The Top 100 Plays of the First Quarter of the Century: 26-30

Here's our countdown of the top 100 Miami Dolphins plays 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 plays 26-30:

30. Jarvis Landry’s punt return at Washington in 2015

Setting the stage: The 2015 season was a tumultuous one for the Dolphins, who would change head coaches after getting off to a 1-3 start, though it did start with a victory. It wasn't a pretty victory, however, because the Dolphins offense in that season opener at Washington. Miami trailed 10-7 early in the fourth quarter before tying the score with a short Andrew Franks field goal before the defense forced a three-and-out on a horrible offensive sequence that included four Washington penalties.

The play: On a fourth-and-15 from his own 15, Washington's Tress Way badly outpunted his coverage when he hit a 54-yard line drive that Landry fielded at the Miami 31. The second-year wide receiver, who had set the Dolphins rookie record for receptions in 2014, made Way and Washington pay by taking of some great blocking up the middle of the field. One high step near midfield and a quick juke to get past Way were all Landry needed to waltz into the end zone for a touchdown that would give the Dolphins a 17-10 victory.

29. Albert Wilson’s TD pass to Grant vs. Oakland in 2018

Setting the stage: Looking to go to 3-0 in the 2018 season, the Dolphins faced the Raiders in Miami and this became a game of big plays. After they Dolphins cut into their 17-7 deficit late in the third quarter with a Jakeem Grant on a shovel pass, they turned it up a notch to take the lead.

The play: The Dolphins now trailed 17-14 when they had the ball on a first-and-10 at their 48 midway through the fourth quarter. Grant lined up deep in the backfield and Ryan Tannehill motioned the ball in his direction after the snap but instead did an inside handoff to Kalen Ballage, who ran to the left and then pitched it to Albert Wilson going in the other direction. While this was going on, Grant had run down the right side of the field with no defender following him. Wilson, a former quarterback, then made the easy completion and Grant had a 52-yard touchdown.

28. Terrence Fede’s punt block vs. Minnesota in 2014

Setting the stage: The 2014 season showed promise at different points for the Dolphins, who had records of 5-3, 6-4 and 7-5 but never could get three games over .500. By the time they faced the Minnesota Vikings in Week 16, they already had been eliminated from playoff contention, but that otherwise meaningless game produced one of the most unusual finishes, authored by rookie seventh-round pick Terrence Fede.

The play: The Dolphins trailed 35-28 before they tied the game on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to Damien Williams with 1:16 left. On the ensuing kickoff, Dion Jordan tackled Cordarrelle Patterson at the Minnesota 13-yard line. A 2-yard scramble by Teddy Bridgewater, an incompletion and a Cameron Wake sack left the Vikings in a fourth-and-11 situation with 45 seconds left when the Dolphins used their final timeout. The long snap bounced before it got to punter Jeff Locke, but he was able to scoop up the ball to get off the punt. By that time, though, Fede had pushed through the line and he got his right hand on the ball to knock it backward out of the end zone for a safety. The Dolphins then clinched the 37-35 victory on the next play when kicker Blair Walsh's onside kick went out of bounds.

27. Pennington's TD pass to Cobbs at Houston in 2008

Setting the stage: After losing their first two games of the 2008 season, the Dolphins unleashed the Wildcat and then defeated the Patriots and Chargers to move to 2-2 heading into a Week 6 game against the Houston Texans. The Dolphins would drop a 29-28 decision against the previously winless Texans that day, but not before they got another big play out of the Wildcat, albeit in a different form.

The play: After running a conventional offense on their first drive, the Dolphins opened their second possession in the Wildcat formation and Ronnie Brown handed off to Ricky Williams for a 2-yard gain. On second-and-8, the Dolphins ran the same play, except this time Williams pitched the ball back to Pennington after the quarterback had lined up wide to the right side. In the meantime, third running back Patrick Cobbs ran downfield and he got wide open behind the Houston secondary. From there, it was a simple matter of pitch-and-catch and the Dolphins had themselves a 53-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. For good measure, Cobbs later scored an 80-yard touchdown on a screen pass.

26. Emmanuel Ogbah’s sack-strip vs. L.A. Rams in 2020

Setting the stage: The Dolphins were able to rebound from a 5-11 record in 2019 to finish 10-6 in 2020, in large part because of a big-play defense. Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah was among the headliners for the defense and it was his big play that turned around the Week 8 home game against the Los Angeles Rams in quarterback Tua Tagovailoa's first NFL start.

The play: The score was tied 7-7 early in the second quarter, but the Rams were threatening to take the lead after recovering a fumble inside the Dolphins 10-yard line. But on a second-and-goal from the 9, the Rams failed to account for Ogbah coming from the right of the offensive line and Goff never looked in his direction before he was blasted by the defensive end. The ball popped loose and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel was there to scoop it up and race to the end zone for a 78-yard touchdown. Jakeem Grant later added an 88-yard punt return and another fumble set up yet another score as the Dolphins built a 28-7 second-quarter lead on their way to a 28-17 victory.

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