The 75 Best Miami Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 1-5

The last two seasons have been generally good and often memorable for the Miami Dolphins, who reached the playoffs thanks to one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL.

That’s evident in our ranking of the 75 best Dolphins games from the 2000s, which includes seven games from 2022 (the most of any season) and another four games from last season.

Of course, this is all subjective and every Dolphins fan may have a different take on each game. For us, it was all about the entertainment value of the game combined with its meaning, with bonus points for anything out of the ordinary, like a ridiculous three-way finish or a team being called out of the locker room 30 minutes after everyone thought the game was over.

And yes, the list also includes a number of Dolphins losses that were purely due to entertainment value and quality of play.

Here it is, our countdown of the 75 best Dolphins games of the 2000s, ending with numbers 1-5:

The NFL games of September 23, 2001 were going to be special regardless of what was happening on the field because of the emotionally charged atmosphere of the first games after the events of 9/11. Combine that setting with the ending of this game and you can see why this deserves a top 5 spot on our countdown. The Dolphins were out of timeouts as they began their final drive trailing 15-10 on a pick-six early in the fourth quarter. They hit third-and-2 at the Raiders’ 2-yard line with 12 seconds left after spiking the ball when Jay Fiedler rolled to his right and decided to run after finding no one open. He dove into the end zone for the winning touchdown, and his fist-over-head celebration while lying on his stomach made the cover of Sports Illustrated.

This game ranks fourth in our countdown because of the back-and-forth fourth quarter, the miraculous “facemask pass” that set the stage for one of the most improbable comebacks the Dolphins have ever attempted, and the fact that the win gave the Dolphins a chance to earn a playoff spot in the 2020 Finals — though they fell short miserably. This was “FitzMagic” at his finest, as he came off the bench to start the second half and helped the Dolphins rally after an insane fourth quarter with Nelson Agholor’s 85-yard touchdown for the Raiders, followed by Myles Gaskin’s 59-yard score on a short reception, followed by a 49-yard penalty to Byron Jones for DPI and Daniel Carlson’s seemingly game-winning field goal, followed by the 34-yard completion to Mack Hollins on the “facemask pass” that set up Jason Sanders’ game-winning kick — all of which happened in the final 4 minutes.

The “Miracle in Miami” alone would have earned the crazy final play a spot in our countdown, but then you have to consider that this was a highly entertaining game even before that wild finish, and it was also a game that put the Dolphins in position to make a playoff run — and while it didn’t work out, it doesn’t diminish the significance of the win at the time. What makes this game special, of course, is the final play, the three-way, 69-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to Kenny Stills to DeVante Parker and ultimately to Kenyan Drake. Six years later, the highlight reel continues to resonate, along with CBS play-by-play man Ian Eagle’s great call: “And this will end it on the kick, or will it? … Oh, watch out!”

The greatest comeback in Dolphins history. Tua Tagovailoa’s coming out party. No one saw it coming when Baltimore opened the game with Devin Duvernay’s kickoff return for a touchdown and later made it a 35-14 score when Lamar Jackson ran 79 yards for a touchdown. But Tua and the Dolphins were undeterred, coming up with four touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, two long passes to Tyreek Hill and the game-winning 7-yarder to Jaylen Waddle after Baltimore had regained the lead at 38-35.

Yes, we have to go with the obvious choice for our best game of the 2000s, the Dolphins’ only playoff win of the millennium (disappointing as that may be). And it wasn’t just that the Dolphins won the game in overtime, it was because it featured an all-time great individual performance from Lamar Smith, a great Dolphins comeback in the final minute, and a number of close calls where the Colts had a chance to win the game. This was a close game throughout, but the Dolphins needed a touchdown to tie the score when they got the ball on their 20 with 4:47 left in regulation. In perhaps his finest hour as a Dolphins QB, Jay Fiedler engineered a 14-play touchdown drive that ended with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jed Weaver on third-and-goal. Despite having all three timeouts remaining, the Colts surprisingly decided to go to overtime after getting the ball on their 20 with 28 seconds left — with Peyton Manning at quarterback. The Dolphins had a narrow victory in overtime when Mike Vanderjagt missed a 49-yard field goal attempt after the Colts called an offside penalty that would have sent them to a third-and-7 from the Miami 37-yard line. The Dolphins then gained three first downs, two on third-down conversions, to set the stage for Smith, who capped his 209-yard performance with a 17-yard touchdown run to the delight of the fans at what was then known as Pro Player Stadium.

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 71-75

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 66-70

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 61-65

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 56-60

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 51-55

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 46-50

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— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 26-30

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 21-25

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 16-20

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 11-15

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 6-10