The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 76
To help count down the days to the start of the Miami Dolphins regular season last year, we marked each day with the corresponding jersey number and came up with the three best players to wear that number.
This year, we're counting down to the start of the regular season with a countdown of the top 100 plays in Dolphins history.
Given that the Dolphins have played 849 regular season games and 41 more in the playoffs, it's an awfully difficult task to narrow things down to 100 plays and then rank them. The plays selected were ranked on the basis of difficult, immediate and long-lasting impact and historical significance.
The countdown initially appeared in Dolphin Digest in 2019 but has been updated.
We continue with No. 76
No. 76: Ricky Williams' touchdown run vs. the New York Jets in 2002
Setting the stage: The Dolphins entered the 2002 season with big hopes after swinging a huge deal to acquire running back Ricky Williams in the offseason and he got off to a great start by rushing for 111 and 132 yards in the first two games, victories against the Lions and Colts. But Week 3 offered a different challenge with a visit to Miami by the New York Jets, who the Dolphins hadn't defeated since 1997.
The play: The Dolphins were leading 16-3 when they got the ball back at their 19-yard line with 8:43 left in the fourth quarter. Williams carried four consecutive times for 15 yards and a first down, and the Dolphins then converted a third down with a Jay Fiedler completion to tight end Randy McMichael. On a first-and-10 from the Miami 47, Fiedler again handed off Williams, who made a quick move and found a hole on the right side before splitting two defenders and making his way to the end zone. The 53-yard touchdown capped a 151-yard rushing performance for Williams. More significantly, the touchdown was the perfect exclamation on the Dolphins finally slamming the door on their losing streak against the Jets.
The No. 100 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 99 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 98 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 97 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 96 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 95 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 94 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 93 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 92 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 91 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 90 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 89 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 88 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 87 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 86 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 85 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 84 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 83 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 82 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 81 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 80 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 79 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 78 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
The No. 77 Greatest Play in Dolphins History
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Alain Poupart has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989. You can follow him on Twitter at @PoupartNFL. Feel free to submit questions every Friday for the All Dolphins mailbag.
