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Jasen Vinlove - USA Today Sports

The 10 Greatest Dolphins MNF Victories in Miami

Originally posted on Miami Dolphins on SI
By Alain Poupart | Last updated Dec 8, 2023 11:47 AM ET

The Miami Dolphins will be playing their first Monday night home game since 2017 when they face the Tennessee Titans in Week 14, but there was a time when those games were a fixture on the NFL calendar.

And through the years, the Dolphins have produced more than their share of memorable moments, from winning shootouts to pulling off major upsets, and great individual performances as well.

As we travel down memory lane, here's a countdown of the 10 most memorable Dolphins victory in Monday night home games from this vantage point.

10 — Dec. 8, 1980, Dolphins 16, Patriots 13 (OT): Friday marks the 43rd anniversary of this Monday night matchup that the Dolphins pulled out thanks to Uwe von Schamann's short field goal after David Woodley completed a 54-yard pass to Duriel Harris. The game got to overtime because Dolphins nose tackle Bob Baumhower blocked a last-second field goal, which came after ABC commentator Howard Cosell announced during the telecast that legendary singer/songwriter John Lennon had bee murdered in New York City.

9 — Nov. 26, 2017, Dolphins 27, Patriots 20: This was the last Monday night game in Miami and this might have been Xavien Howard's coming-out party as he picked off Tom Brady twice, including once on a bomb intended for Brandin Cooks. Jakeem Grant also had a nifty touchdown catch in the end zone.

8 — Dec. 12, 1988, Dolphins 38, Browns 31: The Dolphins' 1988 season was one to forget and the playoffs were out of the equation by this point, but it still was cool to watch Marino outduel future teammate Bernie Kosar and former teammate Don Strock in this shootout.

7 — Dec. 17, 1984, Dolphins 28, Cowboys 21: The Dolphins closed out their memorable 1984 season with a thrilling Monday night victory that saw Mark Clayton set the single-season receiving TD record with his late game-winning touchdown. and Dan Marino putting the finishing touches on his 48-touchdown, 5,084-yard season.

6 — Dec. 21, 1998, Dolphins 31, Broncos 21: Dan Marino outdueled John Elway with a big assist from WR Lamar Thomas, who scored three touchdowns. This would be higher on this list had the Broncos' quest for an undefeated season not ended the week before with an upset loss against the New York Giants.

5 — Oct. 12, 2009, Dolphins 31, Jets 27: There was nothing special in this game through three quarters other than the Dolphins wearing their orange jerseys. But the fourth quarter was spectacular. It featured five lead changes, the last coming when Ronnie Brown took a snap in the Wildcat formation and scored on a run on third-and-goal from the 2-yard line with 6 seconds left.

4 — Nov. 30, 1981, Dolphins 13, Eagles 10: What made this Monday night game special was the incredibly loud crowd at the Orange Bowl, with the noise getting so bad at one point in the fourth quarter that Eagles QB Ron Jaworski backed away from the huddle a few times before throwing an interception.

3 — Dec. 3, 1973, Dolphins 30, Steelers 26: Long before the “Monday Night Miracle,” the Dolphins had a close call in another Monday night game. In this one, the Dolphins led 30-3 heading into the fourth quarter before the Steelers scored three touchdowns behind quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who had come off the bench to replace Joe Gilliam. Leading 30-24, the Dolphins took their famous intentional safety, which had Howard Cosell losing his mind on the ABC broadcast.

2 — Dec. 20, 2004, Dolphins 29, Patriots 28: The 2004 season was one to forget for the Dolphins, but this Monday night thriller was one to remember. A.J. Feeley gave the 2-11 Dolphins a huge upset against the 11-2 Patriots with a fourth-down game-winning TD pass to Derrius Thompson and the defense picked off Tom Brady twice in the late stages.

1 — Dec. 2, 1985, Dolphins 38, Bears 24: This just might be the most impressive victory in Dolphins history given the way they handled the Bears in handing them their only loss of the 1985 season. The atmosphere at the Orange Bowl on this Monday night also was unparalleled and the Dolphins countered the Bears' vaunted "46" defense by using three wide receivers, with Nat Moore joining Mark Duper and Mark Clayton in the lineup. The Dolphins led 31-10 at halftime before Chicago made the final score more respectable.

This article first appeared on Miami Dolphins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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