10 Memorable Dolphins-Brady Highlights

The Miami Dolphins defeated Tom Brady more often than any other team during his legendary NFL career, and also had the most interceptions and most sacks against him

The big news around the NFL on Wednesday morning was Tom Brady's announcement, via Twitter, that he's retiring — this time for good.

The news ended all the speculation about where Brady would play in 2023, though the Miami Dolphins weren't considered an option based on the team's stance that Tua Tagovailoa again will be their starting quarterback next season.

Brady's resume, topped by his seven Super Bowl titles, will make a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee when he becomes eligible in 2028 and pretty much every team around the NFL was on the wrong end of one of his many accomplishments at one time or another.

All things considered, the Miami Dolphins didn't fare all that poorly against Brady.

As AFC East rivals for most of Brady's career, the Dolphins faced him 36 times in his 23 NFL seasons — tied with Buffalo for second-most behind only the New York Jets' 37 times.

The Dolphins hold the distinction of having the most wins against Brady with 12, along with the most interceptions with 27 and the most sacks with 66. Miami also held Brady to his two lowest passing yardage totals in a complete game — 76 in a 24-10 New England victory in 2004 and 78 in Miami's 21-0 victory in 2006.

And, for the record, the last Dolphins player to sack Brady was Jaelan Phillips in 2021 and the last player to record an interception for the Dolphins against Brady was safety Eric Rowe, who had a pick-six in Miami's 27-24 victory at Gillette Stadium in the 2019 season finale.

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10 MEMORABLE DOLPHINS-BRADY MOMENTS

But Brady also had his share of highlights against Miami, including a six-touchdown game in 2007 and a career-best 517-yard outing in the 2011 season opener.

Here then are 10 highlights, listed chronologically, from Tom Brady's career against the Dolphins:

Oct. 17, 2001, Dolphins 30, Patriots 10 — Brady's first start against the Dolphins, it came two weeks after he replaced an injured Drew Bledsoe at quarterback. After the Dolphins held Brady to 12-for-24 passing for 86 yards and sacked him four times, there was nothing to suggest Brady would become a problem for the next two decades.

Oct. 19, 2003, Patriots 19, Dolphins 13 (OT) — The Patriots won their second Super Bowl in three years in 2003 and it's difficult not to point at this October game when they came in with a 4-2 record and the Dolphins were 4-1 as the turning point for them. This was a game the Dolphins should have won, but didn't because they had a field goal attempt blocked late in regulation and another missed in overtime. And then, after an interception at their own 18, Brady moved to his left after getting pressure in the pocket and found Troy Brown for a dramatic 82-yard game-winning touchdown.

Dec. 20, 2004, Dolphins 29, Patriots 28 — This has to rank as the biggest upset victory in Dolphins history, and getting two picks against Brady in the final stages helped them pull it off. The 2-11 Dolphins trailed 28-17 against the 12-1 Patriots before they scored, got an interception from linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo when Brady forced a pass with Jason Taylor draped all over him, took the lead, then clinched the victory when safety Arturo Freeman picked off Brady.

Dec. 10, 2006, Dolphins 21, Patriots 0 — Until Brady lost 9-0 against the New Orleans Saints in 2021 in his second season with the Bucs, this had been the last time he had been shut out. Matt Roth had 1.5 of the Dolphins' four sacks that day.

Dec. 6, 2009, Dolphins 22, Patriots 21 — Brady was the master of the fourth-quarter game-winning drive during his career, but the Dolphins defense would have none of it on this day. After Dan Carpenter gave the Dolphins the lead with a late field goal, Brady and the Patriots took over at their own 22-yard line with 57 seconds left but no timeouts. Brady got a quick 11-yard completion, but on second-and-10 from the 33 he was pressured by Cameron Wake and forced a throw that linebacker Channing Crowder intercepted to clinch the victory.

Sept. 12, 2011, Patriots 38, Dolphins 24 — This Monday night season opener featured Chad Henne's greatest performance with the Dolphins, but he unfortunately was overshadowed by Brady throwing for 517 yards, including a crushing 99-yard touchdown to Wes Welker in the second half.

Dec. 15, 2013, Dolphins 24, Patriots 20 — This forever will be known as the Michael Thomas game. Brady passed for 364 yards and two touchdowns that game, but his attempt to rally the Patriots late ended when Thomas picked him off in the end zone five days after being signed off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad.

Dec. 11, 2017, Dolphins 27, Patriots 20 — If we're looking for a game when Xavien Howard became a star, this might be it. On the Monday night stage, Howard picked off Brady twice while blanketing wide receiver Brandin Cooks all night, including a bomb where Howard showed off great closing speed after Cooks got behind him.

Dec. 9, 2018, Dolphins 34, Patriots 33 — The Miracle in Miami. Brady sure did his part for New England in that game, completing 27 of 43 passes for 358 yards with three touchdowns and no picks. But the Patriots took the ball out of his hands late, content to go with three straight running plays to set up the late Stephen Gostkowski they thought would be enough to secure the victory.

Oct. 10, 2021, Buccaneers 45, Dolphins 17 — Brady's last game against the Dolphins was enough to make Miami want him to retire. After a slow start, Brady went 30-for-41 for 411 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions. It would be the last of Brady's nine career games with five or more touchdown passes.

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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 week for the All Dolphins mailbag.