AFC Championship, 1972: Miami 21 Pittsburgh 17

Game information
The Dolphins continued their unbeaten streak as substitute quarterback Bob Griese, who had not started a game since week 5, led the team to two touchdowns in the second half.

Things started well for Pittsburgh as safety Glen Edwards intercepted a pass from Earl Morrall on the opening drive and returned it 28 yards to the Dolphins 48. Steelers running back Franco Harris subsequently gained 35 yards on 7 carries as the team drove to a third and 2 on the Miami 3-yard line. On the next play, Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw fumbled the ball as he tried to run into the end zone, but right offensive guard Gerry Mullins recovered it for a touchdown, giving the Steelers an early 7–0 lead. Unfortunately for the Steelers, Bradshaw was injured on the play and did not return until the fourth quarter. The Dolphins tied the game after punter Larry Seiple's 37-yard run on a fake punt set up Morrall's 9-yard touchdown pass to fullback Larry Csonka. The score would remain tied 7–7 at the end of the first half.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Steelers quarterback Terry Hanratty completed passes to John McMakin and Ron Shanklin for gains of 22 and 24 yards, while John Fuqua added 24 yards on a draw play as the team drove to a 14-yard field goal by Roy Gerela, putting them up 10–7. At this point, Bob Griese, who had been sidelined with a broken leg for 10 weeks, replaced Morrall and threw a 52-yard completion to Paul Warfield on his first pass attempt. Miami also caught a break on the drive when an offsides penalty against Pittsburgh wiped out an interception by linebacker Jack Ham. Eventually, Jim Kiick finished the 11-play, 80-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, giving the Dolphins their first lead at 14–10. Near the end of the third quarter, Seiple's 33-yard punt gave Pittsburgh a first down on the Miami 48. Harris ran for 7 yards on the first play, but this was followed by two incompletions and Gerela's 48-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

Taking over on the Steelers' 49 after the blocked field goal, the Dolphins drove 49 yards on an 11-play drive that only had one pass play. Kiick finished it off with a 3-yard touchdown run, giving Miami a 21-10 fourth quarter lead. However, Bradshaw returned to the game for the Steelers' next drive and quickly led them to a score. He started the drive with a 9-yard pass to tight end Larry Brown, and followed it up with consecutive 25-yard completions to Al Young and Shanklin. On the fourth play of the possession, he threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Young, cutting the score to 21–17. But on Pittsburgh's last two drives, he threw interceptions to Miami linebackers Nick Buoniconti and Mike Kolen, enabling the Dolphins to run out the rest of the clock.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Dolphins and Steelers.

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