The Miami Dolphins will enter their Week 9 game against the Buffalo Bills as clear underdogs. But it’s not like surprises don’t happen regularly in the NFL.

The Dolphins have had their share over the years, although a win against the Bills on Sunday would actually turn out to be the biggest upset of the Mike McDaniel era based on Buffalo’s early betting lines favored by 6 or 6.5.

The Dolphins have a fairly forgettable 3-14 record as underdogs during Mike McDaniel’s tenure, with all three wins coming against the Baltimore Ravens and Bills in 2022 and in the 2023 season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Yes, the Dolphins should logically lose to the Bills on Sunday, but upsets happen and that’s why they play those games.

The Dolphins have had some memorable wins like that throughout their history, so now is a good time to bring back our top 10 countdown.

To be clear, it’s the magnitude of the upset and not the game itself that qualifies. For example, while the 1985 Monday Night Game win against the Chicago Bears was electric, the reality is that the Dolphins were only two-point underdogs coming in, so this game would be on any list of the biggest wins in the team’s history, but not in terms of a massive surprise.

So here we go with the countdown:

The Dolphins were 4-5 when they traveled to Anaheim Stadium as 11-point underdogs against the defending NFC champion Rams, who had a 6-3 record. This might have been the best game in the NFL for QB David Woodley, who threw three touchdowns and ran for two more.

This was the second game as Dolphins head coach for Don Shula following a 13-point loss at Boston in the first game. The Dolphins’ victory as nine-point underdogs would mark the beginning of something big for Shula and his team.

The Dolphins were coming off two straight wins, but still had a mediocre 5-7 record when they headed to Qualcomm Stadium as 13.5-point underdogs to face the 8-4 Chargers. Gus Frerotte’s two touchdown passes and three defensive grabs paved the way for Miami’s third of six straight wins to end the season.

The Dolphins were 2-2 but underdogs by 14 points when they faced the defending NFC champion Falcons, who came in with a 3-1 record. The Dolphins pulled off the upset when Reshad Jones intercepted Matt Ryan after Atlanta moved the ball to the Miami 26-yard line with 47 seconds left.

Sure, the Dolphins were 8-2 when they faced Dallas in that memorable Thanksgiving Day game, but they were down to their third quarterback that season (Steve DeBerg) and were 10-point underdogs against the defending Super Bowl champions, the Cowboys. We probably don’t need to recap what happened, but in case you forgot, this was the game with Keith Byars’ 77-yard touchdown run (and snow angel) and Leon Lett’s famous mistake that set up the play. by Pete Stoyanovich. Game-winning field goal.

In this season finale, the Dolphins were closing out a season in which they had made a coaching change (Joe Philbin to Dan Campbell) and came in with a 5-10 record as 9-point underdogs against a New England team that needed a victory to secure the title. first seed in the AFC playoffs. For some strange reason, the Patriots ran the ball more than they threw it (with Tom Brady at quarterback) and then Ryan Tannehill shined for Miami’s offense with 350 passing yards and two touchdowns.

Nick Saban’s second year as Dolphins head coach got off to a horrible start, and the team trailed by 13.5 points heading into Soldier Field to face the 7-0 Bears. The defense stole the day, scoring six points, including Jason Taylor’s 20-yard pick-six.

The wildcat game. Do we need to say more? We can add that the Dolphins, who were 0-2, were 12.5-point underdogs at Gillette Stadium that day. Ronnie Brown’s five-touchdown game remains one of the most memorable individual performances in team history.

Let’s start by pointing out that the victory at Gillette Stadium in the 2019 finals did not cost the Dolphins draft positioning because Cincinnati had already secured the No. 1 overall pick (and the opportunity to select Joe Burrow). Miami, a huge 17.5-point underdog, basically ended New England’s dynasty with that memorable victory when Ryan Fitzpatrick connected with Mike Gesicki for a late touchdown pass.

Nearly 20 years later, it’s still hard to understand how the 11-2 Patriots (defending and eventual Super Bowl champions) were only 10-point favorites against the 2-11 Dolphins. But even though this isn’t the Dolphins’ win with the biggest point difference against them, we still rank it as the most surprising win in team history. And it came with some unlikely heroes, AJ Feeley throwing a fourth-down touchdown pass to Derrius Thompson surrounded by interceptions from linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo and safety Arturo Freeman.