| 1989 Miami Dolphins season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Don Shula |
| Home stadium | Joe Robbie Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–8 |
| Division place | 3rdAFC East |
| Playoffs | Failed to qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | |
The1989 Miami Dolphins season was the team's 24th as a member of theNational Football League (NFL). The Dolphins improved upon theirprevious season's 6–10 W-L record, winning eight games.[1] Despite this improvement they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, tying the longest such record in franchise history when the Dolphins failed to make the playoffs from 1966 to 1969. This was also the longest such record for coach Don Shula in his NFL career. 1989 was summed up for Miami in its season premiere and season finale, both losses at home: Buffalo stunned the Dolphins when they scored a TD as time ran out to win in week 1, and Kansas City won in week 16 in a contest where the gametime temperature was 32 degrees, a record for the coldest home game the Dolphins had ever played up to that time.
Shortly after the season ended, Miami Dolphins founderJoe Robbie died on January 7, 1990, at the age of 73.[2]
This was the first of 15 consecutive non-losing seasons for the Dolphins.
| 1989 Miami Dolphins draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Sammie Smith | Running back | Florida State | |
| 1 | 25 | Louis Oliver | Safety | Florida | |
| 4 | 92 | David Holmes | Defensive back | Syracuse | |
| 5 | 121 | Jeff Uhlenhake | Center | Ohio State | |
| 6 | 147 | Wes Pritchett | Linebacker | Notre Dame | |
| 7 | 176 | Jim Zdelar | Tackle | Youngstown State | |
| 8 | 203 | Pete Stoyanovich | Kicker | Indiana | |
| 9 | 232 | Dana Batiste | Linebacker | Texas A&M | |
| 10 | 259 | Deval Glover | Wide receiver | Syracuse | |
| 10 | 275 | Greg Ross | Defensive tackle | Memphis State | |
| 11 | 288 | Bert Weidner | Defensive tackle | Kent State | |
| 12 | 315 | J. B. Brown | Cornerback | Maryland | |
| Made roster | |||||
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Practice squad 47 active, 10 inactive, 3 practice squadReserve
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 10 | Buffalo Bills | L 24–27 | 0–1 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 54,541 |
| 2 | September 17 | atNew England Patriots | W 24–10 | 1–1 | Sullivan Stadium | 57,043 |
| 3 | September 24 | New York Jets | L 33–40 | 1–2 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 65,908 |
| 4 | October 1 | atHouston Oilers | L 7–39 | 1–3 | Astrodome | 53,326 |
| 5 | October 8 | Cleveland Browns | W 13–10 (OT) | 2–3 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 58,444 |
| 6 | October 15 | atCincinnati Bengals | W 20–13 | 3–3 | Riverfront Stadium | 58,184 |
| 7 | October 22 | Green Bay Packers | W 23–20 | 4–3 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 56,624 |
| 8 | October 29 | atBuffalo Bills | L 17–31 | 4–4 | Rich Stadium | 80,208 |
| 9 | November 5 | Indianapolis Colts | W 19–13 | 5–4 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 52,680 |
| 10 | November 12 | atNew York Jets | W 31–23 | 6–4 | Giants Stadium | 65,923 |
| 11 | November 19 | atDallas Cowboys | W 17–14 | 7–4 | Texas Stadium | 56,044 |
| 12 | November 26 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–34 | 7–5 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 59,936 |
| 13 | December 3 | atKansas City Chiefs | L 21–26 | 7–6 | Arrowhead Stadium | 54,610 |
| 14 | December 10 | New England Patriots | W 31–10 | 8–6 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 55,918 |
| 15 | December 17 | atIndianapolis Colts | L 13–42 | 8–7 | Hoosier Dome | 55,665 |
| 16 | December 24 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 24–27 | 8–8 | Joe Robbie Stadium | 43,612 |
Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text.
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Buffalo Bills(3) | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 6–2 | 8–4 | 409 | 317 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 7–5 | 298 | 301 | L1 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4–4 | 6–8 | 331 | 379 | L2 |
| New England Patriots | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 4–4 | 5–7 | 297 | 391 | L3 |
| New York Jets | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–6 | 3–9 | 253 | 411 | L3 |
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bills | 3 | 0 | 10 | 14 | 27 |
| Dolphins | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
atJoe Robbie Stadium,Miami, Florida
| Game information | ||
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