Dawgs By Nature
The series between Cleveland and Miami has been even - but oh those playoff games! Here are 5 memorable games between the two teams.
The Cleveland Browns will host the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 of the 2025 NFL season.
The two teams first met in 1970 as members of the newly formed American Football Conference, with the Browns picking up a shutout victory.
Related: Browns 2025 Schedule Primer: Week 7, Miami Dolphins
But while the series has been pretty even, the Dolphins hold a 13-9 lead all-time, and two of those wins came in the playoffs in frustrating fashion. That has been a theme through the years when these two teams meet, with the Browns often coming out on the wrong end of the scoreboard.
This is going to be a tough one, so buckle up as we look at five of the most memorable games between the Browns and Dolphins.
The Browns earned the AFC Wild Card bid with a 10-4 record, and their reward was a date at the Orange Bowl to face the undefeated Miami Dolphins.
The game could not have started much worse for the Browns as Mike Phipps’ first pass of the day was an interception. While the Dolphins were not able to capitalize on that mistake, they did later in the first quarter when Charlie Babb returned a blocked punt five yards for a touchdown. The Dolphins tacked on a field goal from Garo Yepremian to take a 10-0 lead at halftime.
Cleveland fought back in the second half as Phipps first ran for a touchdown. Then, after Miami’s Dick Anderson fumbled the ball away on an interception return, Phipps converted that mistake into points by hitting Fair Hooker with a 27-yard touchdown pass to put the Browns up by one point with a little more than eight minutes remaining.
The Dolphins methodically marched 80 yards down the field to reclaim the lead after an eight-yard touchdown run from Jim Kiick, but with four minutes remaining, there was still time for the Browns to pull off the upset. But their final chance expired at Miami’s 34-yard line when Phipps threw his fifth interception of the game.
It was a frustrating end to the season for the Browns, who would not return to the playoffs for eight years, but not the last time they would face the Dolphins in the playoffs.
Cleveland fought its way to the playoffs as champions of the AFC Central Division and earned a rematch with the Dolphins at the Orange Bowl.
After the Dolphins opened the scoring on a 51-yard field goal by Fuad Reveiz, the Browns rolled off three consecutive touchdowns, the final one being a 66-yard rush by Earnest Byner for his second rushing touchdown of the game, to take a 21-3 lead early in the third quarter.
The defense started to break, however, and the Dolphins put up a pair...
