The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 90

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

Author:
Alain Poupart
Publish date:
Jun 14, 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. 90.

No. 90: Sam Madison's third interception against Tennessee in 1999

Setting the stage: The Dolphins and Titans were among four teams tied with the best record in the NFL with a 6-1 record when they met at Pro Player Stadium on the evening of Sunday, Nov. 7. The Dolphins would be without Dan Marino that night because he was out with an injury, but the defense made it so they wouldn't need him. The game would turn into a national television showcase for Sam Madison and play a big role in his selection to the All-Pro team at the end of the season. The Dolphins would win the game 17-0 and Madison led the way with a career-high three interceptions.

The play: After getting two picks against Steve McNair in the first half, Madison completed his hat trick in the third quarter when he picked off a pass intended for Isaac Byrd on a second-and-8 from the Titans 43-yard line. Madison returned that pick 29 yards, which happened to be his shortest return of the game, to set up the Dolphins' final score of the game, a 46-yard field goal by Olindo Mare.