5 best seasons in Miami Dolphins franchise history

#4 best season in Miami Dolphins history: 1985

The 1985 season ended in bitter disappointment and will be one of the ultimate “What If” scenarios in team and league history. But it makes for one of the most memorable seasons that the franchise has ever seen. Their 12 regular-season wins are still tied for the second-most in team history, but one victory sticks out far more than the others during that year.

The Chicago Bears were on a tear in 1985, boasting one of the best defenses that the game has ever seen on their way to a 12-0 start. Leading up to Week 13, they had held their opponents to a combined 3 points in their previous three games, and just 29 points in their previous six.

They had a date in Miami on a Monday night in early December, the same franchise whose crown they were chasing as the only undefeated team in sports history. The Dolphins would defend that honor, handing the Bears their only loss of the regular season in one of the more memorable games in team history.

Miami would have gotten to do it again, on the biggest stage, by playing the Bears in the Super Bowl that year. Instead, the Dolphins lost to the rival Patriots in the AFC Championship game, robbing us of a second Super Bowl appearance for Marino and one of the most storybook matchups in NFL history.