1993 Miami Dolphins season

The 1993 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 28th season in the National Football League.

1993 Miami Dolphins season
General manager	Eddie Jones
Head coach	Don Shula
Home field	Joe Robbie Stadium
Results
Record	9–7
Division place	2nd AFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	4 FB Keith Byars WR Irving Fryar T Richmond Webb G Keith Sims
← 1992 Dolphins seasons 1994 →

The season was marked by Don Shula passing George Halas's record for most wins, against the Philadelphia Eagles. Also, during the Week 6 game against Cleveland, quarterback Dan Marino ruptured his Achilles' tendon and was lost for the remainder of the season. Quarterback Scott Mitchell filled in for Marino and was Player of the Month for October 1993. Mitchell, too, became injured, leaving the then 9–2 team in the hands of Doug Pederson and NFL veteran Steve DeBerg.

Rookie running back Terry Kirby led the team with 75 pass receptions, and free-agent acquisition Irving Fryar caught 64 passes for 1,010 yards.^[1]

The Dolphins had a record of 9–2 on Thanksgiving Day, but lost their final five games of the season, missing the playoffs altogether. As of the 2024 NFL season, the 1993 Miami Dolphins are the only team to start 9–2 and not reach the playoffs.

Offseason

1993 NFL Draft

1993 Miami Dolphins Draft

Round	Selection	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	25	O.J. McDuffie	WR	Penn State
3	78	Terry Kirby	RB	Virginia
4	105	Ronnie Bradford	DB	Colorado
5	132	Chris Gray	G	Auburn
6	164	Robert O'Neal	DB	Clemson
7	191	David Merritt	LB	North Carolina State
8	218	Dwayne Gordon	LB	New Hampshire

^[2]

Staff

1993 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office President – Tim Robbie Executive vice president/general manager – Eddie Jones Assistant general manager – Bryan Wiedmeier Director of player personnel – Tom Heckert, Sr. Director of college scouting – Tom Braatz Staff assistant – Carl Taseff Head coaches Head coach – Don Shula Assistant head coach/offensive line – John Sandusky Offensive coaches Offense/quarterbacks – Gary Stevens Offensive backs – Tony Nathan Wide receivers – Larry Seiple Assistant offensive line/tight ends – Rich McGeorge

Defensive coaches Defense – Tom Olivadotti Defensive line – Joe Greene Linebackers – George Hill Defensive backs – Mel Phillips Special teams coaches Special teams – Mike Westhoff Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Junior Wade

Roster

1993 Miami Dolphins roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Steve DeBerg 11 Hugh Millen 19 Scott Mitchell Running backs (RB) 41 Keith Byars FB 21 Mark Higgs 43 Terry Kirby 30 Bernie Parmalee 22 James Saxon Wide receivers (WR) 80 Irving Fryar 82 Mark Ingram 89 Tony Martin 81 O. J. McDuffie 83 Scott Miller Tight ends (TE) 84 Greg Baty LS 88 Keith Jackson 85 Ronnie Williams

Offensive linemen (OL) 66 Eddie Blake G 65 Jeff Dellenbach C 74 Mark Dennis T 62 Chris Gray G 73 Ron Heller T 67 Jeff Novak G 69 Keith Sims G 57 Tom Thayer C 78 Richmond Webb T 60 Bert Weidner G Defensive linemen (DL) 91 Jeff Cross DE 90 Marco Coleman DE 96 Mike Golic DT 97 Jeff Hunter DE 99 Chuck Klingbeil DT 94 Craig Veasey DT 79 Larry Webster DT

Linebackers (LB) 51 Bryan Cox 92 David Griggs OLB 59 John Grimsley OLB 50 Dwight Hollier 93 Cliff Odom MLB 56 John Offerdahl MLB 55 Chris Singleton OLB Defensive backs (DB) 32 Bruce Alexander CB 36 Stephen Braggs FS 37 J. B. Brown CB 42 Chris Green CB/S 45 Bobby Harden SS 24 Vestee Jackson 47 Darrell Malone CB 25 Louis Oliver FS 20 Muhammad Oliver CB 28 Frankie Smith CB 26 Jarvis Williams SS Special teams  7 Dale Hatcher P 10 Pete Stoyanovich K

Practice squad  2 Reggie Brown WR 54 Chuck Bullough LB 46 Rob Coons TE 27 Mike Middleton CB 77 Tony Rowell C Reserve -- Kevin Brothen G (IR) 32 Aaron Craver RB (IR) 29 Liffort Hobley S (IR) 13 Dan Marino QB (IR) 63 Jeff Uhlenhake C (IR) 23 Troy Vincent CB (IR) 87 Mike Williams WR (IR) Rookies in italics 53 active, 7 reserve, 5 practice squad

Regular season

On November 14, Don Shula became the winningest head coach in NFL history by winning his 325th game. The Dolphins beat the Philadelphia Eagles.^[3]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 5	at Indianapolis Colts	W 24–20	1–0	Hoosier Dome	Recap
2	September 12	New York Jets	L 14–24	1–1	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap
3	Bye
4	September 26	at Buffalo Bills	W 22–13	2–1	Rich Stadium	Recap
5	October 4	Washington Redskins	W 17–10	3–1	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap
6	October 10	at Cleveland Browns	W 24–14	4–1	Cleveland Stadium	Recap
7	Bye
8	October 24	Indianapolis Colts	W 41–27	5–1	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap
9	October 31	Kansas City Chiefs	W 30–10	6–1	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap
10	November 7	at New York Jets	L 10–27	6–2	Giants Stadium	Recap
11	November 14	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 19–14	7–2	Veterans Stadium	Recap
12	November 21	New England Patriots	W 17–13	8–2	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap
13	November 25	at Dallas Cowboys	W 16–14	9–2	Texas Stadium	Recap
14	December 5	New York Giants	L 14–19	9–3	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap
15	December 13	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–21	9–4	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap
16	December 19	Buffalo Bills	L 34–47	9–5	Joe Robbie Stadium	Recap
17	December 27	at San Diego Chargers	L 20–45	9–6	Jack Murphy Stadium	Recap
18	January 2	at New England Patriots	L 27–33 (OT)	9–7	Foxboro Stadium	Recap

Game summaries

Week 13

1 2 3 4 Total • Dolphins 7 0 3 6 16 Cowboys 0 14 0 0 14 Date: November 25 (Thanksgiving Day) Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas Game start: 3:00 p.m. Game attendance: 60,198 Game weather: Snow; 32 °F (0 °C); wind 15 mph (24 km/h) TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bob Trumpy

Scoring summary Q1 MIA Keith Byars 77 yard run (Pete Stoyanovich kick) MIA 7–0 Q2 DAL Kevin Williams 4 yard pass from Troy Aikman (Eddie Murray kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 DAL Kevin Williams 64 yard punt return (Eddie Murray kick) DAL 14–7 Q3 MIA Pete Stoyanovich 20 yard field goal DAL 14–10 Q4 MIA Pete Stoyanovich 31 yard field goal DAL 14–13 Q4 MIA Pete Stoyanovich 19 yard field goal MIA 16–14

^[4]

Week 16

Buffalo (9–4) at Miami (9–4)

1 2 3 4 Total • Bills 9 17 21 0 47 Dolphins 7 13 7 7 34 Date: December 19 Location: Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 2:59.44 Game attendance: 71,597 Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C) • 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn) Referee: Howard Roe TV announcers (NBC): Dick Enberg and Bob Trumpy

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(1) Buffalo Bills	12	4	0	.750	329	242	W4
Miami Dolphins	9	7	0	.563	349	351	L5
New York Jets	8	8	0	.500	270	247	L3
New England Patriots	5	11	0	.313	238	286	W4
Indianapolis Colts	4	12	0	.250	189	378	L4

References

1. Neft, David S.; Cohen, Richard M.; and Korch, Rich The Sports Encyclopedia: Pro Football, 12th Edition, p. 680, Martin's Press, August 1994, ISBN 0-312-11073-1
2. "1993 Miami Dolphins Draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
3. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.287
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Jan-20.

• Miami Dolphins on Pro Football Reference