Eight days from now marks 26 years since the Monday Night Miracle. On October 23, 2000, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the New York Jets trailed the Miami Dolphins 30-7 after three quarters. They scored 30 points in the fourth quarter, tied the game twice, and won 40-37 on John Hall’s 40-yard field goal in overtime.
Vinny Testaverde threw five touchdown passes, four of them in the fourth quarter. The last one went to a tackle. Jumbo Elliott reported in as an eligible receiver, slipped out on play-action and caught a 3-yard pass with 42 seconds left to tie the game 37-37. It was the only catch of his career.
First place on a World Series off night
Both teams came in 5-1 and tied for first in the AFC East. The Jets were in their first season under Al Groh, who took over after Bill Belichick resigned the job in January. Miami was in its first season after Dan Marino’s retirement, with Jay Fiedler at quarterback and Dave Wannstedt as head coach.
New York was in the middle of the Yankees–Mets World Series, and the Monday night game fell on the off day between Games 2 and 3. The game kicked off at 9:10 p.m. Eastern in front of a paid crowd of 78,389, with the temperature at 51 degrees under a clear sky. Al Michaels, Dan Fouts and Dennis Miller called it on Monday Night Football.
30-7 after three quarters
Miami controlled the first three quarters. Olindo Mare kicked a 28-yard field goal to finish a 14-play opening drive. Fiedler then hit Leslie Shepherd for a 42-yard touchdown, and Lamar Smith ran 68 yards for a score on the first play of the next possession. Miami led 17-0 after one quarter.
Testaverde threw three interceptions before the fourth quarter. Wayne Chrebet’s 10-yard touchdown catch with 53 seconds left in the half got the Jets on the board, but Mare answered with a 44-yard field goal with two seconds left for a 23-7 halftime lead. Smith’s 3-yard run with 12 seconds left in the third quarter made it 30-7. He finished with 155 yards and two touchdowns on 23 carries.
23 points in under ten minutes
The comeback started with a 75-yard drive helped by two Miami defensive holding penalties. Testaverde found Laveranues Coles for a 30-yard touchdown with 13:49 left. The Jets went for two, and Testaverde’s pass to Richie Anderson was caught short of the goal line. It was 30-13.
On the next drive, Anderson appeared to score from 14 yards out, but Miami challenged and the call was reversed with the ball at the 1. Elliott reported eligible for the first time that night, and Testaverde threw a 1-yard touchdown to tight end Jermaine Wiggins. It was 30-20 with 9:51 left.
A 22-yard catch by Coles plus 15 yards for a Miami unnecessary roughness penalty set up Hall’s 34-yard field goal to make it 30-23. Miami then went backward. An offensive holding penalty and a 13-yard Bryan Cox sack pushed the Dolphins to their own 6, and Matt Turk’s 33-yard punt gave the Jets the ball at the Miami 39. Three plays later, Testaverde hit Chrebet for a 24-yard touchdown. With 3:55 to play, the game was tied 30-30 after 23 unanswered Jets points.
Miami answers in 22 seconds
The tie lasted one play from scrimmage. Brock Marion returned the kickoff 47 yards to the Jets 46, and Fiedler threw deep to Shepherd for a 46-yard touchdown on the next snap. Miami led 37-30 with 3:33 left.
A tackle reports eligible
The Jets started at their own 43 and moved 57 yards in nine plays. Testaverde completed passes of 9 and 11 yards to Curtis Martin and 19 yards to Anderson, and Martin ran 7 yards to the 6. Two plays later, at the two-minute warning, it was fourth-and-1 at the Miami 4. Anderson caught a short pass and got 2 yards for the first down while Zach Thomas and Jerry Wilson hit him.
On first-and-goal from the 2, Elliott reported eligible and Martin was stopped for a 1-yard loss. On second-and-goal from the 3, Elliott reported again. Testaverde faked a handoff, and Elliott, a 13th-year tackle playing as an extra blocker, was open in the end zone. He bobbled the ball, held on, and the replay assistant’s review upheld the touchdown. Hall’s extra point tied it 37-37 with 42 seconds left. Fiedler was hurt on Miami’s last third-down play of regulation, and the Dolphins punted.
Reporting is what made the play legal. A player wearing an ineligible number must tell the referee before the snap, and the defense is told, before he can go out for a pass. Our guide Who can catch? Formations and eligible receivers explains the rule. It still shows up near the goal line in 2026: Denver offensive lineman Alex Palczewski reported in as eligible on every snap of the goal-line series that ended with Bo Nix’s winning 1-yard touchdown run against the Rams on September 27.
Overtime: Marcus Coleman’s three interceptions
Miami won the overtime coin toss and took the ball. On third-and-5, cornerback Marcus Coleman intercepted Fiedler at the Miami 46, but Thurman Thomas forced a fumble on the return and Oronde Gadsden recovered for Miami at the 34. On the fifth play of that drive, Coleman intercepted Fiedler again at the Jets 34. It was his third interception of the game.
Testaverde’s 28-yard pass to Chrebet on third-and-3 moved the ball to the Miami 31. Three plays later, on fourth-and-2 from the 23, Hall kicked the 40-yard field goal with 8:13 left in overtime. The game took 4 hours, 10 minutes and ended after 1 a.m. on Tuesday.
| Qtr | Time | Team | Score | MIA | NYJ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7:22 | MIA | Olindo Mare 28-yard field goal | 3 | 0 |
| 1 | 5:03 | MIA | Leslie Shepherd 42-yard pass from Jay Fiedler (Mare kick) | 10 | 0 |
| 1 | 3:09 | MIA | Lamar Smith 68-yard run (Mare kick) | 17 | 0 |
| 2 | 12:57 | MIA | Mare 42-yard field goal | 20 | 0 |
| 2 | 0:53 | NYJ | Wayne Chrebet 10-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (John Hall kick) | 20 | 7 |
| 2 | 0:02 | MIA | Mare 44-yard field goal | 23 | 7 |
| 3 | 0:12 | MIA | Smith 3-yard run (Mare kick) | 30 | 7 |
| 4 | 13:49 | NYJ | Laveranues Coles 30-yard pass from Testaverde (pass failed) | 30 | 13 |
| 4 | 9:51 | NYJ | Jermaine Wiggins 1-yard pass from Testaverde (Hall kick) | 30 | 20 |
| 4 | 5:43 | NYJ | Hall 34-yard field goal | 30 | 23 |
| 4 | 3:55 | NYJ | Chrebet 24-yard pass from Testaverde (Hall kick) | 30 | 30 |
| 4 | 3:33 | MIA | Shepherd 46-yard pass from Fiedler (Mare kick) | 37 | 30 |
| 4 | 0:42 | NYJ | Jumbo Elliott 3-yard pass from Testaverde (Hall kick) | 37 | 37 |
| OT | 8:13 | NYJ | Hall 40-yard field goal | 37 | 40 |
| Number | Detail |
|---|---|
| 36 of 59, 378 yards | Testaverde’s line: five touchdowns, three interceptions |
| 18 of 26, 235 yards | Testaverde in the fourth quarter alone, with four touchdowns |
| 30 | Jets points in the fourth quarter, after 7 through three quarters |
| 20 to 1 | Fourth-quarter first downs, Jets vs. Dolphins |
| 13 for 95 | Miami penalties. Seven Jets first downs came by penalty |
| 12 for 109 | Richie Anderson’s receiving line |
| 6 for 104, 2 TD | Wayne Chrebet’s receiving line |
| 23 for 155, 2 TD | Lamar Smith’s rushing line for Miami |
| 3 | Marcus Coleman interceptions, two in overtime |
Why the failed two-pointer mattered
The failed two-point try after the first touchdown changed the rest of the quarter. With a routine extra point, the Jets’ next three scores would have put them ahead 31-30 at the 3:55 mark; a successful two would have made it 32-30. Instead, the Chrebet touchdown only tied it, Shepherd’s quick touchdown put Miami back in front, and Testaverde needed one more drive. Our new guide, the Try explained, covers how the extra point and two-point conversion work under the 2026 rules.
What came after
The win put the Jets at 6-1 and Miami at 5-2. It did not decide the division. The Jets finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs, and Groh left after one season to coach the University of Virginia. Miami finished 11-5, won the AFC East, beat Indianapolis in overtime in the wild-card round, and lost at Oakland in the divisional round.
Four future Hall of Famers started: Curtis Martin and Kevin Mawae for the Jets, Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas for Miami. Thurman Thomas, another, came off Miami’s bench. The referee was Walt Coleman, who 15 months later worked the Tuck Rule game in New England. The game was later voted the greatest in Monday Night Football history.
Watch: the Monday Night Miracle
The highlights below run from the 30-7 deficit through Hall’s overtime kick, including Elliott’s catch.
The Jets’ own throwback feature looks back at how the comeback came together.
Related WhyNFL reading: The Try: extra points and two-point conversions explained, Who can catch? Formations and eligible receivers, NFL overtime: possession, scoring and the clock, Coach’s challenge and instant replay, October 15, 2000: the Rams’ two-point record. Team pages: Jets, Dolphins.
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