For more than 50 years, the Miami Dolphins have turned in some of the most exciting and exhilarating games in NFL history. They have also turned in some incredible heartbreaks.
From the precipice of perfection to the edge of going winless, Miami fans have endured some of the toughest moments over those years. Players have endeared themselves to the fans, while others have made them cringe.
We took a look through that history to highlight some of the ups, downs, and 25 of the most memorable, good or bad, moments in Dolphins history.
25. Dolphins avoid 0-16
We will start here because if there was ever a single play that encapsulates both the joy and pain of being a Dolphins fan, this is it. In Week 15 of the 2007 season, the Dolphins had yet to win a game. On December 16th, the Dolphins hosted the Baltimore Ravens, who had won only four games at the time.
The Dolphins, led by Cleo Lemon, managed to keep the team in the game, but when time ran out, they headed to another period. Fans were beside themselves after Cam Cameron was named the team's head coach to replace Nick Saban, but nothing had gone well for the supposed "offensive genius."
Miami only had two more games left in the season, but 8:14 into the extra period, Lemon found WR Greg Camarillo on a crossing route. Camarillo outsprinted the Ravens coverage as the stadium erupted, a 64-yard catch-and-run to give the Dolphins their only win of the year.
24. The Wrong QB Decision
Nothing can make Dolphins fans cringe with pain more than watching Drew Brees throw touchdown passes, talk to the media, and don his gold Hall of Fame jacket. Absolutely nothing is worse, but hey, we got Daunte Culpepper.
The decision to trade a second-round pick for the Vikings franchise QB sounded like a bad deal at the time; after all, Brees was free. Medical doctors chimed in, and Brees left Miami like a cross breeze from coast to coast, landing him in New Orleans. The rest was history, and so has the Dolphins' pursuit of a quarterback since then.
Brees was everything the city of New Orleans needed at that time, so in some ways it almost feels like a "divine intervention" of sorts, but for Dolphins fans it's been a curse. Culpepper played just four games for the Dolphins. Nick Saban quit after the season, and if all of that wasn't enough, Cam Cameron released Culpepper, who then started for the Raiders.
In week 4 of the 2007 season, Culpepper returned to Miami and led his Raiders to a 35-17 victory, throwing for one touchdown and running for three others. The Raiders would lose the next six games and the final four. The Dolphins would win all season.
23. Miami Miracle
Tom Brady is widely considered the "GOAT" of NFL quarterbacks. Maybe that's true, but when it came to playing for the Dolphins, Brady didn't always find it easy. December 19th, 2018, was one of those games. The two teams traded leads throughout the game. New England kicked a field goal with under a minute left to go up 33-28. With 7 seconds left, the ball was on the Dolphins' 31. History was made.
The immortal words of broadcast announcer Ian Eagle. "Seven seconds left. Tannehill will throw it... and this will end it after the shovel. Or will it?" Eagle said as the Dolphins made their first lateral on the play. "Miami running around. Circling. Oh look out! Gronkowski! Didn't have the angle! Touchdown! Oh ho Kenyan Drake! A miracle! [pause] Miraculous in Miami! Stills... to Parker, to Drake! A lateral... heard 'round the world!"
The victory extended the Dolphins' chances of making the playoffs. They didn't. The Patriots would be denied another AFC East title, but would eventually lose home-field advantage and would go on to win the Super Bowl.
The play that saw Kenny Stills pitch Ryan Tannehill's pass to De'Vante Parker, who then tossed it to Kenyan Drake, is the only multi-lateral play in NFL history to win a game on the final play. It was a highlight of an otherwise poor season.
22. Dan Marino's return
It was less than a year since Marino tore his Achille's tendon. He needed a special shoe to do rehab due to the nature of the tear, but on September 4th, 1994, the Dolphins legend returned to the field in what would become a statement game for the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
Patriots' QB Drew Bledose led his team to a 14-10 half-time lead, but the fireworks didn't start until the third quarter. The two teams traded touchdowns throughout the third before the Dolphins doubled-up in the 4th to take their first lead.
The Patriots stormed back again with another Bledsoe TD, but Marino wouldn't quit. On 4th and five from the Patriots 35, the Dolphins opted to go for it. Marino, in typical Marino fashion, threw to the endzone hitting Iriving Fryar for what would become the game winning touchdown.
Marino's Achille's comeback was documented in The Fish Tank documentary, The Comeback, presented by Seth Levit and O.J. McDuffie.
21. Leon Lett's Thanksgiving Treat
Believe it or not, it does snow in Dallas, Texas. Sometimes. It did on November 25th, 1993. While millions of Americans were tuned in for turkey dinners and NFL football, the Don Shula-coached Dolphins were squaring off against Jimmy Johnson's Cowboys. It was a down-to-the-wire kind of game.
The game wasn't much for the scoreboard. A 14-7 halftime lead for the Cowboys, who were shut out in the second half. Two Pete Stoyonovich field goals in the second half put the Dolphins a point down with 13 seconds left. The Dolphins cleared a spot for their kicker's game-winning 41-yard FG, but it was blocked.
On the Cowboys' sideline, owner Jerry Jones was celebrating, and Johnson was celebrating, but then everything changed as several Dolphins defenders began fighting for the ball. Lett slid to recover the blocked punt, kicking it toward the end zone. A scramble at the goal line ensued, and the Dolphins recovered the illegally touched block.
Frantically, the Dolphins players cleared a spot for Stoyanovich for a second time, and with three seconds left on the clock, the Dolphins won the game. While it was a victory for Miami that put them at 9-2 on the year, the Dolphins would lose their remaining five games and miss the playoffs. The Cowboys would win the rest of their games and beat Buffalo in the Super Bowl.
20. The Snow Plow Game
The Dolphins are no stranger to controversial finishes, but many of the games played under Don Shula were handled well. He was, after all, a senior member of the league's competition committee. ON December 12th 1982, it didn't matter.
Over the last couple of decades, the Patriots have had their own brand of rules circumvention and illegal methods of bending those rules, even downright cheating allegations, but on this cold, wintry day in Foxboro, it was a prison work release inmate that would forever leave an indelible mark on the league.
The blizzard-like conditions led to a scoreless game deep into the fourth quarter when the Patriots moved into field goal range. There were five minutes left; Patriots coach Ron Meyer called a timeout and waved for Mark Henderson to drive the snowplow onto the field to clear a path, while Don Shula vehemently objected. The referees allowed it, and the kick was good.
Miami would lose 3-0, and Shula spent the next several days loudly protesting the use of the play, calling it "The most unfair act in NFL history." The league allowed it. The 1982 season was shortened due to a player's strike. Miami would exact their revenge in the first round of the playoffs knocking off the Patriots 28-13. Miami would lose to the Washington Redskins in the Super Bowl.
19. The Fake Spike (Nov 27 1994)
On November 27, 1994, the New York Jets opened with a 17-0 lead. In the 4th quarter, the Dolphins would climb back into the game by intercepting Boomer Esiason three times. Down 24-21, with 38 seconds left in the game and the Dolphins facing a critical down from the Jets' 8-yard line, Dan Marino began yelling "Clock, Clock, Clock," as he signaled with his Jetshand that he was going to spike the ball to stop the clock.
The Dolphins lined up, but only the linemen got into full formation. On the boundary, Mark Ingram stood as if waiting for the spike. Across from him, Aaron Glenn lazily expected nothing. Marino faked the spike, and Ingram ran into the end zone for the winning touchdown, much to the shock and surprise of the Jets home crowd.
Backup quarterback Bernie Kosar brought the play with him when he signed with them. He and Don Shula thought it was the right time to see if it would work. It did. To this day, it's one of the most replayed highlights in the NFL. The Jets would finish the season 6-10, while the Dolphins would eventually lose to the Chargers in the division round of the playoffs. A game that would become known as the "Smoking Canon."
18. Stoyanovich's missed FG in San Diego
The Dolphins were clicking, and it looked as though they were the new team to beat in the AFC. The Chargers were being carried by Stan Humphries, the Dolphins by Dan Marino, but it would be a shroud of smoke and a missed field goal that would end the Dolphins' season.
The Dolphins carried a 21-6 lead into the second half and a 21-13 lead into the 4th quarter before the Chargers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 48 seconds left in the game. The Chargers fired off their TD cannon, leaving a thick layer of smoke hovering over the stadium.
Marino took the team into field goal range, setting up a Pete Stoyanovich game-winning TD that would have sent Miami to Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship game. The kick went up, and the hopes of another Super Bowl season vanished as it sailed wide right with 1 second left on the clock. The Chargers would beat the Steelers a week later before losing in the Super Bowl to the 49ers.
The game would be the closest Don Shula would ever get to another Super Bowl. In 1995, Stoyanovich played his final season for the Dolphins, and Shula would retire at the end of the year following a loss in the Wild Card round.
17. The Wild Cat Debut
The Dolphins were coming off their worst season in franchise history. Cam Cameron was fired, and Bill Parcells was brought in to change the direction of the franchise. A change that, nearly 20 years later, is still trying to be untangled.
It was 2008; the Dolphins' new head coach, Tony Sparano, was a tough guy who coached with discipline. The Dolphins started the season 0-2 as they continued the losing ways from the previous 1-15 team. Then, assistant coach David Lee handed the blueprints for his "Wild Hog," a play he ran while coaching the Arkansas Razorbacks. Then OC Dan Henning installed it into the Dolphins' offense.
With Chad Pennington methodically working the passing game, Henning debuted the Wild Cat in week three against an unsuspecting Patriots team in Foxboro. The Patriots couldn't stop it. Miami took over the game quickly. Brown ran for three touchdowns, including a 62-yarder, and threw for another one. They won 38-13, leaving Bill Belichick blistering on the sidelines.
The Dolphins would roll through teams the rest of the season on the legs of Ronnie Brown, who was lining up for a direct snap. The Dolphins would turn their 1-15 season into an 11-5 AFC East division title, but the WC would eventually get stopped, and the Baltimore Ravens trounced the team 27-9 in the first round. It was a great gimmick that the Dolphins held onto for too long, eventually leading them to disaster. A year later, Miami's downfall began as the WC wasn't a surprise anymore.
16. Dan Marino's Achilles Injury
1993 was supposed to be the big turnaround for the Dolphins. The year they pushed through and won a Super Bowl. They were coming off a brutal loss in the AFC Championship game to the Bills. Everything was looking like a return to that title game was in the cards.
The Dolphins traveled to Cleveland on October 10, 1993. They were 3-1, and the Browns were not expected to be a problem. Instead, it was the field that became the problem. Leading 10-7 with the ball on the Browns' 20-yard line and one second over 1:00 minute left in the first half, Marino dropped back to pass, then dropped to the ground.
Marino would describe it as "being kicked." His Achilles was torn, and his recovery was problematic. The Dolphins turned to Scott Mitchell, whose first pass after Marino's injury was intercepted.
The 1993 season would see the Dolphins finish 9-7, beat the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day thanks to Leon Lett, and then lose their remaining five games of the year. Meanwhile, Marino's consecutive-start streak was over, and two years later, Don Shula was calling it quits.
15. Don Shula eclipses George Halas - 325
George Halas was not only the winningest coach in NFL history, but he was also but the head coach that every other coach wanted to be. He was the gold standard. On November 14th, the Dolphins traveled to Veterans Stadium to take on the Philadelphia Eagles, with Don Shula and Halas tied at 324 wins.
The Dolphins took an early lead on a TD pass from Scott Mitchell to Terry Kirby. Dan Marino tore his Achilles five weeks earlier. The two teams would exchange scores, but the Eagles would take a one-point lead into the half.
In the 3rd quarter, starter Scott Mitchell went down with an injury, leaving backup quarterback Doug Pederson to take control. The backup QB would lead the Dolphins to two second-half field goals while the Miami defense stifled Ken O'Brien and the Eagles' offense.
When the game ended, the Veterans Stadium crowd applauded the victory while the Dolphins players hoisted their head coach into the air. Don Shula was alone at the top.
Decades later, the record is still held by the Dolphins' legendary coach, but two others, at the time of this writing, are pushing for that top spot. Bill Belichick is the closest but is not coaching in the NFL, while Andy Reid is slowly continuing his journey to become the best. Only time will tell if either of them surpasses him. If they don't, no one may ever come close.
14. Ted Ginn Jr's Draft Day
2007 was supposed to start a new era of Dolphins football. Nick Saban had just left to head to Alabama, Wayne Huizenga was thinking about selling the team, and Cam Cameron was the hot offensive coordinator in the NFL, so he became the next head coach of the Dolphins.
Miami desperately needed a quarterback, and the 2007 draft was going to provide him. Brady Quinn was the hot name attached to the Dolphins. The Notre Dame QB was supposed to be Miami's answer, but when the clock came on, the Dolphins selected WR Ted Ginn Jr., leaving fans shocked and angry.
Following the pick, Cameron walked into a tent party held by the Dolphins for fans. They loudly booed him. Cameron tried to speak over them and then infamously said, "We drafted the Ginn family. Ted Ginn and his family will give us everything they have."
It was the last time a head coach met with fans after a draft selection. Ginn would go on to have a long but unspectacular NFL career, but in Miami he was always considered nothing more than a return specialist. Ginn would play only three years in Miami; Cameron would last only one. As for Quinn, his epic fall to Cleveland at 22 overall would end three years later with 12 starts in 14 games. After two years out of the league, he returned for another in 2012 with the Chiefs. He went 1-7.
13. Giants beat the Patriots
There are only a few moments in Dolphins history that will get Miami fans pumped up that don't involve the Dolphins. Such was the case in 2007, specifically on February 3rd, 2008. The undefeated Patriots, only the second team in NFL modern-era history to finish a regular season undefeated, were taking on the Eli Manning-led Giants in the Super Bowl.
The Patriots were looking to become the first team to go 19-0. Considered the best team in NFL history, they only had one more win to reach perfection. New England was coming off the Spy Gate drama from a year before, and now they were looking to put the exclamation point on the entire ordeal.
Holding a 14-10 lead with 2:42 seconds left in the game, another Miami Miracle happened hundreds of miles away from South Florida. Under pressure, Manning scrambled around the pocket, but managed to escape several grabs that nearly took him down. He threw the ball downfield on a prayer, and it was answered by David Tyree, who, with one hand, trapped the ball to his helmet as he fell. Four plays later, the Giants QB hit Plaxico Burress for the game-winning TD with 39 seconds left.
Tom Brady's deep pass attempts to pull off a sudden come-from-behind victory failed, as did their run for perfection. As the South Florida night was filled with screams of joy around Miami, the Patriots and their fans sat in shocked silence, and Eli Manning and the Giants became legends to the Dolphins.
12. Super Bowl Loss to the Redskins
The 1982 NFL season was marred by a players' strike that lasted 57 days. The season was shortened from 16 games to just 9. The Dolphins won their division and cruised through the playoffs, where they would meet the Redskins in a Super Bowl rematch nearly a decade in the making.
Miami's defense was too much for Washington early. Miami led 10-3 entering the 2nd quarter, but they would tie it up. On the ensuing kick, the Dolphins' KR Fulton Walker would take it back 98 yards for the touchdown, and the Dolphins would carry a 17-10 lead into the half. It would be the final points they would score.
Through the 3rd quarter, the Dolphins would only give up three points. The offense wasn't clicking, and the Redskins defense was smothering Miami; it was a defensive battle that would suddenly shift in favor of Washington. Two plays would become the iconic moments of the momentum change.
Kim Bokamper's would have been an interception: Bokamper tipped the ball from Theisman's hands and was in position for an easy walk-in TD interception at the Washington 3-yard line. Theisman reached in at the last minute and knocked the ball away. Miami would have gone up 24-13, and the Redskins offense would have had to change tactics entering the 4th quarter. Instead, they made history on the legs of John Riggins.
With their backs against the wall and facing a 4th down and 1, head coach Joe Gibbs went for it. They handed the ball to Riggins, who easily made the first down, but the Dolphins defender bounced off him, and he took the ball 43 yards for the game-changing43 yards, score. They would add another score late as the Dolphins' energy vanished for good on that single play.
11. Jay Fiedler's post-9-11 dive
The world was in complete shock. September 11th, 2001 was a day that no one needs reminding of. The Dolphins were coming off their first season with Dave Wannstedt as their head coach, Jay Fiedler was his chosen successor to Dan Marino. Fiedler was gritty if nothing else.
The NFL played its first week of the season before tragedy struck in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. The world was locked down, and the NFL pushed back its schedule, with Week 2 starting two weeks after week one. A nation was healing, or trying to.
Sports brought back some of the normal for a nation in tears. MLB baseball was back on the diamonds, Dolphins fans were celebrating in tears as the Jets and Patriots took to the field later that afternoon. A symbolic schedule twist no one would have thought anything of had it not been for the events of the week before.
In Miami, the Dolphins were hosting the Raiders. They had lost in the division round months before, blanked 27-0. With the game on the line, seconds left on the clock, Fiedler took the snap, found no one open and attempted to run the ball into the end zone. With a final dive, he crossed the line. His arm went up in victory.
On the 25th Anniversary of the game, the hosts of The Fish Tank Podcast released the documentary, "The Game We Needed."
10. Jaguars Insult to Injury
It's the game that never should have happened. A game that lives in the memories of Dolphins fans, Jimmy Johnson, and Dan Marino. The Dolphins met the Jaguars in Jacksonville for a division-round I-95 featured in-state battle on January 15th 2000. The Dolphins weren't ready for what the Jaguars had in store.
Miami turned the ball over 7 times. Fumbled six times, gave up five sacks, and Marino managed just 95 yards on 25 attempts. It was so bad that Johnson pulled Marino from the game and handed Damon Huard the job of finishing it out. When the game ended, the Dolphins lost 62-7, but that wasn't the slap in the face.
Midway through the fourth quarter, just after another Jaguars TD, the end zone sprinklers kicked on to douse the field. The game was more than just ugly; it was an abomination that would get worse after it was over.
The day after the loss, Johnson stepped down and convinced owner Wayne Huizenga to give Dave Wannstedt the job. Don Shula had pushed for Huizenga to hire Marty Schottenheimer. On March 13th, two months after the blowout loss, Marino announced he was retiring from the league. One game, one very bad game, and two icons' careers crashed.
9. The 1985 Monday Night Bears game (Dec 2nd 1985)
On December 2nd, 1985, the unstoppable Chicago Bears entered the Orange Bowl undefeated and unstoppable. Along the Dolphins' sidelines stood many of the 1972 undefeated alumni. On the field stood Dan Marino and a defense made of Killer B's. It was a Monday night, and there was an electricity in the air that wasn't normal.
The 9-4 Dolphins were the underdogs. Home-field advantage didn't mean anything. The Bears were the toughest team in the league, and perfect. But the football gods didn't see it that way. Miami jumped out to a quick touchdown that the Bears equaled, but by the end of the first half, Miami held a commanding 31-10 lead.
Everything went right for Miami. A deep pass downfield from Marino was tipped into the air and fluttered another 10 yards downfield into the waiting arms of Mark Clayton. While the Dolphins offense was running over and around the number one defense in the NFL, the defense was giving the Bears offense fits on every drive.
Chicago would run through the rest of their schedule, through the playoffs, and into the Super Bowl where they were, unstoppable victors. The Dolphins would lose in the division round, ending any chance at a Super Bowl rematch, but on that Monday night in December, the Dolphins were once again perfect by making sure the Bears would not be.
8. Nick Saban's Lie
Wayne Huizenga saw an opportunity that his wallet and Nick Saban's wife couldn't turn down. Saban didn't want to coach the Dolphins, but Huizenga kept throwing money at the Saban family until they finally agreed. Dolphins fans rejoiced. The best college football coach on the planet was heading to South Florida.
Saban improved the team by five games from the previous season in his first year, as the Dolphins finished 9-7 and looked to be heading in the right direction. In 2006, the Dolphins began to struggle. Daunte Culpepper was on injured reserve, Joey Harrington was at the helm, and the Dolphins were floundering. On December 21st 2006, following a loss, Saban was asked about circulating rumors of going back to the college ranks, specifically to coach the Alabama Crimson Tide.
"I guess I have to say it: I'm not going to be the Alabama coach."Nick Saban
Saban was offended by the question, by the rumors, by everything, but while he was talking out of one side of his mouth, he was intently listening from the other side of his ear. The Dolphins season was nearly over, and two weeks later, Saban packed up his office and Little Debbie Snack Cakes and headed for Tuscaloosa.
Wayne Huizenga and the entire fanbase were stunned. Saban's contract was fully guaranteed, and he wasn't giving it back. Reports that his wife hated Miami began to circulate; Saban's loathing of the NFL rules and salary cap began to make their way to the surface. Everything Saban had said was a lie. Just when things had started to look up, they crashed down. Saban's departure started a two-decade-long search for a decent head coach.
7. Undefeated Season
The Dolphins were two years into the Don Shula era. In his first season, they lost in the division round of the playoffs. In 1971, they capped off a Super Bowl run with a blowout loss to the Cowboys, 24-3, but it was that utter feeling of loss and culpability that changed the franchise forever.
1972 didn't start off perfect. Miami was reeling from the loss to the Cowboys; they would lose Bob Grier five games into the season. Earl Morrall would take over, but the Dolphins didn't bend on either side of the ball. Miami churned through the league one game at a time. Their closest margins of victory were a 1-point win over the Bills in week 6 and a 4-point win over the Jets in week 10.
Making this undefeated season more special was the fact that, unlike in this era of the NFL, teams with the best record didn't necessarily host playoff games. Miami had to travel to Pittsburgh to gain entry into the final game of the season. A 21-17 nail-biter sent the Dolphins to another Super Bowl.
To this day, the Dolphins are the only team to run the table from start to finish, culminating in a championship victory.
6. Monday Night Miracle (Oct. 23, 2000) Jumbo Elliot, John Hall OT FG, Vinny Testa
For some of us, that game was the dagger in our hearts. A big lead heading into the 4th quarter, Jason Taylor laughing on the sidelines as if the game was already over, 15 minutes left on the clock, and suddenly, the joy of beating the Jets became a hang-on for dear life. There was no way New York could come back from that. Until they did.
Miami led 30-7 as the 4th began. Fans at home were turning off the game and heading to bed; for Dolphins fans, it was a reprieve from what was to come; for Jets fans, it was a missed opportunity. The MNF telecast continued to show the exodus of Jets fans to the parking lot, seats emptying around the stadium, and the spattering of Dolphins fans laughing in celebration.
With just under 14 minutes left, Vinny Testaverde found Laveranues Coles. 30-13. Five minutes later, he found Jermaine Wiggins. 30-20. Five minutes after that, John Hall kicked a field goal. 30-23. Another TD with 3:55 remaining goes to Wayne Chrebet. Dolphins add seven, and the game is over. 37-30. Fans are running back into the stadium; Dolphins fans are beside themselves.
The Jets drive back down, 42 seconds left, 2nd and goal, Testaverde fires a touchdown pass to offensive lineman Jumbo Elliott, who bobbles the pass and falls to the ground clutching the ball. It's tied; it's overtime. Jay Fiedler is intercepted on the first extra-period drive, giving the Jets John Hall a chance to win. And they did. 40-37.
5. Dolphins lose three stars in 75
Back-to-back-to-back Super Bowls. No team at the time had ever done it. Only the Bills would ever go to more in consecutive years, and only two other teams, the Chiefs and Patriots, ever matched it. The Dolphins were coming off two consecutive Super Bowl wins and looked unstoppable, but an outside force, a lot of money, and stingy Joe Robbie ended it all in one offseason.
Jim Kiick, Larry Csonka, and Paul Warfield were superstars, and the WFL knew it. They had the money to compete with the NFL's financial willingness to give players more money. Joe Robbie refused to entertain discussions on renegotiating their contracts, so when Ed Keating came calling with an open checkbook, the trio of Miami's offense didn't hesitate.
The trio received more than a million dollars, an extremely high amount at the time. They were given housing, vehicles, and everything else they wanted that Robbie wouldn't remotely entertain. Signed to play in Toronto, the team collapsed before it started. They moved to the Memphis franchise, but a year later the league was in financial purgatory, and it collapsed.
The Dolphins winning era had come to an end just as quickly as the WFL's entire league collapsed.
4. Dolphins franchise opener
No one knew his name, and few fans alive today remember the Dolphins' first game as an expansion team in the AFL. Joe Robbie fought and was rewarded with a new franchise in South Florida. The Orange Bowl was their new home, and on Friday, September 2nd 1966, they took the field for the first time as a franchise.
The Oakland Raiders had traveled across the country, and the Dolphins won the coin toss. Half the stadium was empty, tickets were practically free, and when the opening kickoff to start the season left the tee, a historic franchise was born on the legs of journeyman halfback Joe Auer.
Auer would score four touchdowns in his first season with the Dolphins as he rushed for 416 yards on 121 carries that year, but none of what he did compared to that opening kick. With the first fans watching, not knowing what to expect, Auer collected the kick at the 5-yard line and racked up 95 yards for a franchise-opening touchdown, and just like that, Auer became a legend in South Florida. It didn't matter what he did after that season or during that season; that first impression left an indelible mark on the franchise. It was the first high of what would eventually become hundreds more.
3. Bully-Gate
2013 was never going to be a great year for Miami under Joe Philbin, but not a single fan could have expected what happened once the calendar turned over to October. It was a routine day in the cafeteria when, suddenly and abruptly, offensive guard Jonathan Martin slammed his lunch tray down and walked out of the facility, and with that, Bully-Gate was born.
Accusations from Martin would lead to an NFL investigation of bullying and misconduct that would not only cost Richie Incognito his position on the Dolphins roster, but also their offensive line coach and equipment manager would also be fired. The investigation would paint the entire Dolphins organization in a dark light; fans took sides against each other, Stephen Ross was at the center of the disorganization, and it was all crashing around him. Incognito was released; John Jerry was let go after the season; only Mike Pouncey survived the investigation's report.
But. There is always a but. Martin was dealing with both personal and emotional issues stemming from problems away from the organization, and it festered for too long. Following the events, Incognito protested loudly that what Martin was saying was not true. Years would pass by, and Martin would acknowledge that a lot of what was said wasn't factually correct. The damage, however, had already been done.
2. Mike McDaniel's Apex (70 points)
The Dolphins' 2023 explosion was something fans hadn't seen since Dan Marino was playing quarterback, but even the Hall of Famer couldn't do what the McDaniel-led Dolphins did against the Broncos in week 3.
The Dolphins were fresh off a two-game opening win streak when the hapless Broncos came to town. The Broncos were rebuilding, and Miami took advantage of their youth and inexperience. It started out as a close game with Miami leading 14-7 heading into the second quarter. Then they threw another 21 points on the board to take a huge 35-13 lead into the locker room.
No matter what the Dolphins did, they found the end zone in the second half, adding another 35 points. Tua Tagovailoa threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns; De'Von Achane ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns, but it was the end of the game that had fans wanting more.
With the game in hand, McDaniel opted to take a knee instead of going for the field goal that would have broken the NFL single-game scoring record. After the game, it was reported that the Broncos' head coach told McDaniel at midfield that "I would have kicked the field goal."
It was the height of the McDaniel era in Miami. An end of season collapse gave the division to the Bills and the Dolphins were bounced from the playoffs in round one. Two years later, McDaniel was gone as was 95% of that team.
1. Ricky Williams' Dolphins saga
We started with the joy and sadness that followed the 2007 season, so why not end this with a player who brought so much joy and disdain to the organization? Williams was the best in his craft despite his difficulty dealing with the media. On the field, he was nearly unstoppable.
Unfortunately for the Dolphins, the one thing that could stop Williams was Williams. After failing a drug test, Williams abruptly retired a day before the start of training camp in 2004. He unretired a year later, but in 2026 he was suspended for failing another drug test. His play on the field won over the fans; his problems off the field turned off many others.
Williams will never see his name on the Dolphins Walk of Fame or on their Honor Roll because of those off-field issues. On the field, he should be. 7 years in Miami produced 6,436 yards, 54 total touchdowns, and 320 first-down runs. Had he played those two seasons, his legacy would be much different.
Williams epitomizes the highs, literally, and the lows of being a Dolphins fan.
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