21st season in franchise history
The 1986 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 21st as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins failed to improve upon their previous season 's output of 12–4, winning only eight games.[ 1] This was the first time in six seasons the team did not qualify for the playoffs and would mark the start of a four-season span of barren postseason chances. This was also the team's final season at the Orange Bowl before moving into their new stadium Joe Robbie Stadium the following season.
Personnel
Staff
1986 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
1986 Miami Dolphins final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Rookies in italics
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
1
September 7
at San Diego Chargers
L 28–50
0–1
Jack Murphy Stadium
57,726
2
September 14
Indianapolis Colts
W 30–10
1–1
Miami Orange Bowl
51,848
3
September 21
at New York Jets
L 45–51 (OT)
1–2
Giants Stadium
71,025
4
September 28
San Francisco 49ers
L 16–31
1–3
Miami Orange Bowl
70,264
5
October 5
at New England Patriots
L 7–34
1–4
Sullivan Stadium
60,689
6
October 12
Buffalo Bills
W 27–14
2–4
Miami Orange Bowl
49,467
7
October 19
Los Angeles Raiders
L 28–30
2–5
Miami Orange Bowl
53,421
8
October 26
at Indianapolis Colts
W 17–13
3–5
Hoosier Dome
58,350
9
November 2
Houston Oilers
W 28–7
4–5
Miami Orange Bowl
43,804
10
November 10
at Cleveland Browns
L 16–26
4–6
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
77,949
11
November 16
at Buffalo Bills
W 34–24
5–6
Rich Stadium
76,474
12
November 24
New York Jets
W 45–3
6–6
Miami Orange Bowl
70,206
13
November 30
Atlanta Falcons
L 14–20
6–7
Miami Orange Bowl
53,762
14
December 7
at New Orleans Saints
W 31–27
7–7
Louisiana Superdome
64,761
15
December 14
at Los Angeles Rams
W 37–31 (OT)
8–7
Anaheim Stadium
62,629
16
December 22
New England Patriots
L 27–34
8–8
Miami Orange Bowl
74,516
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Final roster
1986 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
45 active, 6 inactive, 0 practice squad
Season summary
Week 1 at Chargers
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
MIA
SD
1
10:52
Chargers
Gary Anderson 18-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts , Rolf Benirschke kick good
0
7
1
2:17
Chargers
26-yard field goal by Rolf Benirschke
0
10
1
0:24
Chargers
Tim Spencer 17-yard touchdown run, Rolf Benirschke kick good
0
17
2
12:00
Dolphins
Mark Clayton 22-yard touchdown reception from Dan Marino , Fuad Reveiz kick good
7
17
2
4:02
Chargers
Buford McGee 4-yard touchdown run, Rolf Benirschke kick no good
7
23
2
2:19
Dolphins
Mark Clayton 49-yard touchdown reception from Dan Marino, Fuad Reveiz kick good
14
23
2
0:28
Chargers
36-yard field goal by Rolf Benirschke
14
26
3
9:22
Chargers
Wes Chandler 7-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Rolf Benirschke kick good
14
33
3
6:47
Dolphins
Nat Moore 6-yard touchdown reception from Dan Marino, Fuad Reveiz kick good
21
33
3
0:21
Chargers
Pete Holohan 17-yard touchdown reception from Dan Fouts, Rolf Benirschke kick good
21
40
4
14:15
Chargers
Buford McGee 4-yard touchdown run, Rolf Benirschke kick good
21
47
4
5:48
Chargers
36-yard field goal by Rolf Benirschke
21
50
4
0:58
Dolphins
Nat Moore 17-yard touchdown reception from Dan Marino, Fuad Reveiz kick good
28
50
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
28
50
Week 2
1
2 3 4 Total
Colts
7
3 0 0
10
• Dolphins
7
13 10 0
30
Scoring summary Q1 10:57 IND Bentley 1 yard run (Biasucci kick)IND 7–0
Q1 0:18 MIA Hampton 5 yard run (Reveiz kick)Tie 7–7
Q2 7:40 MIA Moore 4 yard pass from Marino (kick failed)MIA 13–7
Q2 5:03 MIA Pruitt 71 yard punt return (Reveiz kick)MIA 20–7
Q2 0:22 IND Biasucci 23 yard field goal MIA 20–10
Q3 10:45 MIA Hampton 21 yard run (Reveiz kick) MIA 27–10
Q3 3:31 MIA Reveiz 27 yard field goal MIA 30–10
[ 2]
Week 3 at Jets
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
NYJ – Johnny Hector 1-yard run (Pat Leahy kick), 12:09. Jets 10–7.
NYJ – Johnny Hector 8-yard run (Pat Leahy kick), 10:00. Jets 17–7.
MIA – Dan Johnson 1-yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick), 7:26. Jets 17–14.
MIA – Mark Duper 13-yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick), 5:06. Dolphins 21–17.
NYJ – Wesley Walker 65-yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick), 3:12. Jets 24–21.
NYJ – Wesley Walker 50-yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick), 0:34. Jets 31–21.
Third quarter
MIA – Mark Duper 46-yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick), 10:48. Jets 31–28.
MIA – Fuad Reveiz 44-yard field goal, 7:12. Tie 31–31.
MIA – Bruce Hardy 1-yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick), 4:12. Dolphins 38–31.
Fourth quarter
NYJ – Dennis Bligen 7-yard run (Pat Leahy kick), 8:42. Tie 38–38.
MIA – Mark Clayton 4-yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick), 2:56. Dolphins 45–38.
NYJ – Wesley Walker 21-yard pass from Ken O'Brien (Pat Leahy kick), 0:00. Tie 45–45.
Overtime
NYJ – Wesley Walker 43-yard pass from Ken O'Brien, 12:25. Jets 51–45.
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
The Jets-Dolphins rivalry reached an apex in this Week 3 matchup as Ken O'Brien and Dan Marino unleashed ten combined touchdowns, the last a 43-yard score to Wesley Walker and a 51–45 overtime win for the Jets.
Week 6 vs. Bills
1
2 3 4 Total
Bills
7
0 0 7
14
• Dolphins
3
7 10 7
27
[ 3]
Week 11 at Bills
[ 4]
Standings
References
External links
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (13) Conference championships (5) League championships (2) Retired numbers Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation