The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 19

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

The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 19

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. 19:

No. 19: Jason Taylor's sack-strip-TD at Cincinnati in 2000

Setting the stage: The Dolphins' first season under head coach Dave Wannstedt got off to an impressive start, as the team rode its defense and running game to a 3-1 start. Then came a trip to Cincinnati against a Bengals team that was 0-3, but a sleepwalking first half by the Dolphins seemed certain to bring them into the locker room with a 13-3 deficit. Then came a stupid decision by the Bengals for which Jason Taylor made them pay with one of the signature plays of his Hall of Fame career.

The play: After the Dolphins kicked a field goal for their first point of the half, the Bengals got a 28-yard kickoff return and a 5-yard run, putting them in a second-and-5 at their 37 with 8 seconds left before halftime. Instead of having quarterback Akili Smith just kneel on the ball or go with another running play in the hope that it somehow could break for a touchdown, the Bengals thought it would be a good idea to throw the ball. It wasn’t. Taylor easily got around the left tackle and hit Smith's right arm from behind to force a fumble. Taylor picked up the ball and returned the fumble 29 yards for a touchdown to make it 13-10. The Dolphins cruised in the second half and left Cincinnati with a 31-16 victory on their way to the AFC East title.

The No. 100 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 99 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 98 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 97 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 96 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 95 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 94 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 93 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 92 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 91 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 90 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 89 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 88 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 87 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 86 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 85 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 84 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 83 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 82 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 81 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 80 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 79 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 78 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 77 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 76 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 75 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 74 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 73 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 72 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 71 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 70 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 69 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 68 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 67 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 66 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 65 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 64 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 63 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 62 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 61 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 60 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 59 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 58 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 57 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 56 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 55 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 54 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 53 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 52 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 51 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 50 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 49 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 48 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 47 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 46 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 45 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 44 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 43 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 42 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 41 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 40 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 39 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 38 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 37 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 36 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 35 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 34 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 33 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 32 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 31 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 30 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 29 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 28 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 27 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 26 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 25 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 24 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 23 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 22 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 21 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

The No. 20 Greatest Play in Dolphins History

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

Published Aug 24, 2021

Alain Poupart

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

Follow @PoupartNFL