The 100 Greatest Plays in Dolphins History: No. 1

Combining the countdown to the start of the Dolphins regular season with the best plays in franchise history

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 difficulty, uniqueness, 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. 1:

No. 1: The 'Hook and Lateral' — Tony Nathan's touchdown vs. San Diego in the 1981 playoffs

Setting the stage:

There's a reason the "Epic in Miami" has its own Wikipedia page and is considered in some parts as the greatest game in NFL history.

A lot of that has to do with the incredible swings in the game played on Jan. 2, 1982, which saw the San Diego Chargers take a 24-0 first-quarter lead before the Dolphins roared back to lead 38-31 with a position to seal the victory before a fumble allowed the Chargers the chance to send the game to overtime, but only after Miami had a potential game-winning field attempt blocked on the final play of regulation.

The game also featured brilliant individual performances from both sides, highlighted by Dolphins backup QB Don Strock, who engineered the brilliant comeback but also including Chargers QB Dan Fouts and tight end Kellen Winslow, who caught 13 passes and was the one who blocked that last-second field goal attempt. There were 11 NFL playoff records set that day, all of them offensively.

And then there the absolutely incredible play the Dolphins pulled off at the end of the first half, the play that's landed at number 1 in our countdown despite happening in a loss because of the sheer genius of it, the history-making aspect of it and its significance coming in a playoff game.

The play: The Dolphins scored the next 10 points after San Diego's first-quarter flurry and took over possession at their 37 after Rolf Benirschke missed a 55-yard field goal attempt with 30 seconds left in the first half. Three short completions by Strock got Miami to the San Diego 40, but only 6 seconds remained. Instead of attempting a long-shot 58-yard field goal, the Dolphins had Strock line up behind center and the thought clearly was that he would attempt a Hail Mary. Instead, Strock completed a pass in the middle of the field to Duriel Harris on a hook pattern at the Chargers 25. As defenders from every direction converged on Harris, he just lateraled the ball to running back Tony Nathan running across the field in front of him. With all their momentum going inside toward Harris, the Chargers' outside defenders had no chance to stop Nathan, who ran untouched into the end zone to complete the 40-yard touchdown. That play is common these days, but it certainly wasn't back in those days and the stunning touchdown sent the packed Orange Bowl into a frenzy as halftime arrived. That the Dolphins ended up losing that day simply can't take away from the sheer brilliance of the play and being able to pull it off and execute to perfection like that in a playoff game made it the clear choice as the greatest play in Dolphins history. As NBC play-by-play Don Criqui said at the time, "What a play! What a play! Hall of Fame football play! That goes to Canton."

The hook and lateral against which all others are measured. 💰 pic.twitter.com/xqat1PqqHR

— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) October 2, 2018

The No. 100 Greatest Play: Jay Ajayi's OT run at Buffalo in 2016

The No. 99 Greatest Play: Earl Morrall's TD run vs. the N.Y. Jets in 1972

The No. 98 Greatest Play: Ricky Williams' 68-yard TD run vs. New Orleans in 2009

The No. 97 Greatest Play: Bryan Cox takes on the Cincinnati sideline in 1991

The No. 96 Greatest Play: Jerome Baker's 30-yard sack vs. Kansas City in 2020

The No. 95 Greatest Play: David Woodley's TD pass to Jimmy Cefalo in Super Bowl XVII

The No. 94 Greatest Play: Chuck Klingbeil's fumble recovery for a touchdown vs. Green Bay in 1991

The No. 93 Greatest Play: Mark Clayton's TD pass to Mark Duper vs. Buffalo in 1983

The No. 92 Greatest Play: Ron Davenport's 31-yard TD run vs. Cleveland in the 1985 playoffs

The No. 91 Greatest Play: Pete Stoyanovich's game-winning field goal vs. the N.Y. Jets in 1992

The No. 90 Greatest Play: Sam Madison's third INT vs. Tennessee in 2000

The No. 89 Greatest Play: Paul Warfield's open-field spin move vs. Oakland in 1970

The No. 88 Greatest Play: Brent Grimes' INT at Detroit in 2014

The No. 87 Greatest Play: David Woodley's 54-yard pass to Duriel Harris in OT vs. New England in 1980

The No. 86 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's game-winning TD pass to O.J. McDuffie at Cincinnati in 1995

The No. 85 Greatest Play: Oronde Gadsden's one-handed catch at Oakland in the 2000 playoffs

The No. 84 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's 74-yard TD pass to Mark Duper at Washington in 1984

The No. 83 Greatest Play: Albert Wilson's 75-yard catch-and-run vs. Chicago in 2018

The No. 82 Greatest Play: Vontae Davis' interception at Minnesota in 2010

The No. 81 Greatest Play: Jakeem Grant's kickoff return for a touchdown vs. Tennessee in 2018

The No. 80 Greatest Play: Chad Pennington's touchdown pass to Patrick Cobbs at Houston in 2008

The No. 79 Greatest Play: Jeff Dellenbach's fumble recovery at Dallas in 1993

The No. 78 Greatest Play: Michael Thomas' INT vs. New England in 2013

The No. 77 Greatest Play: Albert Wilson and Jakeem Grant's on-field high-five vs. Oakland in 2018

The No. 76 Greatest Play: Ricky Williams' 53-yard TD run vs. the N.Y. Jets in 2002

The No. 75 Greatest Play: Tom Vigorito's punt return for a TD vs. Pittsburgh in 1981

The No. 74 Greatest Play: Nat Moore's kickoff return for a TD at Oakland in the 1974 playoffs

The No. 73 Greatest Play: The Orange Bowl crowd takes over vs. Philadelphia in 1981

The No. 72 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's game-winning TD pass to Oronde Gadsden at Indianapolis in 1999

The No. 71 Greatest Play: Bob Griese's 86-yard TD pass to Paul Warfield vs. Pittsburgh in 1971

The No. 70 Greatest Play: Jason Taylor's pick-six vs. Minnesota in 2006

The No. 69 Greatest Play: Albert Wilson's TD pass to Jakeem Grant vs. Oakland in 2018

The No. 68 Greatest Play: Xavien Howard's interception vs. New England in 2017

The No. 67 Greatest Play: Emmanuel Ogbah's sack-strip vs. the L.A. Rams in 2020

The No. 66 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's TD pass to Mark Clayton vs. Chicago in 1985

The No. 65 Greatest Play: Doug Betters' PAT block vs. Philadelphia in 1984

The No. 64 Greatest Play: Ryan Tannehill's game-winning TD pass to DeVante Parker at Los Angeles in 2016

The No. 63 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's first NFL TD pass to Joe Rose at Los Angeles in 1983

The No. 62 Greatest Play: Jason Taylor's pick-six at Chicago in 2006

The No. 61 Greatest Play: Terrell Buckley's pick-six at Buffalo in 1996

The No. 60 Greatest Play: Reggie Bush's 76-yard TD run at Buffalo in 2011

The No. 59 Greatest Play: Jarvis Landry's 50-yard catch-and-run vs. Houston in 2015

The No. 58 Greatest Play: Mercury Morris' 105-yard kickoff return at Cincinnati in 1969

The No. 57 Greatest Play: Zach Thomas' pick-six at Tennessee in 2001

The No. 56 Greatest Play: Terrence Fede's punt block vs. Minnesota in 2014

The No. 55 Greatest Play: Mark Clayton's 63-yard TD catch vs. Dallas in 1984

The No. 54 Greatest Play: Olindo Mare's game-winning field goal at New England in 2000

The No. 53 Greatest Play: Jarvis Landry's punt return for a touchdown at Washington in the 2015 opener

The No. 52 Greatest Play: Doug Swift's second INT vs. Cleveland in the 1972 playoffs

The No. 51 Greatest Play: Bob Griese's game-winning TD pass to Jim Mandich at Minnesota in 1972

The No. 50 Greatest Play: Sage Rosenfels' game-winning TD pass to Chris Chambers vs. Buffalo in 2005

The No. 49 Greatest Play: Damon Huard's game-winning TD pass to Stanley Pritchett at New England in 1999

The No. 48 Greatest Play: Jake Scott's second interception vs. Washington in Super Bowl VII

The No. 47 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's second TD pass to Mark Duper vs. Pittsburgh in the 1984 AFC Championship Game

The No. 46 Greatest Play: Ryan Fitzpatrick's game-winning TD pass to Mike Gesicki at New England in 2019

The No. 45 Greatest Play: Larry Izzo's fake punt at Houston in 1996

The No. 44 Greatest Play: The intentional safety vs. Pittsburgh in 1973

The No. 43 Greatest Play: Louis Oliver's 103-yard interception return at Buffalo in 1992

The No. 42 Greatest Play: Jay Ajayi's TD run vs. Pittsburgh in 2016

The No. 41 Greatest Play: Ted Ginn's second kickoff return for a TD at the N.Y. Jets in 2009

The No. 40 Greatest Play: Ronnie Brown's game-winning TD run vs. the N.Y. Jets in 2009

The No. 39 Greatest Play: Dick Anderson's first of two pick-sixes vs. Pittsburgh in 1973

The No. 38 Greatest Play: Andrew Franks' game-tying 55-yard field goal at Buffalo in 2016

The No. 37 Greatest Play: Olindo Mare's game-winning 53-yard field goal at Denver in 2002

The No. 36 Greatest Play: The onside punt vs. Cincinnati in 1980

The No. 35 Greatest Play: Charlie Babb's punt block/touchdown vs. Cleveland in the 1972 playoffs

The No. 34 Greatest Play: Leroy Harris' 77-yard touchdown run vs. Baltimore in 1977

The No. 33 Greatest Play: Phillip Merling's pick-six at the N.Y. Jets in 2008

The No. 32 Greatest Play: Larry Csonka's 29-yard run in OT at Kansas City in the 1971 playoffs

The No. 31 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's game-winning TD pass to Mark Clayton vs. Kansas City in the 1990 playoffs

The No. 30 Greatest Play: Fulton Walker's kickoff return for a TD vs. Washington in Super Bowl XVII

The No. 29 Greatest Play: Jim Mandich's sliding catch vs. Washington in Super Bowl VII

The No. 28 Greatest Play: Kenyan Drake's game-winning kickoff return for a touchdown vs. the N.Y. Jets in 2016

The No. 27 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's TD pass to Mark Duper in OT at Los Angeles in 1986

The No. 26 Greatest Play: Bob Griese's 75-yard TD pass to Paul Warfield vs. Baltimore in the 1971 AFC Championship Game

The No. 25 Greatest Play: Manny Fernandez steals a handoff vs. Buffalo in 1972

The No. 24 Greatest Play: Ronnie Brown's touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano at New England in 2008

The No. 23 Greatest Play: A.J. Feeley's game-winning TD pass to Derrius Thompson vs. New England in 2004

The No. 22 Greatest Play: Bob Griese's TD pass to Howard Twilley vs. Washington in Super Bowl VII

The No. 21 Greatest Play: Ryan Fitzpatrick's "Facemask Pass" to Mack Hollins at Las Vegas in 2020

The No. 20 Greatest Play: Garo Yepremian's game-winning field goal at Kansas City in the 1971 playoffs

The No. 19 Greatest Play: Jason Taylor's sack-strip-TD at Cincinnati in 2000

The No. 18 Greatest Play: Cleo Lemon's game-winning TD pass to Greg Camarillo in OT vs. Baltimore in 2007

The No. 17 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's game-winning TD pass to Mark Duper vs. the N.Y. Jets in 1985

The No. 16 Greatest Play: Keith Byars' 77-yard TD run at Dallas in 1993

The No. 15 Greatest Play: Kiko Alonso's game-winning pick-six at San Diego in 2016

The No. 14 Greatest Play: Lamar Miller's 97-yard run vs. the N.Y. Jets in 2014

The No. 13 Greatest Play: Lamar Smith's game-winning TD run in OT vs. Indianapolis in the 2000 playoffs

The No. 12 Greatest Play: Joe Auer's kickoff return for a touchdown vs. Oakland in 1966

The No. 11 Greatest Play: A.J. Duhe's pick-six vs. the N.Y. Jets in the 1982 AFC Championship Game

The No. 10 Greatest Play: Cameron Wake's game-winning sack for a safety vs. Cincinnati in 2013

The No. 9 Greatest Play: Trace Armstrong's game-clinching sack-strip vs. Buffalo in the 1998 playoffs

The No. 8 Greatest Play: 'Mountaineer Shot' vs. Philadelphia in 2019

The No. 7 Greatest Play: Dick Anderson's pick-six vs. Baltimore in the 1971 AFC Championship Game

The No. 6 Greatest Play: Dan Marino's game-winning TD pass to Irving Fryar vs. New England in 1994

The No. 5 Greatest Play: Larry Seiple's fake punt at Pittsburgh in the 1972 AFC Championship Game

The No. 4 Greatest Play: Jay Fiedler's game-winning TD run vs. Oakland in 2001

The No. 3 Greatest Play: The 'Fake Spike' — Dan Marino's game-winning TD pass to Mark Ingram at the N.Y. Jets in 1994

The No. 2 Greatest Play: The 'Miami Miracle' — Kenyan Drake's game-winning TD vs. New England in 2018

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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.