The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 17
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 difficulty, uniqueness, 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. 17:
No. 17: Dan Marino's game-winning TD pass to Mark Duper vs. the New York Jets in 1985
Setting the stage: After the Dolphins went to the Super Bowl the previous year, the team arrived at a crossroads in early November after consecutive losses left them with a 5-4 record with the 7-2 New York Jets heading to the Orange Bowl for a 4 p.m. game. There was good news with the return of Mark Duper after he had missed the previous two months with a hairline fracture in his left leg. Things looked bleak when the Jets took a 17-14 lead with 1:06 remaining in regulation, but it only set the stage for a remarkable finish.
The play: After a 37-yard kickoff return by Lorenzo Hampton and a 6-yard completion from Dan Marino to Mark Clayton, the Dolphins already were at midfield but only 49 seconds remained. No problem. Marino dropped back to pass and looked down the right sideline to Duper, who had gotten behind the Jets defender. Duper brought in the pass with only one hand and raced down the sideline to complete the 50-yard touchdown. It was the exclamation point to a huge comeback day for Duper, who had eight catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns. It would be the first of seven consecutive victories for the Dolphins, who won the AFC East title that year with a 12-4 record, though the Jets (as well as the New England Patriots) made the playoffs with an 11-5 mark.
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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @PoupartNFL. Feel free to submit questions every Friday for the All Dolphins mailbag.
