The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 95

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

Author:
Alain Poupart
Publish date:
Jun 9, 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. 95.

No. 95: Jimmy Cefalo's 76-yard touchdown reception in Super Bowl XVII

Setting the stage: After going 7-2 in the strike-shortened 1982 season, the Dolphins made their way back to the Super Bowl for the first time in nine seasons with a dominating defensive performance against the New York Jets in the AFC Championship Game. But they faced a tough challenge against Washington, which had finished the regular season 8-1 before winning its three NFC playoff games by 14 points or more.

The play: After the teams traded punts at the start of the game, the Dolphins began their second possession at their 20 before Tony Nathan rushed for 4 yards. On second-and-6, David Woodley faked a pitch, then faked a short pass to his right before throwing down the sideline to Jimmy Cefalo, who had gotten behind the Washington secondary. Cefalo cruised to the end zone from there for a 76-yard touchdown, which remains the longest offensive touchdown in Dolphins playoff history. Unfortunately for the Dolphins, Woodley would pass for only 21 more yards in the game in a 27-17 loss.