The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 88

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

Author:
Alain Poupart
Publish date:
Jun 16, 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. 88.

No. 88: Brent Grimes' interception at Detroit in 2014

Setting the stage: Cornerback Brent Grimes proved from the start to be one of the Dolphins' best free agent acquisitions ever when he finished with four interceptions in his first season in Miami in 2013. He had another productive season in 2014 with five picks, including two in a 37-0 shutout of the Chargers that gave the Dolphins a 5-3 record heading into their game at Detroit in November. The Dolphins fell behind 10-0 and the Lions were threatening to increase their lead after James Ihedigbo's 70-yard interception return gave them a first down at the Miami 31. Grimes had different ideas, though.

The play: Calvin Johnson had a big game for Detroit that day with seven catches for 113 yards and a touchdown, but Grimes got him on this play. Johnson ran deep down the right sideline and Matthew Stafford's pass appeared to be on the money, except that Grimes, who gave up about 6 inches to Johnson, leaped and snagged the ball with his fully extended right arm/hand. The Dolphins ended up losing the game, 20-16, though Grimes' interception stood as the play of the game.