Thursday Night Thoughts: Home At Last, Top 10 Moments, More
The game against the Baltimore Ravens at Hard Rock Stadium will break a weird streak for the Miami Dolphins, who finally get to host a Thursday night game after playing their last five such games on the road.
It will be the first time since 2014 that the Dolphins will play host to a Thursday night game after five games at New England, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Houston and Jacksonville since 2015.
The Dolphins will take a 7-8 overall Thursday night record into the game against Baltimore, including a 5-2 mark at home. The two losses came in 1980 against the San Diego Chargers (27-24 in overtime) and in 2010 against Chicago (16-0).
2021 THURSDAY NIGHT TRENDS
While the home team clearly has a more pronounced advantage in Thursday night games than Sunday games, the record is pretty even for TNF this season. The home has won five of the nine matchups.
What stands out more is the closeness of the games, with five of the nine decided by three points or less, and another decided by six.
The only two Thursday night games this season with a double-digit margin came in Week 3 (Carolina, 24-9 at Houston) and last week (Indianapolis, 45-30 vs. New York Jets.
DOLPHINS 10 MOST MEMORABLE THURSDAY NIGHT MOMENTS
1. The Wake-Off, 2013 vs. Cincinnati: That should be obvious. Cameron Wake delivered a 22-20 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2013 with a sack of Andy Dalton in the end zone in overtime.
2. Ricky Run Wild, 2009 at Carolina: Ricky Williams rushes for 119 yards and scores three touchdowns, the last one on a 46-yard run to lead the Dolphins to a 24-17 victory.
3. Ryan Fitzpatrick's postgame TV interview, 2020 at Jacksonville: The shirt, the chest hair ... it was awesome. But obviously it wouldn't have mattered had Fitzpatrick not led the Dolphins to a 31-13 victory against the Jaguars.
4. Tom Vigorito's punt return for a touchdown, 1981 vs. Pittsburgh: This play was featured in our countdown of the top 100 plays in Dolphins history and was part of a 30-10 victory at the Orange Bowl.
5. Mark Higgs' touchdown, 1990 vs. New England: The Dolphins gave Don Shula a 17-10 victory in his 400th game thanks in large part of Higgs scoring off a blocked punt.
6. Marcus Thigpen's kickoff return for a touchdown, 2012 at Buffalo: This came after Thigpen had return a punt for a score in the opener at Houston, but on this night it wasn't enough to overcome a Bills punt return for a score in a 19-14 loss.
7. Steelers tight end Heath Miller's 86-yard touchdown, 2006 at Pittsburgh: The Dolphins were selected to face the defending Super Bowl champion Steelers in the kickoff game and were holding a 17-14 lead midway through the fourth quarter before Miller got loose. The Dolphins didn't recover from the big play and lost 28-17.
8. Danny Amendola's TD pass to Kenyan Drake, 2018 at Houston: The Dolphins trailed 21-10 before Amendola connected with Drake on the option pass, but the Texans immediately answered with a 73-yard pass from Deshaun Watson to current Dolphins wide receiver Will Fuller V.
9. Kiko Alonso's hit on Joe Flacco, 2017 at Baltimore: There wasn't a whole lot noteworthy that happened for the Dolphins in their 40-0 loss to the Ravens on this night, but the hit that knocked Flacco out of the game sure drew a lot of attention.
10. Cam Wake's injury, 2015 at New England: The 2015 season was a mess pretty much from start to finish for the Dolphins, and maybe losing Wake to an Achilles injury on this October night encapsulated 2015 to perfection.
DOLPHINS IN THURSDAY NIGHT GAMES
Overall record: 7-8 (Home: 5-2; Away: 2-6)
2020 at Jacksonville W 31-13
2018 at Houston L 23-42
2017 at Baltimore L 0-40
2016 at Cincinnati L 7-22
2015 at New England L 7-36
2014 BUFFALO W 22-9
2013 CINCINNATI W 22-20 (OT)
2012 at Buffalo L 14-19
2010 CHICAGO L 0-16
2009 at Carolina W 24-17
2006 at Pittsburgh L 17-28
1990 NEW ENGLAND W 17-10
1981 PITTSBURGH W 30-10
1980 SAN DIEGO L 24-27 (OT)
1979 NEW ENGLAND W 39-24
