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1988 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach Don Shula
Home field Joe Robbie Stadium
Results
Record6–10
Division place5th AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers

The 1988 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 23rd as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 8–7, winning only six games [1] and failing to reach the playoffs for the third straight season.

Even without future Pro Football Hall of Fame center Dwight Stephenson, who was forced to retire prior to this season due to injuries, the Dolphins offensive line set the record for fewest sacks in a single season with 7 during 1988, protecting quarterback Dan Marino. Marino was only sacked on 0.98% of his dropbacks in 1988, also a single-season NFL record. [2]

This would be the last time Don Shula recorded a losing record during his tenure as Dolphins coach, and in his coaching career overall. It would be the final losing season for the Dolphins for 15 years.

Offseason

NFL draft

1987 Miami Dolphins draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 16 Eric Kumerow  Linebacker Ohio State
2 42 Jarvis Williams  Safety Florida
3 73 Ferrell Edmunds *  Tight end Maryland
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1988 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office

Head coaches

  • Head coach – Don Shula
  • Assistant head coach – David Shula

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • Special teams – Mike Westhoff

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength and conditioning – Junior Wade

Roster

1988 Miami Dolphins final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Rookies in italics
47 active, 15 inactive

[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 4 at Chicago Bears L 7–34 0–1 Soldier Field 63,330
2 September 11 at Buffalo Bills L 6–9 0–2 Rich Stadium 79,520
3 September 18 Green Bay Packers W 24–17 1–2 Joe Robbie Stadium 54,409
4 September 25 at Indianapolis Colts L 13–15 1–3 Hoosier Dome 59,638
5 October 2 Minnesota Vikings W 24–7 2–3 Joe Robbie Stadium 59,867
6 October 9 at Los Angeles Raiders W 24–14 3–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 50,751
7 October 16 San Diego Chargers W 31–28 4–3 Joe Robbie Stadium 58,972
8 October 23 New York Jets L 30–44 4–4 Joe Robbie Stadium 68,292
9 October 30 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 17–14 5–4 Tampa Stadium 67,352
10 November 6 at New England Patriots L 10–21 5–5 Sullivan Stadium 60,840
11 November 14 Buffalo Bills L 6–31 5–6 Joe Robbie Stadium 67,091
12 November 20 New England Patriots L 3–6 5–7 Joe Robbie Stadium 53,526
13 November 27 at New York Jets L 34–38 5–8 Giants Stadium 52,752
14 December 4 Indianapolis Colts L 28–31 5–9 Joe Robbie Stadium 45,236
15 December 12 Cleveland Browns W 38–31 6–9 Joe Robbie Stadium 61,884
16 December 18 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 24–40 6–10 Three Rivers Stadium 36,051

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 5

First time Dan Marino faced the Minnesota Vikings in the regular season.

Minnesota Vikings (3-1) at Miami Dolphins (2-2)
1 234Total
Vikings 0 007 7
• Dolphins 0 1770 24

[4]

Week 6

1 234Total
• Dolphins 0 2400 24
Raiders 0 077 14

[5]

Standings

AFC East
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Buffalo Bills(2) 12 4 0 .750 7–1 10–2 329 237 L1
Indianapolis Colts 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 354 315 W1
New England Patriots 9 7 0 .563 5–3 7–5 250 284 L1
New York Jets 8 7 1 .531 3–5 6–7–1 372 354 W2
Miami Dolphins 6 10 0 .375 0–8 3–9 319 380 L1

Awards and records

  • October 23, 1988: Dan Marino set a franchise record for most passing yards in one game (521) [6]
  • November 6, 1988: Jim Jensen set a franchise record for most receptions in one game (12) [6]
  • Brian Sochia, Pro Bowl selection

References

  1. ^ 1988 Miami Dolphins
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com – NFL Single-Season Sacked % Leaders
  3. ^ "1988 Miami Dolphins starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  4. ^ "Minnesota Vikings at Miami Dolphins - October 2nd, 1988". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com
  6. ^ a b NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN  0-7611-2480-2, p.60

External links