1991 Miami Dolphins season

The 1991 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 26th as a member of the National Football League. The Dolphins failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 12–4, winning only eight games and failing to qualify for the playoffs.

Offseason

NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
1	23	Randal Hill	Wide receiver	Miami (FL)
3	60	Aaron Craver	Running back	Fresno State
5	113	Bryan Cox	Linebacker	Western Illinois
5	121	Gene Williams	Guard	Iowa State
7	191	Chris Green	Defensive back	Illinois
8	220	Roland Smith	Defensive back	Miami (FL)
9	246	Scott Miller	Wide receiver	UCLA
10	275	Michael Titley	Tight end	Iowa
11	302	Ernie Rogers	Guard	California
12	331	Joe Brunson	Defensive tackle	Tennessee-Chattanooga

Preseason

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance
1	Template:Dow tooltip	Chicago Bears	L 0–6	0–1	Joe Robbie Stadium	49,939
2	August 4	vs. Los Angeles Raiders	W 19–17	1–1	Tokyo Dome	51,122
3	Template:Dow tooltip	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 29–13	2–1	Tampa Stadium	51,387
4	Template:Dow tooltip	at Denver Broncos	L 13–21	2–2	Mile High Stadium	72,555

Regular season

Schedule

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Attendance
1	September 1	at Buffalo Bills	L 31–35	0–1	Rich Stadium	80,252
2	September 8	Indianapolis Colts	W 17–6	1–1	Joe Robbie Stadium	51,155
3	September 15	at Detroit Lions	L 13–17	1–2	Pontiac Silverdome	56,896
4	September 22	Green Bay Packers	W 16–13	2–2	Joe Robbie Stadium	56,583
5	September 29	at New York Jets	L 23–41	2–3	Giants Stadium	71,170
6	October 6	at New England Patriots	W 20–10	3–3	Sullivan Stadium	49,749
7	October 13	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 7–42	3–4	Arrowhead Stadium	76,021
8	October 20	Houston Oilers	L 13–17	3–5	Joe Robbie Stadium	60,705
9	Bye
10	November 3	at Indianapolis Colts	W 10–6	4–5	Hoosier Dome	55,899
11	November 10	New England Patriots	W 30–20	5–5	Joe Robbie Stadium	56,065
12	Template:Dow tooltip	Buffalo Bills	L 27–41	5–6	Joe Robbie Stadium	71,062
13	November 24	at Chicago Bears	W 16–13 (OT)	6–6	Soldier Field	58,288
14	December 1	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 33–14	7–6	Joe Robbie Stadium	51,036
15	Template:Dow tooltip	Cincinnati Bengals	W 37–13	8–6	Joe Robbie Stadium	60,616
16	December 15	at San Diego Chargers	L 30–38	8–7	Jack Murphy Stadium	47,731
17	December 22	New York Jets	L 20–23 (OT)	8–8	Joe Robbie Stadium	69,636
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Team Performance

The Miami Dolphins of 1991 were far less competitive than in the prior year, winning only 8 games, and missing the playoffs for the 6th time in 8 years. The Dolphins saw a drastic decline in their defensive performance in 1991 dropping from 4th in the NFL in 1990, to 24th. In 4 of their 8 losses, the defense blew 4th quarter leads. The offense, however, led by 29 year old future hall of fame QB Dan Marino improved from 14th in the NFL in 1990, to 6th. Marino earned a Pro Bowl berth after finishing 2nd in passing yards (3,970), 4th in passing TDs (25), and while throwing only 13 interceptions. The Dolphins offense continued to be among the best in the league, finishing first in 4th Down conversions. The dismal Dolphins running attack was 25th in the league in rushing yards and 24th in rushing TDs which failed to provide balance, causing the team to be one-dimensional offensively. With respect to team discipline the Dolphins were excellent, being the least penalized team in 1991.

References

Template:Asbox