10 Worst Miami Dolphins games of the last decade and more
3. 10/26/17 Baltimore 40 Miami Dolphins 0
Coming off an emotional win versus the Jets, Miami was 4-2 and feeling good heading into their Thursday night contest in Baltimore.
It was a ‘respectable’ 20-0 game heading into the 4th quarter but two ‘pick 6’ touchdowns thrown by Matt Moore ended any chance for a comeback. The Dolphins would finish with 221 yards of total offense while the Ravens would gain 174 on the ground.
This was the first of five consecutive losses for the Dolphins on the way to a 6-10 finish.
2. 12/22/13 Buffalo Bills 19 Miami Dolphins 0
Entering Week 16 of the 2003 season, the Dolphins were coming off a surprise home victory against the New England Patriots and were in the thick of the playoff hunt.
Over the next four quarters, the Bills would totally stuff the Dolphins on offense. Ryan Tannehill would complete 37% of his passes and throw two interceptions while the team rushed for a total of 14 yards on the day. Meanwhile, defensively the Dolphins would allow the Bills to pound the ball down their throat 51 times for 203 yards.
As it turns out, a victory would have gotten them into the playoffs, instead, the team would end the season with a 20-7 loss to the rival Jets and miss the playoffs. In the end, nothing could top our #1 worst game of the decade….
1. 10/7/18 Cincinnati Bengals 27 Miami Dolphins 17
The Dolphins were 3-1 heading into Week 5 against the Bengals; their only loss being the drubbing at New England the week before. (See #4 on this list.)
The Dolphins looked to be back on track as they dominated the Bengals 17-3 after three quarters. From there it all went downhill.
RB Kenny Mixon capped off an 8-play 71 yard drive with an 18-yard pass from Andy Dalton to make it 17-10 on the first play of the fourth quarter. On the ensuing drive, LT Laremy Tunsil goes out with an injury and, without him, the offensive line implodes.
Backup tackle Sam Young whiffs on a block and Ryan Tannehill panicked; throwing a ‘hook shot’ into the middle of the defensive line and Michael Johnson took it 22 yards for a TD.
Two drives later, Bengals DL Carlos Dunlap strip-sacked Tannehill and Sam Hubbard returned it 19 yards to make it 27-17 Bengals.
From there, Adam Gase no longer trusted the Dolphins offensive line and the offense went into a shell until an offensive holding penalty made it 3rd and 22 at which time Tannehill was forced to throw and that pass was intercepted by Jesse Bates.
In that fourth quarter, the Dolphins had four drives for 37 yards before the final 32 seconds of the game when the Bengals defense was playing a soft zone.
As bad as this sounds as I’m writing it, I can still remember the nauseous feeling that accompanied actually watching this debacle happen.
Well, now that you’ve read this list, do you agree with the order? Is there a game I missed? As always, I look forward to the comments.
(For those that can’t wait to get the taste out of your mouth after reliving these games, stay tuned for my next article where I will compile the list of the “10 BEST games of the last decade”.