San Diego Chargers

This is an image of yesterday's victory of the San Diego Chargers against the Colts.

Miami Dolphins

The 2005 offseason saw many changes for the Dolphins as Saban began to mold the team in his image. The team selected Auburn running back Ronnie Brown in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft. The Dolphins also signed veteran quarterback Gus Frerotte, who would win the starting job over A.J. Feeley, who was a disappointment in 2004, after Miami gave up a second-round pick to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for Feeley. At the 2005 trade deadline, Feeley and a seventh-rounder were dealt to the San Diego Chargers for Cleo Lemon. Cornerback Patrick Surtain was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for their second-round pick. Finally, Ricky Williams returned to the team. However, he had to sit out the first four games of the 2005 season due to violations of the NFL's substance abuse policy that he had ducked out on in 2004. The Dolphins began their 2005 regular season with a bang. The Dolphins won their Week 1 home-opener against the Denver Broncos 34-10, giving Nick Saban his very first NFL win. Despite going on the road and losing to division rival New York Jets (17-7), the Dolphins won a tough game at home against the Carolina Panthers 27-24. After their Week 4 bye, they lost their next two road games to their division rival Buffalo Bills (20-14) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (27-13). Not even Ricky Williams's return against the Bucs was enough.

Miami Dolphins

On Friday, October 21, the Dolphins had to play their home game against the Kansas City Chiefs two days early, because of Hurricane Wilma. The Dolphins lost 30-20, making them 0-3 in home games that had to be rescheduled because of a hurricane since the 2004 season. They would win next week at LSU's Tiger Stadium against the New Orleans Saints 21-6, but would lose their next three games. During that time, they lost two home games to the Atlanta Falcons (17-10) and their division rival New England Patriots (23-16) before getting shut out on the road against the Cleveland Browns (22-0). When things looked grim, the Dolphins regrouped and began gaining steam, winning six games in a row. First, they won on the road against the Oakland Raiders (33-21). Then Miami gained a measure of revenge against their division rival Buffalo Bills at home (24-23) with a late fourth quarter comeback engineered by backup quarterbackSage Rosenfels, Then the Dolphins pulled off an upset victory over the San Diego Chargers (23-21). Finally Miami beat the New York Jets by a score of 24-20, extending their winning streak to four games. The win also put them at the .500 mark (7-7), although wins by the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers put them out of playoff contention. The next week, on Christmas Eve, they achieved their fifth victory in a row with a 24-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans, which guaranteed them not to finish with a losing record. The team closed out their 40th season with a 28-26 victory at New England to finish the 2005 campaign at 9-7. On a side note, this was the first time since 2000-12-24 that the Dolphins were able to beat the Patriots in Foxborough.

Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego

aerial image of Qualcomm Stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers football team

Miami Dolphins

In 1972 the Dolphins completed the NFL's first and only perfect season, winning every regular season game, two playoff games and Super Bowl VII, defeating the Washington Redskins 14-7. (The 1948 Cleveland Browns had accomplished an undefeated season, but as members of the All-America Football Conference.) During this season, Griese fell victim to a broken ankle in Week 5 versus the San Diego Chargers and was replaced by Earl Morrall for the rest of the regular season, with Griese returning to the field as a substitute during the AFC Championship game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and would once again start for Miami in Super Bowl VII.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins were back on top of the AFC East in the 1981 NFL season, with an 11-4-1 record. That season, the Dolphins quarterback position was actually manned by both Woodley and back-up quarterback Don Strock, causing the local media to identify the Miami quarterback as "Woodstrock." They reached the divisional playoff against the San Diego Chargers, regarded by some as one of the most memorable games in NFL history, known as The Epic in Miami.

Miami Dolphins

1993 turned into a disastrous year for the Dolphins. Both Marino and backup Scott Mitchell suffered injuries, and following a memorable win over Dallas on Thanksgiving Day with Steve DeBerg as starting Quarterback, Miami lost its final 5 games to miss the playoffs at 9-7. With Marino back for the 1994 season they won the AFC East again with a 10-6 record. After beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild card round, they suffered a heart-breaking last-second loss to the San Diego Chargers in the divisional playoff.