Dolphins 10 Most Heartbreaking Losses

With Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and team president/CEO/vice chairman Tom Garfinkel in attendance, the Miami Heat suffered a heartbreaking loss in Game 6 of the NBA's Eastern Conference final Saturday night.

It was the kind of loss that fans and media alike will be discussing for years to come, much like some losses in Dolphins history that stand out.

Here then is our list of the 10 most heartbreaking Dolphins losses through the years, with the important distinction that the manner in which the game was lost is as significant as the overall circumstances.

It's why, as disappointing as it was to see Dan Marino end his NFL career with that 62-7 loss at Jacksonville, it does not make this list because that game was over in the first quarter.

The games on the following list were more difficult to digest because they all were games the Dolphins could have — and maybe should have — won.

They are listed here chronologically and include both the regular season and postseason.

1974 DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS — OAKLAND 28, MIAMI 26

The "Sea of Hands" game. That's pretty much all Dolphins fans need to know. The quest for a third consecutive Super Bowl title ends on Ken Stabler's desperation heave as he's about to get sacked, with running back Clarence Davis able to make the catch in the end zone for the game-winning touchdown surrounded by defenders.

1981 DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS — SAN DIEGO 41, MIAMI 38 (OT)

Probably the greatest game in NFL history featuring the greatest play in Dolphins history, along with an incredible comeback from a 24-0 first-quarter deficit, also was heartbreak city for the Dolphins after two missed game-winning field goal attempts — one on the final play of regulation, the other in overtime.

1991 WEEK 17 — N.Y. JETS 23, MIAMI 20 (OT)

This game ultimately was going to decide the third and final wild-card team from the AFC, and it sure looked like that was going to be the Dolphins after they took a 20-17 lead with 44 seconds left in regulation. But a 23-yard completion from Ken O'Brien to Rob Moore set up a field goal at the end of regulation and a 29-yard hook-up between the same two players set up the game-winning field goal in overtime after the Dolphins' drive stalled at the 49.

1993 WEEK 17 — NEW ENGLAND 33, MIAMI 27 (OT)

This was the year Dan Marino was lost to an Achilles injury in early October, but the team still managed to get to 9-2 before things fell apart. Despite four consecutive losses, all the Dolphins needed was a win against the 4-11 Patriots in the finale to make the playoffs, but they lost on a 36-yard touchdown pass from rookie Drew Bledsoe to Michael Timpson after going three-and-out on their two OT possessions.

1994 PLAYOFFS — SAN DIEGO 22, MIAMI 21

Two years after reaching the AFC Championship Game, the Dolphins had a chance to return to the title game and things looked good after they took a 21-6 halftime lead. But a safety early in the third quarter turned things around and the Dolphins ended up losing when Pete Stoyanovich missed a long field goal attempt in the final seconds.

2000 WEEK 6 — N.Y. JETS 40, MIAMI 37 (OT)

"The Monday Night Miracle." It's still crazy after all these years to think about the Dolphins blowing a 30-7 fourth-quarter lead and losing in overtime after not one but two overtime interceptions.

2002 WEEK 17 — NEW ENGLAND 27, MIAMI 24 (OT)

This was Ricky Williams' first year in Miami when he led the NFL in rushing and it certainly appeared it would end with a playoff berth when the Dolphins found themselves leading 24-13 with five minutes left in their must-win game in the season finale. But then everything that could go wrong did, including a two-point conversion for New England, an unlucky kickoff bounce that forced the Dolphins to start a drive at their 4, and then the Dolphins losing the overtime coin toss and then kicking out of bounds, allowing the Pats to begin their game-winning drive at their 40.

2003 WEEK 7 — NEW ENGLAND 19, MIAMI 13 (OT)

Here we go again with the Pats, and this one set the tone for what became a Super Bowl year for New England. The 4-1 Dolphins and 4-2 Patriots were tied 13-13 before the Dolphins put together a 9-minute drive that put them in position to kick a go-ahead field goal right after the two-minute warning. But that field goal attempt was blocked, and then Olindo Mare pushed a 35-yard attempt in overtime wide right. Jay Fiedler then was intercepted in overtime, and on the next play Tom Brady moved to his left and found Troy Brown behind the Dolphins secondary for a game-winning 82-yard touchdown.

2010 WEEK 7 — PITTSBURGH 23, MIAMI 22

Yeah, this was a tough one, and it came down to one frustrating and much-debating officiating decision. The Dolphins were clinging to a 22-20 lead when Pittsburgh had a third-and-goal from the 2 and decided to have Ben Roethlisberger run a QB draw. He was hit at the goal line, fumbled, but the official ruled it a touchdown until the Dolphins challenged the ruling and it was determined that Roethlisberger indeed had fumbled before the goal line. But the officials also ruled that a clear recovery of the fumble by the Dolphins wasn't detectable upon review, which gave Pittsburgh the ball at the 1-yard line and allowed the Steelers to kick the game-winning field goal.

2022 PLAYOFFS — BUFFALO 34, MIAMI 31

This was just a weird game because the Dolphins had to start Skylar Thompson at quarterback because of injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater and he struggled like you would expect a rookie seventh-round pick to struggle under those circumstances, and yet the Dolphins found themselves with the ball and a chance to win late in the fourth quarter. And then things looked even more promising after Miami found itself with a third-and-2 at its 47-yard line, a mere 15-18 yards from being in field goal range and 53 yards away from pulling off a gigantic upset. But we all know how things unraveled from there, with Salvon Ahmed stuffed for no gain on a running play, a false-start penalty followed by an incompletion to turn the ball over on downs, and then finally by a game-clinching 7-yard run for a first down by Buffalo's Devin Singletary on third-and-7.

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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 week for the All Dolphins mailbag via Twitter or via email at fnalldolphins@yahoo.com.