Miami Dolphins at 50: Top 10 Games

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No. 7 – Miami Dolphins at New York Jets; Nov. 27, 1994

When the Miami Dolphins renewed their rivalry with the New York Jets at the Meadowlands in late November, both teams were in the hunt for the AFC East crown. The Jets came in with a 6-5 record while the Dolphins were on a two game skid with a record of 7-4.

To put things mildly, it wasn’t going well for Miami throughout most of the contest. New York soared to a 24-6 lead in the third quarter, which could have been a far worse deficit. However with 3:30 left in the third, Dan Marino put together an improbable comeback.

Marino and the Dolphins offense were absolutely wretched. Miami couldn’t move the ball, Marino was noticeably frustrated and threw two interceptions.

On the other side of the ball, the Miami defense had little to no answer for quarterback Boomer Esiason the Jets aerial game.

However, the game was turned on its head when Marino completed a touchdown drive with a 17-yard pass to WR Mark Ingram, his second of the day, to make it 24-12.

The Dolphins decided once again to go for the two point conversion after failing to score on their previous touchdown drive. Marino found Irving Fryar to close the gap to 24-14, victimizing Jets cornerback Aaron Glenn on both passes. The drive was over before the third quarter even came to a close.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins defense was still in implosion mode. Linebacker Anthony Beaver tackled Esiason after a scramble and knocked the ball out of his hands, which started a scrum ensued. Shortly thereafter, strong safety Michael Stewart took a swing at Jets WR Rob Moore.

While all this was happening, Esiason was leading yet another impressive drive. The Jets were at the Miami 29 and looking like they were going to squash any momentum Marino had created when a pass action pass intended for Moore was picked off by Troy Vincent.

Vincent took his third interception of the season for 22 yards, effectively swinging the game back to Miami’s favor.

Starting at the 35, Marino began chipping away at the Jets defense with a few short passes before finding Ingram for a third touchdown reception, this one for 28 yards.

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With the score 24-21, Esiason still got the ball back and continued to move the Jets offense. However, mistakes were starting to show.

An illegal movement penalty pushed the Jets back and Esiason fumbled three plays in a row to force the first punt of the day for the Jets

As it turns out, the punt was a great play for New York. O.J. McDuffie caught the short kick after a few bounces and attempt to return it. He fumbled the ball away to New York and the Jets were now in Miami territory.

Only a few plays into the possession, Esiason attempted to go for the big play. He went deep towards the endzone to WR Steve Anderson, but Dolphins cornerback J.B. Brown tipped the pass to himself and came away with the huge interception.

After two possessions, the Dolphins began a late fourth quarter drive at their own 16 yard line. Fryar was injured after an 18-yard completion, the first play of the possession, with 2:20 left.

Without Fryar, Marino used all of his options to guide Miami inside the ten with the clock ticking below 30 seconds. Marino made the signal to spike the ball. The players rushed to the line after Ingram was tackled in bounds. As the clock hits 25 seconds, Marino snaps the ball.

In an instant, Marino drops back and fires without hesitation. The ball is sent right between Ingram’s numbers as he makes the game winning catch. Glenn could only look around absolutely mystified. In just three seconds, Miami just pulled off one of the most memorable plays in NFL history.

Not only did it save the Dolphins’ season, as they would finished 10-6 and make the playoffs, but it destroyed the Jets’ campaign. New York didn’t win a game for the rest of the season.

In the comeback effort, Marino threw for 359 yards and four touchdowns, Ingram caught all four TDs and compiled 117 yards on nine catches.

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