The Dolphins are looking to break a playoff win drought that extends back to the beginning of the 21st century. It will take a major upset to do it, too.
Miami — led by first-year coach Mike McDaniel — is a 14-point underdog against AFC East rival Buffalo for Sunday's game at Highmark Stadium, and it will be without starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who has suffered two concussions this season. Third-stringer Skylar Thompson will be the latest quarterback to attempt to end the "Curse of Marino" as the franchise looks for its first playoff victory since Dec. 30, 2000.
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How did we get to this point? The Sporting News looks at the Dolphins' playoff history, what exactly the "Curse of Marino" entails, and that last postseason victory:
Dolphins' playoff history
The Dolphins do have five Super Bowl appearances and two victories. The 1972 team remains the only perfect team of the Super Bowl era. Miami won Super Bowl 7 and Super Bowl 8, led by legendary coach Don Shula. Miami's last Super Bowl appearance was in the 1984 season when Dan Marino and Joe Montana squared off in Super Bowl 19.
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'Curse of Marino'
San Francisco beat Miami 38-16 in that game, which was Marino's lone Super Bowl appearance in a brilliant 17-year career. Marino finished with 61,361 yards, 420 touchdown passes and 252 interceptions as one of the game's all-time greatest passers.
Marino led the Dolphins to the playoffs 10 times and had a 8-10 record in the postseason. Miami reached the 1992 AFC championship game, a 29-10 loss to the Bills. Marino's final playoff game was a 62-7 loss to the Jaguars on Jan. 15, 2000.
The curse isn't about Marino not getting to the Super Bowl, though. It's been about finding the right quarterback since his retirement.
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When was the last time the Dolphins won a playoff game?
Miami returned to the playoffs in the 2001 season under first-year coach Dave Wannstedt with Jay Fiedler starting at quarterback. Miami finished 11-5 in the regular season, and they faced a wild-card matchup with Indianapolis. Peyton Manning was making his second playoff start for the Colts.
Indianapolis led 14-0 at halftime, but Fiedler rallied Miami in the second half. He led an 80-yard drive in the fourth quarter and threw the game-tying touchdown to Jed Weaver, which set up overtime.
The Colts had the ball first, but Mike Vanderjagt missed a 49-yard field goal attempt. Miami responded with a TD drive that Lamar Smith finished with a 19-yard run. Smith waited patiently behind the line of scrimmage before breaking off a legendary run in Dolphins lore.
The Dolphins advanced to the divisional round, where they lost 27-0 to the Raiders.
State of the world in 2000-01
That overtime victory against the Colts was on Dec. 30, 2000, a day that had us screaming, "Wilson!"
That's right, "Cast Away" starring Tom Hanks was the top holiday movie at the box office. "Independent Women Part 1" by Destiny's Child was atop the music charts.
Viewers who tuned in for wild-card weekend had options afterward on TV. They could either stick with ABC for an episode of "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" or flip over to CBS for some "Walker: Texas Ranger" in the Saturday night prime-time slot.
The Ravens won Super Bowl 35 that season behind Super Bowl MVP Ray Lewis and one of the greatest defensive teams in the history of the sport. Roger Federer was an up-and-coming tennis player who won the Hopman Cup the week after the Dolphins' playoff victory.
Dolphins' playoff losing streak
The Dolphins have reached the playoffs three times since the 2000-01 playoff appearance that ended with the loss to the Raiders. Here is a look at those games and how the quarterbacks performed:
2001 AFC wild-card round: Ravens 20, Dolphins 3
Olindo Mare's field goal was the only score for the Dolphins in a home loss to Baltimore, which was led by quarterback Elvis Grbac. Fiedler finished 15 of 28 for 122 yards and an interception in the loss.
2008 AFC wild-card round: Ravens 27, Dolphins 9
The Ravens beat the Dolphins again, this time in Baltimore. Ed Reed's 64-yard interception return gave the Ravens a 13-3 halftime lead, and they pulled away in the second half. Ronnie Brown scored a fourth-quarter touchdown for Miami. Chad Pennington finished 25 of 38 for 252 yards, a TD and four interceptions.
2016 AFC wild-card round: Steelers 30, Dolphins 12
The Steelers jumped out to a 14-0 lead with two Ben Roethlisberger TD passes to Antonio Brown, and they never looked back in a blowout victory at Heinz Field. Matt Moore, who finished 28 of 36 for 289 yards, a TD and an interception, threw a late scoring pass to Damien Williams. Moore was sacked five times in the loss.
NFL's longest playoff win drought
The Dolphins are one of three NFL teams that have a playoff win drought of 20 years or more. The Lions — who just missed the 2023 postseason with a 9-8 record — have not won a playoff game since the 1991 season, a league-leading 31-year drought.
MORE: Revisiting Tua Tagovailoa's concussion history in 2022
The Raiders have a 20-year drought that extends to the 2002 season. Miami is between those franchises, and a loss to the Bills would extend the drought to 22 seasons.
That is what McDaniel is trying to break, with Thompson as the starting quarterback. Thompson has thrown for 534 yards, one TD and three interceptions in limited action. Is he the unlikely hero to end the playoff drought and the "Curse of Marino"?
