The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 85

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

Author:
Alain Poupart
Publish date:
Jun 19, 2021 10:00 AM EDT

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 difficult, 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. 85.

No. 85: Oronde Gadsden's one-handed catch in the 2000 playoffs at Oakland

Setting the stage: Long before there was Odell Beckham Jr., there was Oronde Gadsden. Unfortunately, his ridiculous one-handed catch against the Oakland Raiders in the 2000 playoffs was a small consolation on an otherwise dreary day for the Dolphins, who sustained a 27-0 loss one week after their thrilling 23-17 overtime victory against the Indianapolis Colts. It already was a 27-0 score when Gadsden made his remarkable play, which he almost topped with another incredible one-handed catch over the middle against the New York Jets in 2002.

The play: Two series after Oakland made it 27-0, the Dolphins faced a second-and-17 from their own 28 after Jay Fiedler was sacked for a 7-yard loss. Fiedler then threw down the left sideline for Gadsden, who was well covered by Raiders DB Anthony Dorsett. Gadsden somehow made the grab after cradling the ball with his right hand while facing Fiedler. The 33-yard gain gave the Dolphins a first down at the Raiders 39-yard line, though the drive ended on downs.