Miami Dolphins: Top 5 moments of the 2000s

Moment #1: The Wildcat Game

The look on Bill Belichick’s face will forever be etched in our minds.

The 2008 Dolphins were 0-2 after finishing 1-15 the season prior, and hadn’t won a game in regulation in 21 tries. The Patriots were coming off of their historic 16-0 regular season, but had lost Tom Brady early due to the aforementioned injury. Still, New England was a 12.5 point favorite for their Week 3 matchup with Miami, and there was little reason to believe that the Dolphins would be picking up their first win of the season on this Sunday. But head coach Tony Sparano and offensive coordinator Dan Henning had a trick up their sleeves.

Unveiled for the first time in this contest was the Wildcat formation, which became one of the keys to Miami’s success that season. The Patriots had no idea what hit them when Ronnie Brown faked a hand off to a sweeping Ricky Williams and stumbled in for an untouched touchdown. The Bill Belichick defense that is known for making proper adjustments remained bewildered as the Dolphin’s threw in wrinkle after wrinkle to the formation. Brown would eventually end the game with five total touchdowns, including a 19-yard passing score to Anthony Fasano, a product of the Wildcat formation.

The reason that the moment lives in such infamy amongst the Miami Dolphins’ fan base is not because the team tricked Belichick and the Patriots. It was that they left them perplexed at a time when they were all but untouchable. Miami fans not only had to endure the misery of the one-win season in 2007, but they also had to watch New England nearly run the table, almost taking away the one accomplishment that we so often lean on (thank God for the New York Giants). The Patriots would of course rule the division for another decade, but for a moment there in late September 2008, it felt as though the tide may have been changing.