Countdown: the top finishes of the 2000s

On the next-to-last Saturday of the 2020 regular season, the Dolphins pulled out an improbable victory at Las Vegas with one of the wildest, craziest finishes in franchise history.

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The 26-25 victory against the Raiders came three days before the 20-year anniversary of another fantastic finish for the Dolphins, which came in the 23-17 overtime playoff victory against the Indianapolis Colts.

Those two games stand out when we’re looking through the 2000s at the best finishes for the Miami Dolphins.

Here then is a countdown of the top 10 Dolphins finishes of the 2000s, with the criteria being uniqueness, degree of difficulty and significance of the game.

Before we get to the countdown, here's a list of games (in chronological order) that deserve honorable mention:

2000, Dolphins 27, New England 24 ... 2005, Dolphins 24, Buffalo 23 ... 2009, Dolphins 31, N.Y. Jets 27 ... 2009, Dolphins 22, New England 21 ... 2013, Dolphins 27, Atlanta 23 ... 2014, Dolphins 37, Minnesota 35 ... 2016, Dolphins 31, San Diego 24 ... 2016, Dolphins 31, San Francisco 24 ... 2019, Dolphins 27, New England 24.

10. 2002 — DOLPHINS 24, DENVER 22

This Sunday night battle at Mile High was memorable because it marked the first time in NFL history that each team kicked a field goal of 50 yards or longer in the final minute. Fortunately for the Dolphins, they got the last one when Olindo Mare followed a 22-yard completion from Jay Fiedler to Dedric Ward with his 53-yard game-winner.