The Best Fins Finishes of the 2000s
Wednesday marked the 20-year anniversary of the Dolphins' last playoff victory, which also featured one of the most dramatic finishes the team has delivered since the start of the millennium.
If we're talking fantastic finishes, though, we don't have to look back very far to find one because the Dolphins are four days removed from another all-timer.
This brought us to wondering what a countdown of the top 10 Dolphins finishes of the 2000s would look like. To rank them, we factored uniqueness, degree of difficulty and significance of the game.
Before we get to the countdown, here's a list of games (in chronological order) that deserve honorable mention:
2000, Dolphins 27, New England 24 ... 2005, Dolphins 24, Buffalo 23 ... 2009, Dolphins 31, N.Y. Jets 27 ... 2009, Dolphins 22, New England 21 ... 2013, Dolphins 27, Atlanta 23 ... 2014, Dolphins 37, Minnesota 35 ... 2016, Dolphins 31, San Diego 24 ... 2016, Dolphins 31, San Francisco 24 ... 2019, Dolphins 27, New England 24.
10. 2002 — Dolphins 24, Denver 22
This Sunday night battle at Mile High was memorable because it marked the first time in NFL history that each team kicked a field goal of 50 yards or longer in the final minute. Fortunately for the Dolphins, they got the last one when Olindo Mare followed a 22-yard completion from Jay Fiedler to Dedric Ward with his 53-yard game-winner.
9. 2000 — Dolphins 23, Colts 17 (OT)
This, of course, was the last time the Dolphins won a playoff game and it ended with Lamar Smith putting the finishing touches on his brilliant 209-yard rushing performance with a 17-yard touchdown. The only reason this finish isn't ranked higher is that by the time Smith scored, the Dolphins already were well within field goal range.
8. 2007 — Dolphins 22, Baltimore 16 (OT)
This was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Dolphins. After Ravens coach Brian Billick mysteriously kicked a field goal near the goal line in the final seconds instead of going for a game-winning touchdown in a game between teams already out of playoff contention, Cleo Lemon connected with Greg Camarillo for a 64-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field.
7. 2013 — Dolphins 24, New England 20
This sure looked like a typical Tom Brady comeback after he moved New England down the field to a second-and-5 from the Miami 14-yard line in the final seconds, but the Dolphins stopped it right then and there by forcing two incompletions before Michael Thomas ended it with an interception in the end zone five days after being signed off the 49ers practice squad.
6. 2016 — Dolphins 14, L.A. Rams 10
In a season of fantastic finishes, this was the best. After trailing 10-0 with just over six minutes left, Ryan Tannehill completed a second touchdown drive with a 9-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone to DeVante Parker with 36 seconds left.
5. 2004 — Dolphins 29, New England 28
The biggest upset victory in Dolphins history (yes, bigger than the 1985 victory over the Bears since that Dolphins team was very good) featured two interceptions of Tom Brady and two Dolphins touchdowns, including a fourth-and-10 touchdown pass from A.J. Feeley to Derrius Thompson — in the final 2:21!
4. 2013 — Dolphins 22, Cincinnati 20 (OT)
The Wake-Off Game! That's all that needs to be said. For those not familiar, this was the game won in overtime when Cameron Wake sacked Andy Dalton in the end zone for a safety on Halloween night.
3. 2001 — Dolphins 18, Oakland 15
This was a fabulous ending to an emotionally charged day as the NFL returned to action for the first time after the events of 9/11. Fiedler won the game with a 2-yard scramble into the end zone in the final seconds, with Sports Illustrated providing the lasting image of a celebrating Fiedler on the ground in the end zone with his left fist in the air.
2. 2020 — Dolphins 26, Las Vegas 25
All we have to say about this one is that the Raiders had a 99.9 win probability, according to ESPN, before the Dolphins took a snap at their 25-yard line down two with 19 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.
RELATED: The Anatomy of a Wild Finish
1. 2018 — Dolphins 34, New England 33
It's got to be this one, doesn't it? Forget the past 20 years, this is the greatest finish in Dolphins history, period.
