1988 Miami Dolphins season

The 1988 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 23rd as a member of the National Football League (NFL). The Dolphins failed to improve upon their previous season's output of 8–7, winning only six games^[1] and failing to reach the playoffs for the third straight season.

1988 Miami Dolphins season
Head coach	Don Shula
Home stadium	Joe Robbie Stadium
Results
Record	6–10
Division place	5th AFC East
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	2 WR Mark Clayton NT Brian Sochia
← 1987 Dolphins seasons 1989 →

Even without future Pro Football Hall of Fame center Dwight Stephenson, who was forced to retire prior to this season due to injuries, the Dolphins offensive line set the record for fewest sacks in a single season with 7 during 1988, protecting quarterback Dan Marino. Marino was only sacked on 0.98% of his dropbacks in 1988, also a single-season NFL record.^[2]

This would be the last time Don Shula recorded a losing record during his tenure as Dolphins coach, and in his coaching career overall. It would be the final losing season for the Dolphins for 15 years.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1987 NFL draft

1988 Miami Dolphins draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	16	Eric Kumerow	Linebacker	Ohio State
2	42	Jarvis Williams	Safety	Florida
3	73	Ferrell Edmunds *	Tight end	Maryland
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1988 Miami Dolphins staff

Front office President – Joe Robbie Executive vice president/general manager – Mike Robbie Vice president of administration and finance – Eddie Jones Vice president – Don Shula Director of player personnel – Chuck Connor Director of pro scouting – Charley Winner Head coaches Head coach – Don Shula Assistant head coach – David Shula Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/pass game – David Shula Offensive backs – Carl Taseff Receivers – Larry Seiple Tight ends – Mike Westhoff Offensive line – John Sandusky

Defensive coaches Defense – Tom Olivadotti Defensive line – Dan Sekanovich Linebackers – Chuck Studley Defensive backs – Mel Phillips Special teams coaches Special teams – Mike Westhoff Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Junior Wade

Roster

1988 Miami Dolphins roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 17 Ron Jaworski 13 Dan Marino Running backs (RB) 34 Woody Bennett FB 20 Joe Cribbs KR 33 Tony Burse 30 Ron Davenport FB 27 Lorenzo Hampton 11 Jim Jensen FB 23 Troy Stradford Wide receivers (WR) 86 Fred Banks 83 Mark Clayton 81 Scott Schwedes PR 82 Jimmy Teal Tight ends (TE) 80 Ferrell Edmunds 88 Brian Kinchen LS

Offensive linemen (OL) 77 Louis Cheek T 65 Jeff Dellenbach C 61 Roy Foster G 62 Harry Galbreath G 79 Jon Giesler T 73 Greg Johnson T 72 Ronnie Lee T 76 Tom Toth G Defensive linemen (DL) 98 Jackie Cline DE 93 Jeff Cross DE 92 Nate Hill DE 69 Mike Lambrecht NT 70 Brian Sochia NT 95 T. J. Turner DE

Linebackers (LB) 51 Mark Brown ILB 59 Bob Brudzinski OLB 53 David Frye OLB 58 Tony Furjanic ILB 99 Rick Graf OLB 55 Hugh Green OLB 54 Larry Kolic ILB 56 John Offerdahl ILB Defensive backs (DB) 43 Bud Brown SS 29 Liffort Hobley SS 49 William Judson CB 44 Paul Lankford CB 28 Don McNeal CB 38 Bruce Plummer CB 24 Reyna Thompson CB 26 Jarvis Williams FS Special teams (ST)  7 Fuad Reveiz K  4 Reggie Roby P

Reserve 47 Glenn Blackwood S (IR) 97 John Bosa DE (IR) 36 Tom Brown FB (PUP) 67 Chris Conlin T (PUP) 74 Mark Dennis T (IR) 85 Mark Duper WR (NF-Ill.) 84 Bruce Hardy TE (IR) 87 Dan Johnson TE (PUP) 90 Eric Kumerow DE (IR) 52 Scott Nicolas LB (IR) 68 Chris Scott DE (IR) 50 Jackie Shipp LB (IR) 48 Chad Stark RB (IR) 57 Dwight Stephenson C (PUP) 45 Rodney Thomas CB (IR) Rookies in italics 47 active, 15 reserve

^[3]

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 4	at Chicago Bears	L 7–34	0–1	Soldier Field	63,330
2	September 11	at Buffalo Bills	L 6–9	0–2	Rich Stadium	79,520
3	September 18	Green Bay Packers	W 24–17	1–2	Joe Robbie Stadium	54,409
4	September 25	at Indianapolis Colts	L 13–15	1–3	Hoosier Dome	59,638
5	October 2	Minnesota Vikings	W 24–7	2–3	Joe Robbie Stadium	59,867
6	October 9	at Los Angeles Raiders	W 24–14	3–3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	50,751
7	October 16	San Diego Chargers	W 31–28	4–3	Joe Robbie Stadium	58,972
8	October 23	New York Jets	L 30–44	4–4	Joe Robbie Stadium	68,292
9	October 30	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 17–14	5–4	Tampa Stadium	67,352
10	November 6	at New England Patriots	L 10–21	5–5	Sullivan Stadium	60,840
11	November 14	Buffalo Bills	L 6–31	5–6	Joe Robbie Stadium	67,091
12	November 20	New England Patriots	L 3–6	5–7	Joe Robbie Stadium	53,526
13	November 27	at New York Jets	L 34–38	5–8	Giants Stadium	52,752
14	December 4	Indianapolis Colts	L 28–31	5–9	Joe Robbie Stadium	45,236
15	December 12	Cleveland Browns	W 38–31	6–9	Joe Robbie Stadium	61,884
16	December 18	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–40	6–10	Three Rivers Stadium	36,051

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 5

First time Dan Marino faced the Minnesota Vikings in the regular season.

Minnesota Vikings (3-1) at Miami Dolphins (2-2)

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	0	0	7	7
• Dolphins	0	17	7	0	24

• Date: Oct 2, 1988
• Location: Joe Robbie Stadium
• Game start: 4:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 59,867
• Game weather: 88 °F (31 °C) - Wind 8 mph (13 km/h)mph
• Referee: Jerry Markbreit
• TV announcers (CBS): Dick Stockton and Dan Fouts

^[4]

Week 6

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Dolphins	0	24	0	0	24
Raiders	0	0	7	7	14

• Date: October 9
• Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles
• Game start: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather: 74 °F (23 °C), wind 10 mph (16 km/h)

Scoring summary

2		MIA	Lorenzo Hampton 1 yard run (Fuad Reveiz kick)	Dolphins 7–0
2		MIA	Liffort Hobley 19 yard fumble return (Fuad Reveiz kick)	Dolphins 14–0
2		MIA	Fuad Reveiz 45 yard field goal	Dolphins 17–0
2		MIA	Jim Jensen 17 yard pass from Dan Marino (Fuad Reveiz kick)	Dolphins 24–0
3		LA	Mervyn Fernandez 7 yard pass from Jay Schroeder (Chris Bahr kick)	Dolphins 24–7
4		LA	Steve Strachan 13 yard pass from Jay Schroeder (Chris Bahr kick)	Dolphins 24–14

^[5]

Standings

AFC East
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Buffalo Bills(2)	12	4	0	.750	7–1	10–2	329	237	L1
Indianapolis Colts	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	354	315	W1
New England Patriots	9	7	0	.563	5–3	7–5	250	284	L1
New York Jets	8	7	1	.531	3–5	6–7–1	372	354	W2
Miami Dolphins	6	10	0	.375	0–8	3–9	319	380	L1

Awards and records

• October 23, 1988: Dan Marino set a franchise record for most passing yards in one game (521)^[6]
• November 6, 1988: Jim Jensen set a franchise record for most receptions in one game (12) ^[6]
• Brian Sochia, Pro Bowl selection