Five snapshots from the Dolphins-Eagles series...
Nov. 30, 1981
This Monday night game at the Orange Bowl forever will be remembered as one where the Dolphins' home crowd proved a big role in the outcome. After the Dolphins tied the score 10-10 with 5:21 left on a touchdown pass from Don Strock to Duriel Harris, the crowd got so loud on Philadelphia's ensuing possession that quarterback Ron Jaworski backed away from the line of scrimmage on a couple of occasions. There was more noise on third-and-8 from the Eagles 22, which is when safety Lyle Blackwood dove in front of the intended receiver to make the interception. Uwe von Schamann kicked the game-winning field goal with 1:04 left before Joe Rose recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff to clinch the victory.
Nov. 11, 1984
The Dolphins were rolling along at 10-0 during their magical 1984 season when the Eagles came to the Orange Bowl with a 4-5-1 record. This turned out to be a much closer game than expected. Philadelphia actually had a 17-7 lead in the third quarter before the Dolphins rallied behind touchdown runs by Woody Bennett and Pete Johnson. The Dolphins led 24-17 before the Eagles scored a touchdown with 1:52 left on a pass from Jaworski to Melvin Hoover. Defensive end Doug Betters then came up huge, blocking the extra-point attempt to preserve the 24-23 lead. After recovering the ensuing onside kick, the Dolphins got one first down on an offside penalty on third-and-4 and were able to run out the clock to move to 11-0.
Dec. 9, 1990
The Dolphins were 9-3 heading into this Sunday night battle and a victory would clinch their first playoff appearance since 1985. As was the case in 1984, they would need a comeback to get it done. The Dolphins trailed 20-10 midway through the fourth quarter before they rallied for a 23-20 overtime victory. Miami tied the game with a 34-yard field goal by Pete Stoyanovich on the final play of regulation right after Dan Marino had completed a 12-yard pass to Mark Duper on fourth-and-10 from midfield and the Dolphins had gained 21 yards with a defensive pass interference penalty on defensive back Ben Smith. The game-winning field goal drive in overtime came after linebacker Cliff Odom broke up a Randall Cunningham on third-and-1 from the Eagles 34-yard line.
Nov. 14, 1993
All Dolphins fans remember this day at Veterans Stadium when Don Shula became the winningest coach in NFL history. Current Eagles head coach Doug Pederson came off the bench to replace injured starter Scott Mitchell at quarterback and led two second-half field goal drives as the Dolphins overcame a 14-13 deficit to win 19-14. The defense came up with three fumble recoveries in that second half, including the last one by defensive end Jeff Cross after he had sackied Eagles quarterback Ken O'Brien on fourth-and-4 from the Miami 22-yard line with shortly before the two-minute warning.
Nov. 15, 2015
The last Dolphins game against the Eagles featured yet another impressive comeback, this one a 20-19 victory after they trailed 16-3 down after the first quarter. After Miami took the lead early in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Tannehill to Jarvis Landry, the defense came up big on two occasions. The first came on a second-and-goal from the Dolphins 9 when safety Reshad Jones came up with an end zone interception against Mark Sanchez, who had replaced Sam Bradford at quarterback after Bradford was injured. The second came after the Eagles got a first-and-10 at their 44 with 1:13 left. After three incompletions, Sanchez completed a pass to wide receiver Jordan Matthews, but Jones and linebacker Kelvin Sheppard teamed up to tackle him at midfield, 6 yards short of the first down, to clinch the victory.
