Lasting Images of the 2021 Miami Dolphins Season
The 2021 season was a wild ride for the Miami Dolphins, who made NFL history by following a seven-game losing streak with a seven-game winning streak.
As a way to looking back at the season, we pick one lasting image from each game before we rank the Dolphins’ performance in each game from 1-17.
Week 1 — Dolphins 17, New England 16
Lasting image: That one should be pretty clear, and that’s Xavien Howard stripping Patriots running back Damien Harris and recovering the fumble at the Miami 9-yard line to secure the one-point victory.
Week 2 — Buffalo 35, Dolphins 0
Lasting image: This one also is easy, the big hit by defensive end A.J. Epenesa against Tua Tagovailoa on a fourth-down pass in the first quarter. The pass fell incomplete, but more importantly the hit caused a rib injury that landed Tua on injured reserve for three games.
Week 3 — Las Vegas 31, Dolphins 28 (OT)
Lasting image: This was a game the Dolphins easily could have won and probably would have won had the officials called a defensive pass interference on safety Johnathan Abram against wide receiver Will Fuller V in the end zone. This had double meaning because not only did the Dolphins end up losing the game, it also was probably the only significant play that involved Fuller this season.
Week 4 — Indianapolis 27, Dolphins 17
Lasting image: Everybody knows that Jonathan Taylor emerged as a potential MVP candidate late in the season, but how many remember that his highest rushing total of the season was 64 yards before he came to Miami on Oct. 3. Taylor had his first 100-yard game of the season that day, and one of the highlights was a way too easy 23-yard touchdown in the second quarter that gave Indy a 7-3 it would never relinquish.
Week 5 — Tampa Bay 45, Dolphins 17
Lasting image: The Dolphins actually led 10-7 in that game after the first quarter before it all went south and Tampa Bay took the lead for good when Antonio Brown got past Xavien Howard (playing despite shoulder and groin injuries) and sprinted down the middle of the field for a 62-yard touchdown.
Week 6 — Jacksonville 23, Dolphins 20
Lasting image: The entire ending sequence was painful for the Dolphins from the moment Malcolm Brown was stuffed on fourth-and-1 near midfield and Jacksonville then being able to get into field goal position with a 9-yard completion on fourth-and-8 — with FIVE seconds left in regulation. But the lasting image has to be Dolphins players having to watch Matthew Wright, who hadn’t made a field goal all season before that game and whose career-long kick coming in was 46 yards, nailed a 53-yard field goal on the final play to give the Jaguars their first win of the season.
Week 7 — Atlanta 30, Dolphins 28
Lasting image: Again, several key moments to choose from here, but we’ll go with Matt Ryan’s long completion down the right sideline to Kyle Pitts over Howard to set up the game-winning field goal. It epitomized the defense’s failures to contain the rookie tight end on this day.
Week 8 — Buffalo 26, Dolphins 11
Lasting image: That one is easy, and it’s the Dolphins’ blooper play at the end of the first half that kept them from being able to break a 3-3 tie heading into the halftime, the shotgun snap that hit Mike Gesicki as he was in motion and the Bills recovering the fumble.
Week 9 — Dolphins 17, Houston 9
Lasting image: The winning streak begins in an ugly turnover-filled game, but no play stood out as much as rookie second-round pick Jevon Holland getting his first NFL interception in the end zone to stop a Houston scoring threat.
Week 10 — Dolphins 22, Baltimore 10
Lasting image: This was another ugly game and the play that stood out was turned in by Howard again as he stripped the ball away from wide receiver Sammy Watkins and returned the fumble for a touchdown in the third quarter. While that was the key moment that should be the one remembered, the play that most fans will remember is one that didn’t count. We’re talking, of course, about guard Robert Hunt illegally catching a deflected screen pass and then rumbling toward the end zone before being flipped over just before the goal line.
Week 11 — Dolphins 24, N.Y. Jets 17
Lasting image: Another easy call, this one being the Tua Tagovailoa 65-yard touchdown pass to Mack Hollins after he stepped up in the pocket, moved to his left and unleashed the throw for the longest completion of his career.
Week 12 — Dolphins 33, Carolina 10
Lasting image: There are two plays that really stood out in this game, the first being the punt block that Justin Coleman returned 2 yards for a touchdown and a quick 7-0 lead. But we’ll go here with Jaylen Waddle’s 57-yard reception on a slant up the middle when he was able to use his speed to split the defense around midfield. It was the longest reception for Waddle during his record-setting rookie season.
Week 13 — Dolphins 20, N.Y. Giants 9
Lasting image: This wasn’t a game with a whole lot of memorable plays and we could go with yet another Xavien Howard play — his first-quarter interception on a deep pass — but instead we’ll go with Tua’s 2-yard touchdown pass that extended the Dolphins lead to 17-6 early in the fourth quarter. This was a naked bootleg where Tua took his time and waited for Ford to get open in the corner of the end zone before throwing a strike.
Week 15 — Dolphins 31, N.Y. Jets 24
Lasting image: This is an easy one, right? Who can forget Christian Wilkins catching a touchdown pass out of the backfield? And the reason folks won’t forget was his celebration, which included a little Lambeau Leap (Hard Rock leap?), doing the worm and a little break dancing.
Week 16 — Dolphins 20, New Orleans 3
Lasting image: The collection of images will be of the Dolphins defense tormenting Saints rookie quarterback Ian Book in his first NFL start, and the highlight had to be Nik Needham picking off Book’s second pass and returning the interception for a touchdown that, for all intents and purposes, sealed the outcome right away.
Week 17 — Tennessee 34, Dolphins 3
Lasting image: This was the game that ended the Dolphins’ playoff hopes and the inability of the offense to get anything done was the dominant theme of the day. And because of the fluky nature of the play and how it encapsulated the issues of the day, the clear lasting image of this game will be the ball slipping out of Tua’s hands as he wound up to throw a pass in the first half.
Week 18 — Dolphins 33, New England 24
Lasting image: It might be easy to suggest that the lasting image will be the final image, Sam Eguavoen scoring a gift touchdown after New England attempted a desperation multi-lateral play from its 3-yard line, but what really stood out here was the Xavien Howard pick-six that gave the Dolphins a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.
