50 years after 'The Fake': Dolphins' Larry Seiple recalls his fake punt to help beat the Steelers, preserve a perfect season

On Christmas Eve, “Raider Nation” will have to suffer as Steelers fans at Acrisure Stadium revel in the memory of the Immaculate Reception. In honor of the 50th anniversary of that play—and that Steelers playoff victory — the league is using Pittsburgh as the stage for a rare Saturday night game when the Raiders come to town over the holiday weekend.

Franco Harris, the Hall of Fame running back who authored the Immaculate Reception, is also getting his No. 32 retired that night.

However, the Steelers are going to have to be on the other end of a similar celebration this weekend in Miami. The organization is using Sunday night’s Steelers-Dolphins game as a backdrop to honor the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Dolphins—the NFL’s only unbeaten team (17-0) in the Super Bowl era.

Before beating Washington (14-7) in Super Bowl VII to complete their unbeaten quest, the Dolphins had to dispatch the Steelers 21-17 in the AFC Championship Game — a week after the Immaculate Reception. So, with a national audience watching and the NBC cameras in town, that team is going to be honored at Hard Rock Stadium.

Perhaps the most memorable play of that AFC title game was the fake punt executed by Miami’s Larry Seiple. With the Steelers up 7-0 in the second quarter, Seiple — who also totaled 934 yards receiving as a tight end in his career — surprised the Steelers with a run on a fake punt that went for 37 yards.

It set up a game-tying touchdown catch by Larry Csonka.

#DolphinsDidYouKnow #TBT One of the iconic plays in @MiamiDolphins and @NFL history occurred in the 1972 AFC Championship Game when P Larry Seiple took off on a fake punt for a first down. Without that play, there may not have been a Perfect Season. pic.twitter.com/H2r2qSgsjk

— Columnist, Phins com (@PhinsChris) August 30, 2018

“It was only five yards,” Seiple said of the yardage needed. “With the way it looked there was nobody there. Absolutely nobody in the area I looked at, running to my right. … It was wide open. My grandmother could’ve run through that hole.”

According to Seiple, in the past, he was always empowered to run the fake — if he got the proper look from the opposing punt return unit.

Leading up to the game against the Steelers, Miami coach Don Shula told Seiple to be ready for the play call if the Steelers lined up accordingly. But when they did, and no such indication came from Shula to run the fake, Seiple said he just did it anyway.

“I’m a Dutchman from Pennsylvania. I got a thick head. And I said, ‘Well, (heck), I’m going to do this on my own,” Seiple recalled. “Thank God it worked. If it hadn’t worked, I might still be walking home from Pittsburgh.”

So what was Shula’s response when Seiple got back to the sideline?

“He didn’t say much at all. The only thing he said to the press is ‘He can do it … so long as he makes it,’” Seiple said.

One NFL Films account of the game cited Shula as calling that play the “turning point of the game.” But Seiple insists if such a moment existed, it was at halftime when Shula decided to replace quarterback Earl Morrall with Bob Griese, who had broken his leg back in Week 5 of that season.

“When I look back on it, it really wasn’t a turning point,” Seiple admitted. “On the first or second play when (Griese) got in, he hit Paul Warfield on a little slant route that went for (52) yards. That gave the offense the spark that it needed.”

Jim Kiick would end that drive with a touchdown run that gave the Dolphins a lead they would never relinquish.

Seiple enjoys being part of history with that unbeaten Dolphins team. The 77-year-old said he never wants to see another team do it again “in his lifetime.”

Although this year, Seiple admitted to being a bit conflicted. A native of Allentown, Pa., Seiple grew up a Philadelphia Eagles fan. They are the last unbeaten team in the NFL this season at 6-0.

“I’m hoping they go 15-2 in the regular season, and then they can win the playoffs,” Seiple laughed.

Also, in our podcast, Seiple and I talk about some of the other nuances of that game, such as the unseasonably balmy weather in Pittsburgh that day and why the Dolphins had to play a postseason game on the road as an unbeaten team in the first place.

Plus, we get into the instant fame Seiple got for pulling off that fake, how it is remembered in Miami and how he executed the same play to even greater results in college.

The perfect 1972 Dolphins team is being honored Sunday night during the Steelers game in Miami. This is the 50th anniversary of their undefeated run to the Super Bowl. Miami Dolphins alum Larry Seiple joins us to discuss his infamous fake punt that helped eliminate the Steelers in the 1972 AFC Championship Game.

Listen: Larry Seiple, Tim Benz discuss unbeaten 1972 Dolphins