The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 22

Combining the countdown to the start of the Dolphins regular season with the best plays in franchise history

The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 22

To help count down the days to the start of the Miami Dolphins regular season last year, we marked each day with the corresponding jersey number and came up with the three best players to wear that number.

This year, we're counting down to the start of the regular season with a countdown of the top 100 plays in Dolphins history.

Given that the Dolphins have played 849 regular season games and 41 more in the playoffs, it's an awfully difficult task to narrow things down to 100 plays and then rank them. The plays selected were ranked on the basis of difficulty, uniqueness, immediate and long-lasting impact and historical significance.

The countdown initially appeared in Dolphin Digest in 2019 but has been updated.

We continue with No. 22:

No. 22: Bob Griese's touchdown pass to Howard Twilley in Super Bowl VII

Setting the stage: Since we've already had several plays from Super Bowl VII in the countdown, we don't need to repeat what was at stake in this game, though we could add the redemption factor after the Dolphins were trounced, 24-3, by the Dallas Cowboys in the previous Super Bowl. The offense again didn't start off particularly well in this one, gaining only one first down on its first two possessions. Fortunately, the Dolphins defense had held Washington to exactly the same production, so the game was scoreless when Miami got the ball late in the first quarter.

The play: Four running plays, sandwiched around a 14-yard completion from Bob Griese to Paul Warfield, moved Miami from its 37 to the Washington 28 for a third-and-4. Griese dropped back to pass and lofted a pretty throw to the right over the linebacker to Howard Twilley running outside at the 5-yard line. After making the catch, Twilley dragged defensive back Pat Fischer into the end zone to complete the 28-yard touchdown. The first Super Bowl touchdown in Dolphins history would be Twilley's only catch of the game, but it helped send Miami on its way to a 14-7 victory.

The No. 100 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @PoupartNFL. Feel free to submit questions every Friday for the All Dolphins mailbag.

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Published Aug 21, 2021

Alain Poupart

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

Follow @PoupartNFL