ESPN releases list of honorable mention plays that didn’t make finals

Written by Matthew Cannata
Last week, ESPN had polls on each team page asking fans to nominate the greatest plays in each team’s history. Then, the top three were selected for a final vote. For the Miami Dolphins, Dan Marino’s fake spike was voted the best play in team history. The following plays were honorable mentions that didn’t make the cut:

- In 1985, Dan Marino threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Mark Clayton to beat the Chicago Bears. The Dolphins ended up being the only team to beat them that year.

- In 2008, Ronnie Brown threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Fasano when they unleashed the Wildcat against the New England Patriots. That victory set the tone for Miami’s run to the AFC East title that year.

- On the first play in franchise history, Joe Auer returned the opening kickoff for 95 yards for a touchdown. ESPN states that the reason it didn’t make the top three because it didn’t have enough significance. The Dolphins lost that game to the Oakland Raiders, 23-14.

- Leon Lett wasn’t on the Dolphins but he is infamously known for the snow fumble on Thanksgiving in 1993. Miami was attempting a field goal to win the game and the Dallas Cowboys blocked it. Lett picked it up for no reason and fumbled it towards the endzone. The Dolphins jumped on it and recovered and then had another chance at a field goal, which they ultimately nailed to win the game.

Of course, there are many more memorable moments in Dolphins history and it’s hard to pick out just a few but these were the ones nominated by the fans who visit ESPN. 

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