On This Date in Sports September 30, 1973: On the Rebound (50 Years of Following Up Perfection Week 3)

After their 12-7 loss to the Oakland Raiders on the road, the Miami Dolphins bounced back with a 44-23 win over the New England Patriots at the Orange Bowl. The Dolphins still struggled, as the Patriots had their chances in the first quarter before Miami scored 20 points in the second quarter. Leading by a touchdown, the Dolphins pulled away in the 15 minutes, scoring three touchdowns, including a 13-yard scoop and score by Nick Buoniconti. 

Despite losing their first two games for coach Chuck Fairbanks, the Patriots came out strong and drove down to the Miami four-yard line on the first possession of the game, with John Ashton making a 31-yard run. Sam Cunningham took the ball looking for the end zone but fumbled, with Curtis Johnson recovering the ball for a touchback. 

After a scoreless first quarter, Miami got a pair of field goals by Garo Yepremian to take the lead. The Dolphins would later add a pair of touchdowns from Mercury Morris, including a 70-yard game-breaker. Morris had the best game of his career, rushing 197 yards on 15 carriers with three touchdowns. 

Down 23-3 in the third quarter, the Patriots got back in the game with two touchdowns by John Tarver. Helping to spark the New England comeback was Jim Plunkett, who completed 16 of 30 passes for 230 yards. 

Mercury Morris added a third touchdown for 35 yards in the fourth quarter. Bob Griese, who continued to struggle, connected with Paul Warfield on a 17-yard touchdown pass to seal the win for Miami. The Patriots got a score from Reggie Rucker, who caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Plunkett. 

Late in the game, Miami wrapped up the scoring on a 13-yard fumble return by Nick Buoniconti. Buoniconti picked up a fumble by John Tarver. Tarver had been stripped of the ball by Bill Stanfill. It was one of three turnovers that the Dolphins forced on the afternoon. 

The Patriots would earn their first win for Chuck Fairbanks the following week. Fairbanks had been the headline-grabbing hire by New England after a successful tenure as coach of Oklahoma, which included three Big 8 Conference championships.