On March 7,, Wayne Huizenga, CEO of Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation, announced he had purchased 15 percent of the NFL's Miami Dolphins and 50 percent of the Dolphins ' home, Joe Robbie Stadium, for an estimated $ 30 million.

As of the end of the 2011 season, there were two teams against which the Texans had never lost: the Chicago Bears ( 2-0 ) and Miami Dolphins ( 6-0 ).

Shula had coached the Colts the previous seven pre-merger seasons ( 1963 – 9 ) and was signed by Joe Robbie after the merger was consummated ; because the signing came after the merger the NFL's rules on tampering came into play, and the Dolphins had to give up their first-round pick to the Colts.

The two then met in the wild-card round where the Dolphins won 23 – 17 before being blown out by Oakland 27 – 0 ( the Colts themselves had suffered a bitter loss to the Raiders in Week Two of the season when the Raiders erased a 24-7 gap to win 38-31 ).

The Chargers had upset victories over the Dolphins and Steelers in the AFC playoffs.

The Chargers then went on another second half run with four straight wins but this time instead of keeping the streak going the entire second half they had a big let down losing at home to the Raiders again, this time 28 – 13 ( ending their shared NFL record, with the Dolphins, of 18 straight wins in December ).

The win against Miami had been especially surprising, not only because Miami was the only team to beat Chicago in the season, but also because New England had not won in the Orange Bowl ( Miami's then-home field ) since 1966, the Dolphins ' first season ( then in the AFL ).

The Dolphins also had an excellent offensive line to open up holes for their running backs and protect Griese on pass plays, led by future Hall of Fame guard Larry Little.

Before this season, the Dolphins had never won a playoff game in franchise history, but they surprised the entire NFL by advancing to the Super Bowl with wins against the two previous Super Bowl champions.

Miami had to settle for Yepremian's 31-yard field goal to cut the Dolphins deficit to 10 – 3 going into halftime.

Morrall had previously played for Dolphins head coach Don Shula when they were both with the Baltimore Colts, where Morrall backed up quarterback Johnny Unitas and started in Super Bowl III.

) The Dolphins still had a powerful running attack, spearheaded by running backs Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, and Eugene " Mercury " Morris.

Washington's offensive line also had trouble handling Dolphins ' defensive tackle / nose tackle Manny Fernandez, who was very quick.

Miami's defenders had also drilled in maintaining precise pursuit angles on sweeps to prevent the cut-back running that Duane Thomas had used to destroy the Dolphins in Super Bowl VI.

Then on third down, Redskins defensive tackle Diron Talbert sacked Griese for a 6-yard loss and the Dolphins had to punt.

As they had the two previous Super Bowls, the Dolphins won the coin toss and elected to receive.

The Redskins had an NFC-best 8-1 regular season record, while the Dolphins finished at 7-2.

The Dolphins ' main strength was their defense, nicknamed the " Killer Bees " because 6 of their 11 starters had last names that began with the letter " B ".

Entering Super Bowl XVII, the Dolphins were favored to win the game, primarily because of their " Killer Bees " defense, which had recorded 12 interceptions in their 3 playoffs games, including 5 each in the final two.

But the Dolphins defense only allowed Washington to advance to the 3-yard line on their next three plays, and so the Redskins had to settle for another field goal from Moseley to cut their deficit to 17 – 13.

And the Dolphins secondary, consisting of defensive backs Don McNeal, Gerald Small and brothers Lyle and Glenn Blackwood, combined for 11 interceptions.

They opened the season at 6 – 0, which combined with the 15 straight wins to end the previous regular season, those 21 straight wins broke the record for most wins in a row ( 18 regular season wins in a row ), formerly held by the Miami Dolphins during and just after their perfect 1972 season with 18 straight wins ( 16 regular season, 1971 – 73 ).

Often the nickname is combined with that of a commercial sponsor, such as the " Qantas Wallabies " or the " Telstra Dolphins ".

In 2002 the Colts moved to the newly created AFC South division ; the two clubs met at the RCA Dome on September 15 where the Dolphins edged the Colts 21-13 after stopping a late Colts drive.

Receiver Duriel Harris, who recorded 2 receptions for 15 yards, was the only other Dolphins player to catch a pass in the game besides Cefalo.

Under Shula, the Dolphins were an impressive 57 – 9 – 1 ( 60 – 10 – 1 including playoff contests ) against the Baltimore / Indianapolis Colts ( 15 – 3 ), the Boston / New England Patriots ( 15 – 1 ), the Buffalo Bills ( 16 – 1 ) and the New York Jets ( 13 – 4 – 1 ).

Notable winning streaks during the Shula-era in the Orange Bowl include a 13 – 0 streak against the Buffalo Bills and a 15 – 0 streak against the New England Patriots, Also of note, the Miami Dolphins enjoyed a record 31-game home winning streak from 1971 – 75.

In a Week 5 ( October 2 ), 7-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins, Gannon completed 7 of 15 passes for 90 yards but was sacked twice for 15.

He started 15 games that season for the 10 – 6 Dolphins and was one of their standout defensive players.

Then, in 1999, he started 15 games for the Seahawks, leading them to a 9 – 7 record ( Kitna going 8 – 7 in games started ) and winning the AFC West, though Seattle would lose the wild card game to the Miami Dolphins.

Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti ( born December 15, 1940 ) is a former American Football League and NFL Hall of Fame middle linebacker, who played for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins.

On November 11, 2006 in a game against the Miami Dolphins, Sharper bumped a member of the officiating crew, but he was not immediately penalized, later the following week the NFL fined him $ 15, 000 for the infraction.

On August 23, 2004 the Bears traded Booker and their third-round draft pick in 2005 to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who was coming off a career-high 15 sacks with the Dolphins in 2003.

Booker started 15 games during his first season with the Dolphins in 2004.

Booker hauled in a 15 yard touchdown pass from Gus Frerotte in fourth quarter of a January 1 contest against the New England Patriots, giving the Dolphins a 25-13 lead in their 28-26 victory.

Mark Duper was inducted ( with Mark Clayton ) into the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll on December 15, 2003.

On November 15, 2010 it was reported that he was signed by the Miami Dolphins following injuries to Chad Pennington and Chad Henne.

On December 15, in a week fifteen game against the Miami Dolphins, Mitchell threw his first touchdown pass, a 25-yard pass to Brian Westbrook, and caught two passes for 30 yards in the 34 – 27 win.

On June 15, he signed a to a two-year contract with the Miami Dolphins.

He started 15 games, guiding the Dolphins to a 9 – 6 record, throwing for 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, completing 52 % of his passes and finished the season with a 71. 9 quarterback rating.

On December 15, 1985, the tower was lit for the first time in Miami Dolphins aqua and snowflakes.