sharonorn
Joined: 21 Jul 2025 Posts: 122
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Posted: Mon Jul 21, 2025 6:25 am Post subject: Top 5 Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins games of all-time |
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When the and play on Thursday Night Football -- airing exclusively on NFL Network with coverage starting at 8 p.m. ET -- it'll be the 102nd meeting in a long-running rivalry . There's a lot on the line this time, as Gregg Rosenthal ; but it's nothing compared to what's been in the balance when these teams have met in the past. Here are the five most memorable - matchups of all-time:5. Dan Marino's first career start (Oct. 9, 1983) 38, 35 (OT)The and ' rivalry peaked with Jim Kelly and Dan Marino, so it's only fitting Marino's first career start came against the in Week 6 of his rookie season.The took over for David Woodley and set in motion a leapfrogging of scoring that didn't end until Joe Danelo kicked an overtime field goal that won it for the .Marino and long-time Buffalo quarterback Joe Ferguson combined for eight pa sing touchdowns, setting the tone for future showdowns between Marino and Kelly.Interestingly, Marino was just 13-17 in his career against the , making them the only team he played more than five times and had a losing record against.4. The game that nearly ended the undefeated season (Oct. 22, 1972) 24, 23In 1972, Don Shula and the delivered the NFL's only undefeated season, but the nearly put an end to it in Week 6. Buffalo countered Miami's of Larry Csonka and Mercury Morris with O.J. Simpson and a defense that forced four turnovers. The game seesawed back and forth with neither team gaining more than an eight-point Kyle Lowry Jersey advantage, which, in the end, was too much for the to overcome. A late fourth-quarter Jim Braxton touchdown catch closed the lead to one point, and that's how it stayed. Had two-point conversions been in play then, Morris and Co. might have ultimately popped a lot le s champagne.3. The Jim Kelly scramble game (Sept. 10, 1989) 27, 24Of all the achievements Jim Kelly had in his career, this was the one he pulled off with his legs. With the down four in the '89 season opener, and with no timeouts on the board, Kelly raced Buffalo down to the 4-yard line. A penalty halved that yardage, setting up Kelly for a touchdown run that ranks as time expired.Having surrendered a pick to Nate Odomes to set up the drive, Marino was helple s to look on from the sideline. The lo s would ultimately keep the out of the playoffs.Kelly would go on to 1,049 career rushing yards. In other words, a season's worth of production from vintage .2. The Doug Flutie nightmare game (Jan. 2, 1999) 24, 17A decade-plus amount of intensity was hashed out between the and in this wild-card playoff game.The entered hell-bent on rattling 5-foot-10 sensation Doug Flutie, and it worked. Miami racked up five turnovers, including a Flutie fumble at the 5-yard line on what could have been a game-tying drive. receiver Andre Reed was ejected for bumping a ref after a controversial call at the 1-yard line. Meanwhile, his counterpart Eric Moulds set a playoff record with 240 yards receiving in the lo s. A late-career Marino contributed a solid, if not flashy, stat line of 23-of-34, 235 yards pa sing, 1 TD and 1 INT.After the game, the celebrated by in a locker-room celebration that may or may not have been contrived by motivational super-genius Jimmy Johnson. 1. The one that mattered most (AFC Championship Game - Jan. 17, 1993) 29, 10This wasn't the closest game in the - rivalry. It was the one with the most on the line, though: A trip to Pasadena to play the in XXVII.Marino was near the height of his powers, having recorded his fifth career 4,000-yard pa sing season and reached a popularity of such heights that he had to escape a regular-season - game , and the held both a home-field advantage and a health advantage (Jim Kelly had mi sed the playoffs to that point with Henry Ellenson Jersey a knee injury), inspiring from Bryan Cox. The rallied, though, behind a hard-hitting defense that forced four fumbles and recovered three, and behind Thurman Thomas, who had 166 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown, putting to bed a potential championship run.That was the closest Marino would get to another appearance, though he did get revenge on the in the wild-card portion of the '99 playoffs (see above). The went on to get shellacked by the 52-17 in a game memorable only (at least from their vantage point) for .The latest Around The NFL Podcast and eliminates more teams from playoff contention during "Stick a Fork in 'Em." Find more Around The NFL content on . |
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