# 2001 Miami Dolphins season

The 2001 Miami Dolphins season was the franchise's 32nd season in the National Football League and the 36th season in the AFC division, and their 2nd under the guidance of head coach Dave Wannstedt. The Miami Dolphins finished the season 2nd in the AFC East with a record of 11–5. Their season ended with a resounding 17 point home loss to the defending Super Bowl champions, the Baltimore Ravens, in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
The Miami Dolphins ranked 8th in points scored and 11th in points allowed.
While the team finished with a respectable 11–5 record, they engineered embarrassing regular season losses to the New York Jets 24–0 in Miami and 21–17 in New Jersey after blowing a 17-point halftime lead; and blow out losses to the San Francisco 49ers 21–0 and St. Louis Rams 42–10. The Dolphins finished the season with a 20–3-home loss to the Baltimore Ravens. In these five losses, the Dolphins were -19 in turnover differential turning the football over 20 times. For the season the Dolphins gave away the football 41 times for a -13 total turnover differential. Starting quarterback Jay Fiedler led the team in turnovers by throwing 19 interceptions and fumbling six times.
The Dolphins did not return to the playoffs until 2008, and would not make back-to-back playoff appearances until 2022 and 2023. After the season, Harry Swayne retired.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

2001 Miami Dolphins draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 26 | Jamar Fletcher | Defensive Back | Wisconsin |
| 2 | 52 | Chris Chambers * | Wide Receiver | Wisconsin |
| 3 | 85 | Travis Minor | Running Back | Florida State |
| 3 | 88 | Morlon Greenwood | Linebacker | Syracuse |
| 5 | 156 | Shawn Draper | Tackle | Alabama |
| 6 | 164 | Brandon Winey | Defensive Guard | LSU |
| 6 | 177 | Josh Heupel | Quarterback | Oklahoma |
| 6 | 187 | Otis Leverette | Defensive End | UAB |
| 6 | 188 | Rick Crowell | Linebacker | Colorado State |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

2001 Undrafted Free Agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Nick Sorensen | Safety | Virginia Tech |

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue |
| HOF | August 6 | vs. St. Louis Rams | L 10–17 | 0–1 | Fawcett Stadium (Canton, Ohio) |
| 1 | August 13 | at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | W 17–14 | 1–1 | Raymond James Stadium |
| 2 | August 18 | San Diego Chargers | L 20–23 (OT) | 1–2 | Pro Player Stadium |
| 3 | August 25 | at Green Bay Packers | L 12–17 | 1–3 | Lambeau Field |
| 4 | August 31 | Minnesota Vikings | L 7–20 | 1–4 | Pro Player Stadium |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | NFL.com recap |
| 1 | September 9 | at Tennessee Titans | W 31–23 | 1–0 | Adelphia Coliseum | Recap |
| 2 | September 23 | Oakland Raiders | W 18–15 | 2–0 | Pro Player Stadium | Recap |
| 3 | September 30 | at St. Louis Rams | L 10–42 | 2–1 | Trans World Dome | Recap |
| 4 | October 7 | New England Patriots | W 30–10 | 3–1 | Pro Player Stadium | Recap |
| 5 | October 14 | at New York Jets | L 17–21 | 3–2 | Giants Stadium | Recap |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 28 | at Seattle Seahawks | W 24–20 | 4–2 | Husky Stadium | Recap |
| 8 | November 4 | Carolina Panthers | W 23–6 | 5–2 | Pro Player Stadium | Recap |
| 9 | November 11 | at Indianapolis Colts | W 27–24 | 6–2 | RCA Dome | Recap |
| 10 | November 18 | New York Jets | L 0–24 | 6–3 | Pro Player Stadium | Recap |
| 11 | November 25 | at Buffalo Bills | W 34–27 | 7–3 | Ralph Wilson Stadium | Recap |
| 12 | December 2 | Denver Broncos | W 21–10 | 8–3 | Pro Player Stadium | Recap |
| 13 | December 10 | Indianapolis Colts | W 41–6 | 9–3 | Pro Player Stadium | Recap |
| 14 | December 16 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 0–21 | 9–4 | 3Com Park at Candlestick Point | Recap |
| 15 | December 22 | at New England Patriots | L 13–20 | 9–5 | Foxboro Stadium | Recap |
| 16 | December 30 | Atlanta Falcons | W 21–14 | 10–5 | Pro Player Stadium | Recap |
| 17 | January 6 | Buffalo Bills | W 34–7 | 11–5 | Pro Player Stadium | Recap |

### Standings

AFC East :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(2)}$ New England Patriots | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 371 | 272 | W6 |
| $^{(4)}$ Miami Dolphins | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 344 | 290 | W2 |
| $^{(6)}$ New York Jets | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 308 | 295 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 413 | 486 | W1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 265 | 420 | L1 |

## Playoffs
### Wild Card vs Ravens

| Playoff Round | Date | Opponent (seed) | Result | Record | Venue | NFL.com recap |
| Wild Card | January 13, 2002 | Baltimore Ravens (5) | L 3–20 | 0–1 | Pro Player Stadium | TBA |

#### AFC: Baltimore Ravens 20, Miami Dolphins 3

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ravens | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Dolphins | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
at Pro Player Stadium, Miami, Florida
* Game time: 4:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C), partly sunny
* Game attendance: 72,251
* Referee: Mike Carey
* TV announcers (CBS): Greg Gumbel (play-by-play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Armen Keteyian, and Bonnie Bernstein (sideline reporters)
The Ravens recorded 222 rushing yards, while limiting the Dolphins to 151 total yards and nine first downs, while forcing three turnovers and three sacks. Baltimore running back Terry Allen ran for 109 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Elvis Grbac completed 12 of 18 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown. Throughout the day, the Dolphins were unable to move the ball on the ground. Running backs Travis Minor and Lamar Smith were held to a combined total of 20 yards on 11 carries, while quarterback Jay Fiedler ended up as the leading rusher with 16 yards. In contrast, the Ravens called 50 running plays, gained 222 rushing yards, and held the ball for 38 minutes.
The Dolphins' only score was Olindo Mare's 33-yard field goal just two minutes into the game, after linebacker Tommy Hendricks recovered a fumble from Baltimore's Jermaine Lewis on the opening kickoff. In the second quarter, the Ravens finished a 17-play, 90-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run from Allen to take a 7–3 lead. Baltimore later had a chance to increase their lead before halftime when linebacker Peter Boulware recovered Minor's fumble on the Dolphins 41-yard line, but their ensuing drive ended without points when Matt Stover missed a 40-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the half.
Later in the game, Grbac led the Ravens on a 99-yard scoring drive, featuring a 45-yard completion to Travis Taylor on third down and 1. Taylor finished the drive with a 4-yard touchdown catch to give the Ravens a 14–3 lead with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
Early in the final quarter, Boulware forced a fumble while sacking Fiedler that Ravens lineman Sam Adams recovered on the Dolphins 37-yard line, leading to Stover's 35-yard field goal with 11:26 left in the game. The Dolphins responded with a drive to the Ravens 41. On first and 10, Fiedler's 40-yard pass to James McKnight at the Ravens 5-yard line bounced off the receiver's shoulder and was intercepted by defensive back Duane Starks, who returned the ball 26 yards to the 28-yard line. Baltimore's offense subsequently drove 50 yards and took 6:30 off the clock, including five carries by Jason Brookins for 36 yards, setting up Stover's second field goal to put the game away.