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The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 11-15

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The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 11-15


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.

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So here it is, our countdown of the top 75 Dolphins games of the 2000s, continuing with numbers 11-15:

This Sunday night battle between 4-1 teams was an absolute gem, and it featured an NFL first with each team making a field goal of at least 50 yards in the final minute. It was Olindo Mare who had the final and winning 53-yard kick for the Dolphins after Jay Fiedler had completions of 17 and 22 yards, with Patrick Surtain earlier giving Miami a 21-12 lead with a pick-six. The victory was costly, however, because Fiedler fractured a thumb and had to miss the next three games, which Miami all lost.

There’s probably little debate that this was Tua Tagovailoa’s best game in his first two years in the NFL as he passed for 248 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 35 yards. His best work came during a 93-yard touchdown drive after Arizona had taken a 31-24 lead. The defense also chipped in with Shaq Lawson’s fumble return for a touchdown after an Emmanuel Ogbah sack-strip and a fourth-and-1 stuff on future Dolphins running back Chase Edmonds with the score tied 31-31 and 5:20 left. The Dolphins survived a late drive by Arizona when Zane Gonzalez was wide right on a 49-yard field goal attempt after the Cardinals strangely called for a pass on third-and-1.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, this was the biggest upset victory in Dolphins history. Heading into this Week 14 Monday night matchup, the Dolphins were a woeful 2-11, while the Patriots were 12-1 and on their way to a second consecutive Super Bowl title. But after New England took a 28-17 lead with 3:59 left in the fourth quarter, everything went right for the Dolphins: a 68-yard touchdown drive to make it 28-23, a Brendon Ayanbadejo interception of Tom Brady, a 21-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Feeley to Derrius Thompson on fourth-and-10, and another interception of Brady, this one by safety Arturo Freeman.

This one wasn’t quite as massive an upset as the one 15 years earlier, but not by much. Remember that the Patriots came in with a 12-3 record and needing a victory to secure a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs, while the Dolphins were closing out their season and coming in with a 4-11 mark. The Dolphins clearly came ready to play, though, as they jumped out to a 10-0 lead after Eric Rowe’s 35-yard pick-six. And after Brady gave the Patriots a 24-20 lead with touchdown passes to future Dolphins linebacker Elandon Roberts and running back James White, Ryan Fitzpatrick engineered a game-winning 75-yard touchdown drive capped by his 5-yard pass to Mike Gesicki.

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Talk about a way to kick off a season! In a battle of teams coming off playoff appearances that featured nine lead changes, it’s the Dolphins who had the final answer thanks to the monster performances of Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill. There were clutch plays throughout the game, including a fourth-and-7 completion to Durham Smythe late in the first half, Tua’s brilliant on-the-move third-and-10 completion to Hill on the game-winning drive and the defense rising up after a tough afternoon with two sacks on the final three plays on the Chargers’ futile last-shot drive.

— 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

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— 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

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

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 31-35

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— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 26-30

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 21-25

— The Top 75 Dolphins Games of the 2000s: Numbers 16-20



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Miami, FL

Miami Dolphins releasing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, team says

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Miami Dolphins releasing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, team says



The Miami Dolphins are releasing quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the team said Monday morning.

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The Miami Dolphins said Tagovailoa will be released after the start of the new league year.

“I recently informed Tua and his representation that we are going to move in a new direction at the quarterback position and I will be releasing him after the start of the new league year,” Miami Dolphins General Manager Jon-Eric Sullivan said in a statement posted to X.

Sullivan went on to say that he has “great respect” for Tagovailoa as a person and player.

“On behalf of the Miami Dolphins, I expressed our gratitude for his many contributions, both on the field and in the community, during his six seasons in Miami,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan also said that moving forward, the Miami Dolphins will be focused on “infusing competition across the roster and establishing a strong foundation for this team as we work towards building a sustained winner.”

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Detroit Pistons torched by Miami Heat for fourth straight loss

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Detroit Pistons torched by Miami Heat for fourth straight loss


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The Detroit Pistons’ slide continues.

They fell to the Miami Heat on the road, 121-110, on Sunday, March 8. It’s their fourth-consecutive loss – their first time dropping four in a row since opening the 2024-25 season 0-4. The Pistons (45-18) looked a step slow in the second half of a back-to-back, less than 24 hours after hosting the Brooklyn Nets at home Saturday.

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Cade Cunningham returned from a one-game absence and carried the offense with 26 points and 10 assists. Jalen Duren also had a strong line, with 24 points and five rebounds. It was a poor night for the rest of the roster, as the Pistons shot 11-for-37 (29.7%) from 3. It also was a poor defensive night, as Detroit allowed Miami to shoot 47.3% overall and score 103 points through the first three quarters.

Ausar Thompson (right ankle sprain) missed his second straight game. The Miami Heat were led by Tyler Herro (25 points) and Bam Adebayo (24 points, nine rebounds, six assists).

The loss drops the Pistons (47-18) to just 2½ games up on the Boston Celtics – who have gotten a big boost from the return of Jayson Tatum – in the East. Still, even with the skid, the Pistons have a 6½ game lead on the Cleveland Cavaliers as they go for their first Central Division title since 2007-08.

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Next up for the Pistons

The Pistons will get a chance to avenge Saturday night’s 23-point collapse as they visit the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit Extra). The Nets are contenders only for a top lottery pick. After that, the Pistons return home for a pair of games, against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday and the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.

Pistons’ defensive slide continues

Defense has been the biggest driver of the Pistons’ success this season. But they’ve slipped since the All-Star break, and their losing streak reflects it. 

The Heat’ century mark through the first three quarters marked an uncharacteristically poor showing for a team that’s held the second-best defensive rating for most of the season. The Heat did so while shooting 48.6% overall, and committing just four turnovers against a Pistons team that leads the league in steals. 

Entering Sunday, the Pistons were a mere ninth in defensive rating in nine games since All-Star weekend. Their backslide started before Thompson’s injury, but his absence has accelerated it. They have given up at least 30 points in five consecutive quarters, dating back to Saturday’s fourth quarter against Brooklyn in which they surrendered 34 points. 

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Cunningham takes over after slow start

The Pistons took the floor roughly 20 hours after they wrapped up Saturday’s loss to the Nets, with a cross-country flight sandwiched in-between. In the first quarter, they came out flat and endured one of their worst starts of the season. 

They trailed the Heat 34-16 by the end of the period, after knocking down just six of 22 field goal attempts (27.3%) and one of nine 3-pointers. Duren opened the game with a dunk at the 11:28 mark. More than five minutes passed before the next bucket – an alley-oop dunk for Duren from Cunningham – with 7:07 to go. 

Cunningham was aggressive and responsible for the bulk of the Pistons’ offensive production by halftime. He scored 13 points and dished out five assists on 5-for-7 shooting in the second quarter, and scored or assisted 23 of their first 30 points. 

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He led a 10-2 Pistons run to open the second quarter and cut an 18-point deficit to 10, the closest they got the rest of the way. It included a pair of 3-pointers, the second a stepback over Adebayo. Cunningham powered a second run at the end of the second, finishing an off-balance euro step hook and another stepback 3-pointer over Adebayo, and two assists to Duren for two dunks, within the final 2:17. 

The two-man game between Cunningham and Duren was the only consistent production the Pistons could generate. They combined for nearly half of their total offense — 50 points on 19-for-30 overall shooting. The rest of the roster combined shot 19-for-60 (31.7%).

Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.

[ MUST WATCH: Make “The Pistons Pulse” your go-to Pistons podcast, listen available anywhere you listen to podcasts (Apple, Spotify) or watch live on YouTube. ]





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Detroit faces Miami on 3-game skid

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Detroit faces Miami on 3-game skid


Detroit Pistons (45-17, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Miami Heat (35-29, seventh in the Eastern Conference)

Miami; Sunday, 6 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Pistons -1.5; over/under is 229.5

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BOTTOM LINE: Detroit enters the matchup with Miami as losers of three straight games.

The Heat are 19-18 against Eastern Conference opponents. Miami is second in the NBA averaging 120.1 points and is shooting 46.5% from the field.

The Pistons have gone 30-9 against Eastern Conference opponents. Detroit ranks third in the league with 13.3 offensive rebounds per game led by Jalen Duren averaging 3.9.

The 120.1 points per game the Heat average are 10.5 more points than the Pistons give up (109.6). The Pistons average 10.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 3.0 fewer made shots on average than the 13.8 per game the Heat allow.

The teams meet for the third time this season. The Heat won 118-112 in the last matchup on Jan. 2. Norman Powell led the Heat with 36 points, and Cade Cunningham led the Pistons with 31 points.

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TOP PERFORMERS: Andrew Wiggins is scoring 15.9 points per game and averaging 5.1 rebounds for the Heat. Bam Adebayo is averaging 21.9 points and 10.1 rebounds over the last 10 games.

Cunningham is averaging 25.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 9.8 assists and 1.5 steals for the Pistons. Duncan Robinson is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Heat: 7-3, averaging 122.5 points, 49.2 rebounds, 28.3 assists, 8.2 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.8 points per game.

Pistons: 6-4, averaging 114.0 points, 48.5 rebounds, 25.8 assists, 10.2 steals and 7.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 109.8 points.

INJURIES: Heat: Nikola Jovic: out (back), Andrew Wiggins: day to day (toe), Norman Powell: out (groin), Simone Fontecchio: out (groin).

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Pistons: Ausar Thompson: day to day (ankle), Cade Cunningham: day to day (quadriceps).

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.



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