Marino Broke Records For Passing Yards and Touchdown Passes

Published on January 21st, 2023 6:33 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


In photo:  Dan Marino.  Logic defying stats in 1984. When the Miami Dolphins lost in Super Bowl XIX to the San Francisco 49ers, Dolphins fans were disappointed but optimistic.

After all, starting QB Dan Marino had broken multiple records in just his second season in the league, as he broke the records for most passing touchdowns in a single season (48) and passing yards (5,084).

It seemed to be just a matter of time before Dan Marino brought another Super Bowl to Miami, but it never happened.

That doesn't change the fact that Marino's 1984 season was one of the best of all time.

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In his first season with Miami in 1983, Marino won the starting job halfway through the season and quickly showed his talent, passing for 2,210 yards, 20 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions.

Heading into 1984, Marino had the starting job locked up, and the organization's trust in the 23 year-old gunslinger paid off.

Marino had a couple of great weapons in Mark Clayton and Mark Duper, and both wide receivers would finish the year with over 1,300 receiving yards.

Tony Nathan supplemented the passing attack as well, as the pass-catching running back caught 61 passes for 579 yards.

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Dan Marino would get his 1984 campaign off to a great start, as he would throw 5 touchdown passes in a 35-17 win against the Washington Redskins. Marino would come just a bit short of posting a perfect passer rating in the game.

Over the next three games, Marino was good but not spectacular, throwing for 234, 296 and 257 yards, respectively.

The Dolphins started the season 4-0.

In a thrilling Week 5 contest against the St. Louis Rams, Marino would throw for 3 touchdowns and 429 yards, as his team won 36-28. This would be the first of four times in the 1984 season that Marino would throw for over 400 yards.

Over his next three games, Marino would average around 300 yards of passing per game while averaging 3 touchdown passes. The Dolphins continued to win, and were now 8-0 to start the season.

Dan Marino was the clear MVP as of the halfway point of the season.

In a Week 10 win against the New York Jets, Marino would top the 400 yard mark for the second time in the season, as he would throw for 422 yards and 2 touchdowns while leading the Dolphins to a 31-17 win.

The whispers started - could the Dolphins go undefeated once again?

The Dolphins would make it to 11-0 before falling to the San Diego Chargers in Week 12 by a score of 34-28.

Was Dan Marino angered by the loss? You'd think so, as he went on an absolute rampage to close out the season.

In each of the Dolphins' last 4 games of the 1984 season, Marino threw for 4 touchdowns. In two of these games, Marino would top the 400 yard mark.

By the end of the season, Marino had thrown for 5,084 yards, 48 touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

Dan Marino would easily win the MVP award in 1984, receiving 52 out of a total of 70 votes to win the award in just his second season in the league.

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Dan Marino's stats in 1984 defied logic.

Marino would finish with over 1,000 more passing yards than the league's third most prolific QB, Phil Simms.

Marino would throw 16 more passing touchdowns than his next closest competitor, Dave Krieg.

Marino would average nearly 320 passing yards per game.

Marino would be sacked just 13 times, as he would become incredibly adept at getting the ball away quickly.

Truly a season for the ages.

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