The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 34

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. 34:

No. 34: Leroy Harris' touchdown run vs. Baltimore in 1977

Setting the stage: The Dolphins and Baltimore Colts were involved in a great battle for AFC East supremacy in 1977 as they headed for a Week 12 matchup at the Orange Bowl. The Colts had won the earlier meeting in Baltimore, 45-28, and held a one-game lead with a 9-2 record coming into this game. The Dolphins pulled out a 17-6 victory on this day thanks to a strong defensive effort, but it was a rookie running back who pulled off the biggest play of the game.

The play: The Dolphins were holding a 10-6 lead with 7:58 left in the fourth quarter when their offense took possession at their own 23-yard line following a 10-yard punt return. Bob Griese handed off to promising rookie fifth-round pick Leroy Harris, who two weeks earlier had recorded the first 100-yard rushing game of his NFL career. Harris was met in the backfield by a Baltimore defender but managed to bounce off him with a spin move, went through a crease on the right side of the line before he was met head on by another Colts defender who he shrugged off by lowering his shoulder. From there it was off the races and Harris sprinted down the right sideline before moving back toward the middle of the field to complete the 77-yard touchdown. It was the longest touchdown run in Dolphins history to that point and wasn't matched until 16 years later. While the victory put the Dolphins in a first-place tie, they would lose against New England the following week and miss out on the playoffs despite a 10-4 record because the Colts won the tiebreaker by virtue of a better conference record.

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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.

Published Aug 9, 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

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