OTD in Dolphins History: The Monday Night Collapse and Two Big Individual Accomplishments

The Miami Dolphins are off for their bye week on this October 23, but the date has some major historical significance in team history.

The Dolphins have played seven games on that date through the years and compiled a 4-3 record.

But there have been some memorable games and performances, most notably the historic Monday night collapse against the Jets exactly 20 years ago today. There also were noteworthy performances by Dan Marino in 1988 and Jay Ajayi in 2016.

Let's take a quick look back:

1966 — Dolphins defeat Houston 20-13 for the first road victory in franchise history.

1977 — Dolphins defeat Seattle 31-13.

1983 — Dolphins win 21-7 at Baltimore.

1988 — Dolphins lost 44-30 at home against the Jets, but in this game Marino passes for 521 yards, which sett a franchise record that remains to this day. It was at the time the second-highest total in NFL history. Marino also set a team record with 60 pass attempts that day, though Joey Harrington broke the record in 2006 when he attempted 62 passes in a 34-24 loss against the Green Bay Packers.

2000 — Who could forget the "Monday Night Miracle" when the Dolphins somehow found a way to blow a 30-7 fourth-quarter lead against the hated New York Jets. Among the amazing aspects of the Dolphins' collapse: It began when sure-handed cornerback Sam Madison let a ball slip through his hands to turn an interception into the touchdown that began the Jets' rally; the Dolphins actually took a 37-30 lead after the Jets came back from 30-7 down to tie it at 30-30; the Jets won in overtime after a second Marcus Coleman interception because he fumbled after the first and the Dolphins recovered. The Dolphins bounced back from what could have been devastating, season-crushing loss and ended up winning the AFC East title anyway.

Down 23 points in the fourth quarter, but the @nyjets never gave up.

Watch the entirety of the "Monday Night Miracle" for free on https://t.co/TAuzHi7hnf: https://t.co/rO59ufyIBl pic.twitter.com/mjuHZlF03X
— NFL (@NFL) May 16, 2020

2011 — This was another overtime loss for the Dolphins, who found a way to blow a 15-0 lead in the final three minutes against Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. A recovered onside kick and a fumble by quarterback Matt Moore in overtime on a sack set the stage for the 18-15 Dolphins loss.

2016 — Jay Ajayi joined some elite NFL company when he became the fourth running back in league history with a second consecutive 200-yard rushing performance. After rushing for 204 yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers the previous week, Ajayi gained 214 yards in a 28-25 victory against Buffalo to join Earl Campbell, O.J. Simpson and former Dolphins running back Ricky Williams as the only backs with consecutive 200-yard games. The victory was part of the Dolphins' run to a playoff berth in Adam Gase's first year as head coach.