The Top 100 Plays of the First Quarter of the Century: 41-45

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 41-45:

45. The Albert Wilson-Jakeem Grant high five 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 took a 21-17 lead when Albert Wilson threw a 52-yard touchdown pass to fellow wide receiver Jakeem Grant on a gadget play. Shortly after Xavien Howard's end zone interception kept the four-point lead, Wilson and Grant teamed up for more fun. Actually, it was Wilson who was involved in the play until Grant joined him later.

The play: Two plays after Howard's interception, the Dolphins faced a second-and-4 from their 26 shortly before the two-minute warning. After taking a shotgun snap, Ryan Tannehill just flipped the ball forward to Wilson as he was coming across the field from Tannehill's right. Some great blocking did the rest and Wilson broke loose toward the end zone. The only player on the field who actually got close to Wilson in the final 40 yards was Grant, who ran alongside him. That led to the two exchanging a high five around the Raiders 10-yard line.

44. Olindo Mare’s game-winning field goal at Denver in 2002

Setting the stage: Since the start of the new millennium, there might not have been a season that offered more early promise than 2002 when new running back Ricky Williams helped the Dolphins start off 4-1 heading into a Sunday night matchup against the Broncos in Denver. The Broncos also were 4-1 at the time with their offense run by quarterback Brian Griese, who joined his Hall of Fame father's former team the next season. The Dolphins appeared on their way to a comfortable victory when Patrick Surtain's 40-yard pick-six gave them a 21-12 lead halfway through the fourth quarter, but instead they would need a fantastic finish to pull out the win.

The play: Griese rebounded from the pick-six to lead Denver to 10 points over its next two offensive possessions, the last coming on Jason Elam's 55-yard field goal with 50 seconds left. That wasn't a whole of time for the Dolphins to respond, although they did have two timeouts left. Things looked particularly bleak after two Jay Fiedler incompletions left the Dolphins in a third-and-10 situation from their own 26-yard line with 29 seconds remaining. But then Fiedler connected on a 17-yard pass to tight end Randy McMichael before the second timeout and then a 22-yard hook-up with Dedric Ward to the Denver 35 before the third timeout with 11 seconds left. Instead of risking having the clock run out, head coach Dave Wannstedt sent kicker Olindo Mare onto the field and he nailed a 53-yard game-winning field goal to give the Dolphins a 24-22 victory in the first game ever to feature two field goals of at least 50 yards in the final minute. The victory would prove costly, though, because Fiedler sustained a broken thumb and have to sit out the next three games, all of which the Dolphins lost on their way to a disappointing 9-7 finish that kept them out of the playoffs.

43. Jay Ajayi's 57-yard run in overtime at Buffalo in 2016

Setting the stage: The Dolphins went to Buffalo on the next-to-last weekend of the season in position to lock down a playoff berth with a victory and some help. The Dolphins sent the game to overtime when Andrew Franks kicked a 55-yard field goal as time expired in regulation. After Buffalo's Dan Carpenter missed a 45-yard field goal earlier in overtime, the Dolphins began their second drive of OT at their own 15-yard line.

The play: After taking the snap out of the shotgun, quarterback Matt Moore gave an inside handoff to Ajayi, who took advantage of a block from tight end Dion Sims to bounce the play to the left. Defensive tackle Kyle Williams was the only defender to get a hand on Ajayi before he sprinted into the open and down the field. Oh, it didn't hurt that Buffalo had only 10 players on the field for that play. Ajayi's run gave the Dolphins a first down at the Bills 28 and five plays later Franks kicked a 27-yard field goal for a 34-31 victory that would put the Dolphins in the playoffs before the end of the weekend.

42. Charles Clay TD at Pittsburgh in 2013

Setting the stage: That game in the snow in Pittsburgh already has appeared in the countdown with Ryan Tannehill’s 48-yard run (a franchise record for a quarterback), but this one turned out to be the game-winner.

The play: After a 55-yard run by Daniel Thomas, his biggest highlight as a Dolphins running back, the Dolphins were in position to overtake the Steelers trailing 28-24. On a second down from the Steelers 12-yard line, Tannehill completed a pass to Clay near the sideline and he pinballed backward after being hit by Cortez Allen, then broke another tackle attempt from Troy Polamalu before swinging upfield and running the rest of the way into the end zone.

41. David Martin TD catch vs. San Francisco in 2008

Setting the stage: The 2008 Dolphins weren’t known for their downfield passing game because the offense was centered around the Wildcat and the running of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. But Miami got a big play in the passing game to take an early lead on their way to a 14-9 victory that was part of the run to an AFC East title.

The play: After forcing a punt at the start of the game, the Dolphins struck on a first-and-15 from their 39 when Chad Pennington looked downfield to Martin when the tight end was against single coverage from safety Mark Roman. Martin took advantage of his major size advantage to catch the ball over Roman, who didn’t locate the ball quickly enough to jump for it. Martin then raced untouched to the end zone for the 61-yard score.

More Miami Dolphins Coverage: