Worst moments in Miami Dolphins history
What are the worst moments for each NFL franchise? Yahoo Sports provides our opinion, which you are free to disagree with (and we’re sure you will).
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5. Dan Marino’s Horrific Injury
Perhaps the most tenacious quarterback of his time, Dan Marino played 145 consecutive games from 1983 to 1993 – which at the time was the longest streak for an NFL quarterback. But that ended on Oct. 10, 1993, when Marino suddenly collapsed on the Cleveland Browns field late in the first half. Without being tackled, he tore his right Achilles tendon. The Dolphins were 4-1 at the time and very much looking like a contender. But with backup QB Scott Mitchell replacing the injured Marino, the Dolphins faded at the end of the season, losing their last five games to miss the playoffs.
4. The Game That Collapsed a Franchise
Dubbed the “Battle of the Sunshine State,” Miami vs. the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars met in the second round of the 1999 playoffs. By the end of the first quarter, Jacksonville led 24-0. By halftime it was 41-7. By the end, 62-7 in what ranks as the second-largest margin of victory in NFL history, behind only the Bears’ 73-0 slaughter of the Washington Redskins in 1940. But the final score wasn’t even the saddest part. This marked Dan Marino’s last game, having never won a Super Bowl in his 17-year pro career. In the 17-plus seasons since, the Dolphins have been to the postseason just four times.
3. Dolphins Lose in Super Bowl XIX to 49ers
Super Bowl XIX had the makings of a championship battle for the ages. Montana vs. Marino, two of the best ever. Except that it never materialized. The ‘Fins did lead in the first quarter 10-7, but gave up 21 second-quarter points and were never closer than 12 points after that. The Dolphins didn’t know it at the time, but this would be Dan Marino’s only Super Bowl appearance.
2. Passing on Drew Brees
To hear Nick Saban tell it, he offered a contract to Drew Brees prior to the 2006 season, but team doctors said the then-free agent quarterback wasn’t healthy, so the Dolphins went with Daunte Culpepper instead. Brees tells another story, that Saban told him he had to “trust what our medical people are saying.” Either way, the Dolphins signed Culpepper, who started a grand total of 11 games spread over two seasons for Miami, while Brees is in his 12th season with New Orleans, whom he won a Super Bowl with in 2010. And Saban? He didn’t bother sticking around anyway. After much denial that he was interested in the vacant Alabama job, Saban left the Dolphins in January 2007 for … the Alabama job.
1. Miami’s Worst Season Ever
The only NFL franchise with a perfect season nearly became the first with a perfectly imperfect season. In 2007, behind a quarterback rotation of Cleo Lemon, John Beck and an aging Trent Green, the Dolphins started the season with 13 straight losses before finally get an overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore actually had a chance to win it in overtime, but Matt Stover missed a 44-yard field goal. Three plays later, Lemon hit Greg Camarillo on a 64-yard touchdown for the win. Two more losses ended the Dolphins season at 1-15, with only a missed field between them and the
perfect imperfect season.
