By BILL DALEY
Associate Editor • @Billykid
After a shaky start to the 2017 season, the Miami Dolphins
are now starting to roll. Following a thrilling 31-28 come-from-
behind victory against the Jets, the Dolphins have now won
three straight and will now get ready to show off their 4-
record to a national television audience — three times in a row.
So are the Dolphins ready for prime time? For the first
time in franchise history (or since prime-time football began
in 1970), the Dolphins will make three consecutive appear-
ances under the lights.
Up first will be a trip to Baltimore for a Thursday night
clash with the Ravens on NFL Network. Ten days later, it will
be a Nov. 5 Sunday night battle with the Oakland Raiders on
NBC at Hard Rock Stadium. If the game does not get flexed
by NBC, it will mark Miami’s first Sunday night appearance
since 2010 and only second in the last 13 years. And finally,
the Dolphins will wrap up their prime-time tour with a trip to
Charlottte for a Monday night contest (Nov. 13) on ESPN
against the Carolina Panthers.
What follows is Dolphin Digest’s time machine look back
at the 10 (in reverse order) most memorable prime-time
games in franchise history.- Sunday, Oct. 2, 1994 – Miami at Cincinnati; DOL-
PHINS 23, BENGALS 7
On the field, it was basically nothing more than a routine
nondescript road win against the lowly Bengals to move their
record to 4-1. But, oh, how things were so much different off
the field on this night.
That’s because it marked the first time in NFL head coach-
ing history a father opposed his son when Don Shula looked
across the sidelines at David Shula, who was in his third year
as head coach of the Bengals.
There was a burning image of Don after the game being
pleased with the win but at the same time not all that thrilled
or comfortable with the situation because he knew his son
was struggling and on the hot seat in Cincinnati. - Monday, Nov. 24, 1986 – New York Jets at Miami;
DOLPHINS 45, JETS 3
How could a rout of this proportion make the top 10?
Only because on a night where the 5-6 Dolphins were sup-
posed to get steamrolled by the red hot 10-1 Jets, it turned out
to be anything but as Miami and rookie running back Lorenzo
Hampton wound up doing the steamrolling.
Hampton, a rookie first-round pick, ran for 148 yards on
19 carries and two touchdowns while catching five more for
40 yards and another score. The beating actually sent the Jets
into a tailspin as they did not win another regular season
game, finishing 10-6. - Monday, Nov. 30, 1981 – Philadelphia at Miami;
DOLPHINS 13, EAGLES 10
There’s no real way of knowing, but this might have
marked the first game in NFL history where crowd noise
could have had a direct impact on the outcome of a game.
With the Dolphins clinging to a three-point lead in the
OCTOBER 28, 2017 Dolphin Digest 19final minutes of the game, Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski
spent at least five minutes trying get a play off over the noisy
decibel level of the closed end of the Orange Bowl. When he
finally did, safety Lyle Blackwood picked him off to seal the
Miami win.- Monday, Nove. 29, 1971 – Chicago at Miami; DOL-
PHINS 34, BEARS 3
No actual game drama here as the young Dolphins, on
their way to their first Super Bowl, drilled the hapless Bears.
But this game makes the list because it marked the first-ever
Monday night game played in South Florida and if John, Paul,
George and Ringo had come to town for a concert, they would
have played second fiddle to the local hysteria over “Dandy”
Don Meredith and Howard Cosell coming to town. - Sunday, Dec. 20, 1992 – New York Jets at Miami;
DOLPHINS 19, JETS 17
Pete Stoyanovich missed an extra point late in the game,
leaving the Dolphins behind 17-16, and then-Jets defensive
coordinator Pete Carroll gave him the choke sign with his
hand to the throat. Stoyo then gave it right back to him a few
minutes later when, after the Dolphins got the ball back, drove
for the game-winning FG as time expired. - Monday, Dec. 21, 1998 – Denver at Miami; DOL-
PHINS 31, BRONCOS 21
Incredibly, despite coming into the league together in
1983, this marked only the second-ever faceoff between fu-
ture Hall of Fame quarterbacks John Elway and Dan Marino.
Even though some of the luster went off this one the week be-
fore when the 13-0 Broncos lost to the Giants, there was still
plenty of buzz over the QB matchup, which Marino won with
a 23-for-38, 355-yard, four-touchdown performance.- Monday, Nov. 20, 1978 – Miami at Houston; OIL-
ERS 35, DOLPHINS 30
The only loss that makes this list but it belongs there. A poll
taken a few years back ranked this one as one of the greatest
Monday night games ever played. A back-and-forth see-saw
battle that wasn’t wrapped up until a young rookie running
back named Earl Campbell skirted the right side with two min-
utes left and somehow outran speedy Curtis Johnson for an 80-
yard game-clinching score. - Monday, Dec. 20, 2004 – New England at Miami;
DOLPHINS 29, PATRIOTS 28
Probably one of the greatest upsets in MNF history as the
2-11 Dolphins took on the defending and future world cham-
pion Pats. Even more amazing is that the Dolphins did it in
stunning fashion, scoring two touchdowns in the final two min-
utes, Derrius Thompson catching a 21-yard game-winner from
A.J. Feeley with 22 seconds left. - Monday, Dec. 3, 1973 – Pittsburgh at Miami; DOL-
PHINS 30, STEELERS 26
An epic Monday nighter that saw Dolphins safety Dick An-
derson have a career night by picking off four passes and re-
turning two for touchdowns. It also was the night when
Howard Cosell stated to let Don Shula have it for seemingly
going for it on fourth down deep in his own territory late in the
game when the actual idea was to take an intentional safety.
“Shula’s a step ahead of us all,” Cosell blurted out. - Monday, Dec. 2, 1985 – Chicago at Miami; DOL-
PHINS 38, BEARS 24
A slam-dunk no-brainer for No. 1 here. Shula forever talked
about the “electricity in the air” before the game as the 12-
Bears came to town threatening to match the 1972 team’s per-
fect season. But with the likes of Larry Csonka, Larry Little
and others on the sideline, the Dolphins, led by Marino, turned
in a lights-out performance and stunned the Bears by jumping
out to a 31-10 halftime lead on a team that had given up a total
of 29 points the previous six games combined. Chicago never
lost again, going 18-1 and winning Super Bowl XX.
Prime Time Nuggets
- Since the inception of prime-time football in 1970,
the only season the Dolphins did not make at least one
appearance was 2008, the year after the team went 1-15. - Following a 17-10 win over New England in 1990,
the Dolphins did not host another Thursday night game
for 20 years, losing to Chicago 16-0 in 2010. - Of their 124 prime-time appearances, the Dolphins
have been shut out twice, at Pittsburgh in 2007 (3-0) and
home against Chicago in 2010 (16-0). Miami has shut out
its opponent twice, both at home against Cincinnati in
1978 (21-0) and Tennessee in 1999 (17-0). - The most prime-time points put up by the Dolphins
was 45, twice in 1986 at home against the Jets (45-3) and
1994 at home against Kansas City (45-28). The most
points given up by Miami came in 1993, a 45-20 loss at
San Diego.
Derrius Thompson’s last-minute touchdown
catch gave the Dolphins a stunning Monday
night victory against New England in 2004.Dolphins brace for three
straight national TV games