The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 36-40

A play for the ages and some fantastic finishes lead the next set of games

Miami Dolphins holder Matt Haack (2) throws a touchdown pass to kicker Jason Sanders (7) on a fake field goal attempt in the second quarter against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019. / Allen Eyestone via Imagn Content

The last two seasons have been generally good ones and often memorable for the Miami Dolphins, who made the playoffs each time mostly behind one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL.

The proof comes in our ranking of the top 75 Dolphins games of the 2000s, which featured seven games from 2022 (the most of any season) plus four more from last season.

Of course, this is all subjective and every Dolphins fan might have a different view of each game. For us, it was about the entertainment value of the game combined with the significance of it, with bonus points awarded for anything unusual that happened like, say, a ridiculous three-lateral finish or a team being called back from the locker room 30 minutes after everybody thought the game was over.

And, yes, the list includes some Dolphins losses purely on the entertainment value and quality of the game.

So here it is, our countdown of the top 75 Dolphins games of the 2000s, continuing with numbers 36-40:

40. 2013 at Pittsburgh — Dolphins 34, Steelers 28

This game is well known for its very scary finish (from a Dolphins vantage point), but it also was a fun back-and-forth battle. There were four lead changes in the second half before Charles Clay gave Miami the lead for good with his second touchdown reception from Ryan Tannehill. The scary part came on the final play, which began as a fourth-and-9 for the Steelers from their 21 with 3 seconds left and ended at the Miami 12-yard line when Antonio Brown stepped out of bounds after five laterals. Let's just say it wasn't that far from what the Dolphins would produce five years later in Miami. This game also will be remembered for 2011 second-round pick Daniel Thomas' 111-yard rushing performance, his second and last 100-yard outing for Miami.

39. 2019 vs. Philadelphia — Dolphins 37, Eagles 31

After a dreadful start to the 2019 season, the rebuilding Dolphins got interesting in the second half of the season (some might suggest that was a bad thing, but that's a story for another time) and the Dec. 1 game against the Eagles served as a great example. On a day when Ryan Fitzpatrick passed for 365 yards and three touchdowns, including a 43-yard hook-up with DeVante Parker on fourth-and-4 late in the first quarter, it was the specialists who teamed up for the most memorable play of the game. "Mountaineer Shot," it was called and it produced a 1-yard touchdown pass from punter/holder Matt Haack to kicker Jason Sanders after the Dolphins switched to a crazy formation with five players wide to the left, four wide to the right, and only Haack (in the shotgun) behind center Daniel Kilgore.

38. 2017 at Los Angeles — Dolphins 19, Chargers 17

The start of the 2017 season was chaotic, to say the least, for the Dolphins, whose opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was postponed because of Hurricane Irma. Instead, the Dolphins spent a week in Southern California for their Week 2 game against the Chargers and their temporary home of StubHub Center, a soccer stadium with a third the seating capacity of a normal NFL stadium. This was the Dolphins debut for QB Jay Cutler, who threw a TD pass to Kenny Stills, and Jay Ajayi began his post-Pro Bowl campaign by rushing for 122 yards. But this game came down to the kickers, with Miami's Cody Parker nailing a 54-yard kick with 1:10 left and the Chargers' Younghoe Koo missing from 44 yards out on the next-to-last play of the game.

37. 2003 at Dallas — Dolphins 40, Cowboys 21

The Dolphins have had pretty good success on Thanksgiving Day through the years, and their rout of the Cowboys in 2003 has to rank near the top of those games. The Dolphins were 7-4 heading into this game against the 8-3 Cowboys, but it turned into a rout after Jay Fiedler connected with Chris Chambers for three touchdown passes. For good measure, Jason Taylor scored on a 34-yard fumble return to make the score 30-14 in the third quarter and the lead grew to 40-14 before Dallas tacked on a late touchdown.

36. 2013 vs. Atlanta — Dolphins 27, Falcons 23

The Dolphins have had their share of 3-0 starts since 2000, and this victory against the Falcons produced one in 2013 that was particularly encouraging because this was Ryan Tannehill's first late-game comeback. The Dolphins never led in this game until Tannehill threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dion Sims with 43 seconds left to cap a 13-play, 75-yard drive that featured three third-down conversions and was highlighted by a 21-yard completion to tight end Charles Clay.

PREVIOUSLY IN THE COUNTDOWN

-- The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 71-75

-- The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 66-70

-- The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 61-65

-- The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 56-60

-- The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 51-55

-- The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 46-50

-- The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 41-45