Raiders and Dolphins Set to Renew Classic Rivalry

The Oakland Raiders are in Sarasota, Fla., this week preparing for their NBC Sunday Night Football matchup with the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. The all-time regular season series is tied 16-16-1, and the Raiders have won three out of four postseason contests.

The Silver and Black traveled to South Florida to open the 1966 season with a first-ever meeting against the AFL expansion Miami Dolphins at the Orange Bowl on Sept. 2. The Raiders came away with a 23-14 victory that day, and swept the series later that season, 21-10 in Oakland. The Raiders tore through the 1967 season, taking a third consecutive victory against the Dolphins, 31-17, en route to finishing the season on top of the AFL Western Division with a 13-1 record, and winning the AFL title. The Silver and Black continued to dominate the series against the Dolphins, taking the 1968 and 1969 meetings 47-21 and 20-17, respectively.

From 1966-69, the Dolphins compiled a 15-39-2 record. In 1970, new Head Coach Don Shula engineered a turnaround, and by the 1971 season, had his team in the Super Bowl.

After the AFL-NFL merger was completed and the leagues were re-aligned, the Raiders met the Dolphins in the postseason for the first time on Dec. 27, 1970 for the right to advance to the AFC Championship. The game, which took place among the Raider faithful, remained close until the third quarter when the Silver and Black pulled away with an 82-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Daryle Lamonica to wide receiver Rod Sherman giving the Raiders a 21-14 win and sending them to a date with the Baltimore Colts in the first-ever AFC Championship game.

In Week 2 of the 1973 season, the Raiders faced a Dolphins team riding an 18-game winning streak at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif. The Dolphins were fresh off the first and still only undefeated season in NFL history, and had won their Week 1 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. Four George Blanda field goals and suffocating defense produced a 12-7 Raiders win, snapping the Dolphins unbeaten streak. 

Later in 1973, the Dolphins topped the Raiders 27-10 in the AFC Championship game, the first of five-straight conference title game appearances for the Silver and Black.

In one of the most exciting games of the series, the reigning World Champion Dolphins marched into Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for an AFC Divisional Playoff on Dec. 21, 1974. The game was a seesaw affair, until Raiders heroics proved to be the difference in the game. An eight-yard pass from Hall of Fame quarterback Ken Stabler to running back Clarence Davis in a "Sea of Hands" in the final seconds of the game put the Raiders on top 28-26. Linebacker Phil Villapiano sealed the win when he intercepted a quarterback Bob Griese pass in the waning moments as Miami tried to get in field goal range. With the win, the Raiders ended the Dolphins' hopes of reaching a fourth consecutive Super Bowl.

The Silver and Black opened the 1975 regular season with a road trip to Miami, taking home a 31-21 win on the way to finishing the season on top of the AFC West and an AFC Championship game appearance. Miami won a 1978 meeting, 23-6, while the Raiders came away with a 13-3 win against the Dolphins in 1979.

The Raiders and Dolphins teed it up again in 1980 and the Raiders scored a home victory, 16-10, en route to a win in Super Bowl XV. The Silver and Black won again in 1981, 33-17. The 1983 meeting marked the first trip to the Raiders' new home in Los Angeles for the Dolphins. The Silver and Black, under the lights of Monday Night Football, came away with a 27-14 victory, holding the Dolphins scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter. With the win, the Raiders raised their incredible Monday Night Football record to an astonishing 20-2-1. The Raiders went on to become Super Bowl champs once again that season.

The Raiders and Dolphins played another classic in 1984, with the Raiders claiming an exciting 45-34 victory. Miami led 27-24 heading into the 4th quarter, but the Raiders exploded for 21 points in the final stanza on the strength of two Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen touchdown runs. The Raiders survived quarterback Dan Marino's 470 passing yards. Allen rushed for 155 yards and three scores for the victors.  

The Raiders entered the 1986 season as the reigning AFC Western Division champs, however, Week 7 against the Dolphins provided a tough challenge. The Silver and Black raced out to a big lead, but Miami fought back, erasing a 30-14 deficit. Marino hit wide receiver Mark Clayton for a 68-yard touchdown to cut the Raiders lead to two, but the Raiders held on for a 30-28 victory at the Orange Bowl. 

In 1990, the Raiders won another close one, 13-10 in Miami. The Dolphins won the next two matchups, 20-7 in Miami in 1992, and 20-17 in overtime in 1994, also in Miami.

In 1996, the Dolphins paid their first visit to Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum since the Raiders relocated back to Oakland in 1995. The Raiders won that meeting, 17-7.

The teams renewed their playoff rivalry after the 2000 season. The Raiders met the Dolphins in the AFC Divisional Playoffs. The Raiders blanked the Dolphins 27-0 in the Silver and Black's first-ever shutout victory in the playoffs. Miami took the opening kickoff and started the game with an impressive march into Raiders territory. Cornerback Tory James jumped a quarterback Jay Fiedler pass and raced 90 yards for the touchdown to put the Raiders up 7-0. Oakland held Miami to just 204 total yards on the day, and only needed 267 of their own. The Silver and Black controlled the ball for 37:24 to Miami's 22:26 as the Raiders rushed for 140 yards on the day. 

Miami won the next three regular season meetings to run their streak to six straight in the series, 18-15 in 2001, 23-17 in 2002, and 33-21 in 2005.

The Raiders traveled to Miami in 2007. Running back Justin Fargas enjoyed a career day as he rushed for 179 yards, with 175 of that total coming in the second half. The Raiders came away with a 35-17 victory. Running back Lamont Jordan had rushed for 74 yards before leaving the game due to injury. The Raiders ran for 299 yards that day, the sixth-best single-game rushing performance in team history. 

The Dolphins won a 2008 matchup, hanging on for a 17-15 win in Miami. The Dolphins took a 33-17 decision in Oakland in 2010, won the last two in Miami in 2011 and 2012 respectively, and defeated the Raiders 38-14 in an International Series Game at Wembley Stadium in London in 2014.

The Raiders will be looking rebound from this past Sunday's loss in Buffalo, and the Dolphins are coming off a shut-out loss in Baltimore. This will be the Raiders first trip to Miami since the Dolphins' stadium was renovated and renamed Hard Rock Stadium. 

Over the years, this matchup has featured numerous Hall of Famers – nine for Miami and 21 for the Raiders – and featured three of the greatest head coaches to ever walk the sidelines, John Madden and Tom Flores on the Raiders' side, and Don Shula on the Dolphins' side. Now Jack Del Rio will match wits with Adam Gase, with whom he spent three years with on the Denver Broncos' coaching staff. Del Rio was the defensive coordinator and Gase was the offensive coordinator.