The Top 100 Games of the First Quarter of the Century: 21-30

Here's our countdown of the top 100 Miami Dolphins games of the first 25 seasons of the new century.

For ground rules, the plays were picked on the basis of historical significance, impact on a game or season, and uniqueness.

We continue the countdown with games 21-30:

30. 2006 at Chicago — Dolphins 31, Bears 13

Any list of the greatest upset victories in Dolphins history has to include this game when the 1-6 Dolphins shocked the 7-0 Bears at Soldier Field. While Ronnie Brown rushed for 157 yards, this game was about the defense, which came up with three sacks and six takeaways, including Jason Taylor's 20-yard pick-six to make it 14-3 in the second quarter.

29. 2019 vs. Cincinnati — Dolphins 38, Bengals 35 (OT)

Let's start here by clearing up one thing: The Dolphins would NOT have secured the first overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft by losing this game because there was a two-win difference between the teams heading into this Week 16 game. They still would have needed to have a loss at New England in Week 17 combined with a Cincinnati win. That out of the way, this was a wildly entertaining game that featured an incredible comeback by the Bengals, who scored two touchdowns and two two-point conversions in the final 30 seconds to send the game to overtime. Each team failed on its first two possessions of overtime before the Dolphins ended it with a Jason Sanders field goal after a 28-yard completion from Ryan Fitzpatrick to Isaiah Ford.

28. 2005 vs. Buffalo — Dolphins 24, Bills 23

The countdown already has featured one game from the Dolphins' six-game season-ending winning streak in Nick Saban's first season as head coach, but this December game in Miami was the most dramatic. This was the game when Chris Chambers set a franchise record with 15 catches for 238 yards, including the game-winning 4-yard touchdown from Sage Rosenfels with 6 seconds left. Rosenfels came into the game after Gus Frerotte was injured while being sacked for a safety that gave Buffalo a 23-3 lead early in the third quarter. The Bills earlier had stunned the Dolphins with three first-quarter touchdown passes from J.P. Losman to Lee Evans for a quick 21-0 lead.

27. 2013 vs. New England — Dolphins 24, Patriots 20

This December home game had a little bit of everything, including a great performance by Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill and a great defensive stand highlighted by newcomer Michael Thomas, making his Miami debut five days after being signed off the 49ers practice squad. After Tannehill gave the Dolphins the lead with a touchdown pass to Marcus Thigpen, it sure looked like Tom Brady was going to pull off one of his patented comebacks when he drove the Pats from their 20 to the Miami 14 with 16 seconds left. But the defense forced two straight incompletions before Thomas jumped in front of wide receiver Austin Collie in the end zone for the game-clinching interception.

26. 2002 vs. Oakland — Dolphins 23, Raiders 17

While the 2002 season ended in disappointment for the Dolphins when they lost their final two games at Minnesota and New England, this Week 15 home victory against the eventual AFC champion Raiders and NFL MVP Rich Gannon showed they could compete with any team. The Dolphins held Gannon to 204 passing yards and a season-low 72.5 passer rating, stopping their final drive when Patrick Surtain intercepted a deep pass down the middle intended for Jerry Rice. The Dolphins, whose game-winning field goal was set up by an Ed Perry recovery of a Tim Brown fumble on a punt return, iced the victory when Ricky Williams rushed for a first down.

25. 2017 at Atlanta — Dolphins 20, Falcons 17

The Dolphins were 2-2 when they prepared to face the 3-1 defending NFC champion Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and things sure didn't look good when Atlanta took a 17-0 lead into halftime. But Jay Cutler led the offense on scoring drives all four times Miami had the ball in the second half and the Dolphins came up with a huge defensive stand to clinch the victory when safety Reshad Jones picked off a Matt Ryan pass on a first-and-10 from the Miami 26 — well within field goal range.

24. 2014 vs. New England — Dolphins 33, Patriots 20

If the 2015 home game against Houston (59 on the countdown) featured the best Dolphins first half in memory, it's difficult to find a more impressive second half than what they did in their 2014 season opener. Things didn't look good after New England took a 20-10 lead into halftime after racking up 248 yards of offense, but the defense held the Patriots to two first downs on their first six second-half possessions. The Dolphins outscored New England 23-0 in that second half, taking the lead for good on a Caleb Sturgis field goal late in the third quarter and slamming the door when Knowshon Moreno put the capper on his 134-yard rushing performance with a fourth-quarter touchdown.

23. 2001 at Tennessee — Dolphins 31, Titans 23

This Sunday night opener was highlighted by one of Dolphins Hall of Famer Zach Thomas' signature plays, his 34-yard pick-six punctuated by his forward flip into the end zone. But this was an overall great opening performance by the Dolphins, who also got two touchdowns from running back Lamar Smith, including a 65-yard score on a screen pass from Jay Fiedler. The final score didn't do justice to Miami's performance because Thomas' touchdown made it 31-14 before Tennessee scored nine points in the final 6:09.

22. 2000 at East Rutherford, N.J. — Jets 40, Dolphins 37 (OT)

This is the last Dolphins loss in the countdown and, painful as it was, it was just a wild and crazy game that always will be remembered. For those who don't remember or have chosen to forget, the Dolphins led 30-7 heading into the fourth quarter and it didn't seem like a big deal when Sam Madison let a potential interception slip through his fingers into the hands of Laveranues Coles in the end zone to make it 30-13 early in the fourth quarter. Another strange aspect of this game (among many) is that the Jets got not one but two interceptions in overtime, as Marcus Coleman fumbled on the return of his first pick before intercepting Jay Fiedler again on a first-and-10 from the Jets 43.

21. 2009 vs. N.Y. Jets — Dolphins 31, Jets 27

Our countdown earlier featured a 2009 early-season Monday night game and this one took place three weeks later, and was even more exciting and featured a better outcome. After a maybe ho-hum first three quarters, the fourth quarter was borderline spectacular as it featured five lead changes that included a 53-yard touchdown pass from Chad Henne to Ted Ginn Jr. to put Miami up 24-20. After the Jets went up 27-24, the Dolphins responded with a 70-yard drive that ended with Ronnie Brown taking the snap in the Wildcat and scoring on a 2-yard run with 10 seconds left.

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