Two Dolphins plays featured among NFL’s best 25 plays of 2020

The 2020 season was a memorable one for Miami Dolphins fans. Yes, a playoff appearance and chance to make a deep run would have been a nice added bonus. But the Dolphins, for the second consecutive year under the direction of head coach Brian Flores, outperformed their expectations — marking an exciting trend for fans to look towards for next season. If the expectations are 9 or 10 wins for Miami going into the year and they once again “overachieve”?

Let’s hope we get there.

But for the time being, it is still time to look back at the most improbable of seasons for the entire league. That’s exactly what the NFL is doing, looking back over the best plays from this wild, unpredictable season. And the Dolphins were able to collect two appearances on the league’s countdown of the 25-best plays of the 2020 season:

No. 16 overall – QB Ryan Fitzpatrick’s blind heave versus Raiders

In what is likely the last act of “Fitzmagic” as a member of the Miami Dolphins, the veteran quarterback’s blind heave to Mack Hollins in the final seconds of a Week 16 victory over the Raiders is a play Dolphins fans won’t soon forget. Fitzpatrick, who the Dolphins turned to in the fourth quarter while looking for a spark, was able to do what he couldn’t earlier in the season against the Denver Broncos: come off the bench and engineer a victory for Miami to push their record entering Week 16 to 10-5.

No. 10 overall – CB Xavien Howard’s one-handed interception of Patrick Mahomes

This play didn’t come with a win, but it serves as the crown jewel of Howard’s 10-interception campaign in 2020: a one-handing leaping interception of the NFL’s most prolific passer. All while blanketing one of the NFL’s most deadly receivers in one on one coverage.

Howard’s interception sparked a late run for Miami; the team ripped off 17 points in the fourth quarter after Howard’s interception to ultimately drop their clash against the eventual AFC Champions by a score of 33-27.