The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 92

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

Author:
Alain Poupart
Publish date:
Jun 12, 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. 92.

No. 92: Ron Davenport's touchdown run against Cleveland in the 1985 playoffs

Setting the stage: A year after losing in the Super Bowl against the 49ers, the Dolphins were on a roll heading into the playoffs after finishing the regular season with seven consecutive victories, including the December Monday night rout of the previously undefeated Chicago Bears at the Orange Bowl. The 12-4 Dolphins were double-digit favorites in their first playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, who won the AFC Central with an 8-8 record, but the Dolphins found themselves trailing 21-3 in the third quarter.

The play: After Dan Marino's 6-yard touchdown pass to Nat Moore cut the Dolphins deficit to 21-10, they took advantage of a 25-yard punt to start their next possession in Cleveland territory. On a second-and-3 from the Browns 31, Marino handed off to Ron Davenport and he got a great block from fellow running back Tony Nathan to get to the second level. Davenport then met safety Don Rogers, a first-round pick in 1984, head on and knocked him backward and to the ground while barely breaking stride. From there, it was a cruise into the end zone and the Dolphins were within four points. Davenport's 1-yard touchdown run with 1:57 in the fourth quarter would complete the Dolphins' comeback in their 24-21 victory, but the dream of a return trip to the Super Bowl ended the following weekend in a 31-14 loss against the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship Game at the Orange Bowl.