Super Bowl XVII was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Miami Dolphins and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Washington Redskins to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the strike-shortened 1982 season. The Redskins defeated the Dolphins, 27–17, to win their first Super Bowl and first NFL championship since 1942. The game was played on January 30, 1983, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
This Super Bowl came at the end of a season that was significantly shortened by a players' strike. Teams ended up only playing nine regular season games, and the league conducted a special 16-team, four-round playoff tournament where divisions were ignored in the seeding. The Redskins had an NFC-best 8–1 regular season record, while the Dolphins finished at 7–2. Both teams advanced through the first three postseason rounds to Super Bowl XVII. The game then became a rematch of Super Bowl VII, also played in the Los Angeles area at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum ten years before, where the Dolphins completed their 17–0 perfect season at the Redskins’ expense by a 14–7 score. This was also the second Super Bowl to rematch teams, the first being Super Bowl XIII, and the first one where the previous losing team won.
The first half was competitive and ended with the Dolphins leading, 17–10. This was the third Super Bowl where the losing team was ahead at halftime and the second where they were ahead at the start of the fourth quarter. However, the Redskins scored 17 unanswered points in the second half and gained a Super Bowl record 276 yards on the ground while holding the Dolphins to just 47 offensive plays for 176 total yards, 76 of which came on a single play. Nevertheless, Miami built a 17–10 halftime lead with Jimmy Cefalo's 76-yard touchdown catch and Fulton Walker's 98-yard kickoff return. The turning point in the game came with 10:10 remaining: trailing, 17–13, and facing fourth down and one yard to go at the Dolphins' 43-yard line, Washington running back John Riggins broke through the Miami defense and ran into the end zone for a touchdown to take the lead. Wide receiver Charlie Brown then added an insurance touchdown with a 6-yard scoring reception.
Riggins was named Super Bowl MVP, finishing the game with two new Super Bowl records: the most rushing yards (166) and the most rushing attempts (38) in a Super Bowl game. He was the first player from an NFC team to rush for 100 yards in a Super Bowl. Riggins also recorded a reception for 15 yards, giving him more total yards from scrimmage (181) than the entire Miami team.Riggins became the second player to accomplish this feat in a Super Bowl. Franco Harris also gained more yards in Super Bowl IX than the entire Minnesota Vikings offense did.
Background Host selection process The NFL awarded Super Bowl XVII to Pasadena on March 13, 1979, at the owners' meetings in Honolulu. For the first time, three Super Bowl host cities were deliberated and selected at the same meeting (XV, XVI, and XVII). A total of eight cities submitted bids: New Orleans, Detroit (Silverdome), Pasadena (Rose Bowl), Los Angeles (Coliseum), Miami, Seattle (Kingdome), Dallas (Cotton Bowl), and Houston (Rice Stadium). Pasadena was selected for their third Super Bowl overall. New Orleans (XV) and Detroit (XVI) were other cities chosen at the meeting.
After hosting five previous Super Bowls, Miami was noticeably left out of the bidding process, largely due the aging condition of the Orange Bowl, and for a hotel room mix-up at Super Bowl XIII two months earlier. Dolphins owner Joe Robbie, locked in an ongoing feud with the city of Miami and Dade County over stadium improvements or construction of a new stadium, actually lobbied against Miami hosting the game. Robbie convinced the other owners to vote down Miami, in an effort to gain leverage towards building a new stadium. South Florida would not be selected to host another Super Bowl until Joe Robbie Stadium was built, and it hosted XXIII.
This was the first outdoor Super Bowl to have a Jumbotron present. A temporary Sony Diamond Vision screen was installed in northeast corner of the stadium just above the last row seats. The only other Super Bowl facilities to date which had replay screens were indoors: the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans (XII and XV), and the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit (XVI).
NFL players’ strike A 57-day-long players' strike reduced the 1982 regular season from a 16-game schedule to 9 games. Because of the shortened season, the NFL adopted a special 16-team playoff tournament. Division standings were ignored. Eight teams from each conference were seeded 1–8 based on their regular season records.
The modified schedule forced the league to extend the regular season into January for the first time. After the 57-day strike, the NFL extended the regular season one weekend (pushing the end of the regular season back from December 26 to January 2), moving back the start of the playoffs and eliminating the week off for the first time since Super Bowl IV.
Four teams that made the playoffs the previous year failed to do so in the strike-shortened season, even with the greatly expanded postseason field. The San Francisco 49ers, the defending Super Bowl champions, struggled to a 3–6 record. The Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Eagles also did not qualify for the playoffs. However, the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions did qualify for the playoffs with 4–5 records, becoming the first teams in NFL history to compete in postseason play despite regular-season winning percentages below .500. No other losing teams would do so until the Seattle Seahawks reached the playoffs following the season, becoming the first team to accomplish this in a season unaffected by a strike. The 2014 Carolina Panthers, 2020 Washington team, and 2022 Tampa Bay Buccaneers also achieved playoff berths with winning percentages below .500 in seasons not shortened by a players' strike.
Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins finished the strike-shortened regular season with a 7–2 record, ranking them second in the AFC. The Miami club's main strength was its defense, nicknamed the "Killer Bees" because six of the defense's 11 starters had surnames that began with the letter B. The "Killer Bees", anchored by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Bob Baumhower, allowed the fewest total yards in the league (2,312) and the fewest passing yards in the league (1,027). Linebacker A. J. Duhe was extremely effective at blitzing and in pass coverage. The Dolphins' secondary, consisting of defensive backs Don McNeal, Gerald Small and brothers Lyle and Glenn Blackwood, combined for 11 interceptions.
However, Miami's passing attack, led by quarterback David Woodley, ranked second to last in the league with 1,314 total yards, 8 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. One of the few bright spots in the Dolphins' passing attack was wide receiver Jimmy Cefalo, who gained 356 yards from just 17 receptions for an average of 20.9 yards per catch. Wide receiver Duriel Harris also provided a deep threat with 22 receptions for 331 yards.
Miami's strength on offense was its ground game, ranking third in the league with 1,344 rushing yards. Pro Bowl running back Andra Franklin was the team's top rusher with 701 yards (third in the NFL) and seven touchdowns. Running back Tony Nathan rushed for 233 yards and caught 16 passes for another 114 yards. Woodley himself also rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns. One reason for the Dolphins' rushing success was the blocking of their offensive line, led by future Hall of Fame center Dwight Stephenson, along with Pro Bowlers Bob Kuechenberg (a starter on Miami's early 1970s Super Bowl teams) and Ed Newman.
Washington Redskins
Super Bowl XVII was the Redskins' first Super Bowl victory (third NFL championship overall) and their second Super Bowl appearance; they were defeated by the Dolphins, 14–7, in Super Bowl VII. This was the second rematch in Super Bowl history (the first being the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowls X and XIII). Washington finished the strike-shortened regular season with an NFC-best 8–1 record, earning their first playoff appearance in six years and allowing the fewest points (128) in the league.
Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann finished the season as the top rated passer in the NFC, completing 161 of 252 (63 percent) pass attempts for 2,033 yards and 13 touchdowns, while also rushing for 150 yards. The main weapons in the passing game were wide receivers Charlie Brown (32 receptions, 690 yards and 8 touchdowns) and Art Monk (35 receptions, 447 yards and one touchdown). Running back John Riggins led the Redskins’ ground game, rushing for 553 yards and three touchdowns during the regular season. Much of Washington's success on offense was attributed to their offensive line, affectionately known as "The Hogs".
Washington also had impact players on special teams. Mark Moseley became the first placekicker to win the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, converting 20 of 21 field goal attempts and all 18 of his extra point attempts. Kick returner Mike Nelms gained a combined total of 809 yards returning kickoffs and punts.
The Redskins' defense was led by 6'7", 296-pound defensive tackle Dave Butz, who anchored the line, along with defensive ends Dexter Manley and Tony McGee, who each recorded 6.5 sacks. Washington's secondary was led by defensive backs Vernon Dean and former Dolphin Jeris White, who each recorded three interceptions.
Playoffs
The Dolphins advanced through the special 16-team playoffs by defeating the New England Patriots, 28–13, the San Diego Chargers, 34–13, and the New York Jets, 14–0, earning a trip to the Super Bowl for the fourth time.
Meanwhile, the Redskins defeated the Detroit Lions, 31–7, the Minnesota Vikings, 21–7, and the Dallas Cowboys, 31–17.
Before the playoffs, the 33-year-old Riggins, who had averaged barely three yards per carry during the season, told coach Joe Gibbs "I'm really getting down the road. I don't have many of these left. I've been out two weeks and I'm ready. Give me the ball." Gibbs did just that, and Riggins ran for a combined total of 444 yards and three touchdowns during those playoff victories.
Another key contributor in the NFC playoffs was backup wide receiver Alvin Garrett, who replaced Monk after he suffered a leg injury that kept him out of the entire postseason. Although he only recorded one reception during the entire regular season, Garrett caught a total of 13 receptions for 231 yards and four touchdowns in Washington's three conference playoff games.
Super Bowl pre-game news Entering Super Bowl XVII, the Dolphins were favored to win, primarily because of their "Killer Bees" defense. It had recorded 12 interceptions in three AFC playoff games, including five each in the final two contests. Another reason was because 26 players on Washington's 45-man roster had been signed by the team as free agents, including 14 who had never been drafted by any NFL team. Only ten players on the Redskins roster had any prior playoff experience.
As was the case in Super Bowl VII, the Redskins were the designated home team. However, the Redskins chose to wear their white jerseys and burgundy pants for the game; in their previous Super Bowl loss to Miami, the Redskins were required to wear their burgundy and gold uniforms as the home team. Washington, which began wearing white at home regularly in 1981 following Gibbs' arrival, became the second team after the 1978 Dallas Cowboys to wear white as the home team in a Super Bowl. The Dolphins wore their aqua jerseys and white pants.
This was the first Super Bowl where both teams wore a face mask color other than gray. The Redskins switched to gold masks in 1978 and the Dolphins to aqua in 1980.
Broadcasting United States