookie flanker who totaled 67 yards
while turning in some dandy grabs.
The Dolphins managed just 23 yards rushing
while the Chiefs ran up 252, including 131 by Garrett. The rushing total was
a record against the Dolphins, beating the I88 yards the Chiefs gained in
a 19-18 victory at the Orange Bowl last December.
Fullback Curtis
McClinton added 66 yards and Coan 34 in relieving Dawson of the need for throwing
the ball. Len passed just 18 times, completing seven for 122 yards.
His 57-yarder to Taylor followed a tough
break for Miami. On, third down, safety Pete Jaquess was flagged for pass
interference on fullback Thomas. Instead of punting, the Chiefs scored when
Taylor slipped past cornerman Jimmy Warren around the Miami 15 and legged
it home.
Stenerud's field goal came after Rick
Norton, in relief of Griese, had a long pass intercepted by cornerman Fletcher
Smith, who returned from his 30 the 47. Garrett, Coan and McClinton punched
to the Miami 14 before the Chiefs settled for three.
Norton attempted 10 passes while playing
the last 12 minutes, completed four for 24 yards.
The Chiefs scored both first-half touchdowns
after offensive lapses by the Dolphins. They moved 64 yards in nine plays,
Garrett leading the assault after safety Bobby Hunt intercepted Griese’s pass
on the first play of the second quarter.
Griese had just
hit Clancy on a 14-yarder that brought the Dolphins to the Kansas City 49
when Hunt intercepted.
A
botched field-goal try a few minutes later put the Chiefs on Miami’s 47. Tom
Goode's low center was muffed by Norton, the holder, and Gene Mingo never
had a chance.
The Chiefs bashed
the distance in six plays including a 18-yard Dawson pass to Taylor, wide
open when defensive assignments were confused in the secondary; and runs of
12 yards each by fullback Gene Thomas and Coan before the latter eased over
his left tackle to score from the two.