On This Date in Sports November 11, 1973: Beatdown of Baltimore (50 Years of Following Up Perfection Week 9)

The Dolphins delivered their most dominant performance of the season, blanking the Baltimore Colts 44-0 at the Orange Bowl. The domination started with a 48-yard touchdown run by Mercury Morris, as the Dolphins scored 17 points in the first quarter. Morris rushed for 144 yards on 12 carries, with two long touchdown runs. Miami limited the Colts to 132 yards on offense for the game, forcing three turnovers, while Tim Foley scored two touchdowns on blocked punts. 

At 7-1, the Dolphins started hitting their stride as they hosted the Baltimore Colts. The Colts were 2-6 under new coach Howard Schnellenberger. Schnellenberger has served as Miami's offensive coordinator for the previous three seasons. The Colts had undergone many changes since winning the Super Bowl in 1970. Johnny Unitas was spending his last year with the San Diego Chargers as Bert Jones, the second pick in the 1973 NFL Draft from LSU, became Baltimore's new man under center. Jones struggled against Miami's "No Name Defense," passing 36 yards with an interception as he completed just three of eleven passes. 

The Dolphins' offense started with a thunderbolt from Mercury Morris, who jotted 48 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring. Later in the first quarter, Tim Foley blocked a punt by David Lee, recovered it, and ran eight yards for a touchdown. The Dolphins closed a dominant opening quarter with a 13-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian. 

The Dolphins continued to roll in the second quarter as Mercury Morris added a 53-yard run for a touchdown. Bob Griese did not have a great day, passing for 66 yards with an interception, as Miami gained 315 yards on the ground. The Dolphins increased their lead to 27-0 with a 14-yard field goal by Yepremian. 

In the third quarter, Bob Matheson blocked a David Lee punt, which Tim Foley scooped up and rumbled five yards into the end zone for a second touchdown. Following a 38-yard field goal by Garo Yepremian, the backups came into the game, as Charles Leigh closed the scoring with a 38-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to make it 44-0.