The Oakland Raiders will head to Miami, Florida this weekend to battle it out with the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, December 4, 2011. These two teams have had some memorable games over the years, and it’s the Raiders who lead the series, winning 19 to the Dolphins’ 14 victories, with one tie.

Raiders fan, Dr. Death
Kathy Samoun (w/permission from Dr Death)

Over the past decade, it’s been a different story, with Miami winning five out of their six most recent games. But the tide is turning, as everything in football seems to be cyclical for many teams. The last time the two faced each other in a playoff battle, was on January 6, 2001, and it was Oakland who defeated Miami, 27-0.

Here is a look back at some of the best games between the Raiders and the Dolphins.

December 21, 1974

This 1974 AFC Playoff Game was one of the best games in the history of the NFL. It was played at the Oakland Coliseum, with the famed Don Shula as Miami’s head coach and John Madden coaching the Raiders. The great Kenny Stabler was the quarterback for Oakland, and Bob Griese was the Dolphins’ quarterback.

With less than five minutes left in the game, the Raiders were losing, but Cliff Branch scored a touchdown to put Oakland up 21-19. Then Griese helped lead an immediate comeback to put Miami up 26-21 with only two minutes left on the clock. The Raiders had to get the touchdown, and Stabler led the team down the field.

In one of the most unlikely catches in history, under a sea of Miami players, Clarence Davis outfought them to come up with the ball and hold onto it for the score. The Raiders scored twice in less than four and a half minutes, and it went down in history as one of the greatest plays ever. Final score, 28-26, Raiders.

September 22, 1975

Less than a year later, on September 22, 1975, the Raiders’ snapped Miami’s 31 home game winning streak with a defeat of the Dolphins, 31-21 on Monday Night Football. The Raiders’ running back, Harold Hart, took a kickoff 102 yards for a touchdown, and some of the Silver and Black’s greatest players were on the field that night, including Dave Casper, Skip Thomas and Fred Biletnikoff.

September 19, 1983

Early in the season in 1983, it was my favorite quarterback, Jim Plunkett, who led the, then, Los Angeles Raiders to victory over the Dolphins, 27-14. It was also famed quarterback, Dan Marino’s rookie year. Plunkett went 11-for-15 with 162 passing yards, and one of the best running backs in NFL history, Marcus Allen, rushed for 105 yards.

The Raiders went on to win their third and last Super Bowl to date, against the Washington Redskins on January 22, 1984.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter or on Twitter @kcdermody.

More from this contributor:

Oakland Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski Named Special Teams Player of the Week: Fan reaction

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Yet another player to wear the Silver and Black has died. The former Oakland Raiders’ defensive tackle, Chester McGlockton, died overnight, sometime early on the morning of Wednesday, November 30, of an apparent heart attack. McGlockton was just 42 years old.

Oakland Raiders
K.C. Dermody

McGlockton had been working as a defensive assistant coach at Stanford for the past two seasons, and he played for the Raiders for six seasons, from 1992 through 1997. He leaves a wife, Zina, and two children.

McGlockton was selected to the Pro Bowl four times, all with the Raiders, and spent 12 seasons in the NFL. In 1994, the first season he went to the Pro Bowl, he had a career high 9 1/2 sacks, 48 tackles and three forced fumbles. By the end of his NFL career, he’d amassed a total of 51 sacks and 106 tackles.

As of early afternoon on Wednesday, there are no further details of McGlockton’s passing. It’s certainly a tragedy to lose another great man, and at such a young age.

We’ve seen far too many Raiders’ pass in 2011. The most recent, of course, was the death of Oakland’s iconic owner, Al Davis, on October 8. Davis died at the age of 82, after purchasing the Raiders 48 years ago, when the dying team played on a high school field. The NFL, and the world, lost a great man that day.

Although head coach, Hue Jackson, has had to face many difficult decisions since the short time that Davis has died, many of us feel he is somehow influencing things from up above. It’s hard to imagine football, and especially the Raiders without Davis involved somehow.

This summer, we lost another great Raider, when Alonzo “Skip” Thomas died from a heart attack at the age of 61. Thomas earned the name “Dr. Death,” personifying the wild and tough Oakland Raiders of the 1970s.

The cornerback was drafted in 1972 and played all all six seasons of his NFL career for the Raiders, helping to lead them to victory in their first Super Bowl in 1977 against the Minnesota Vikings.

McGlockton’s name will be yet another name added to the Raiders’ Memorial Wall, along with many other men who’ve worn the Silver and Black. Davis, Thomas, Gene Upshaw, George Blanda, Lyle Alzado, John Matuszak, Jack Tatum, and countless others are among those listed on the great wall. They may be fading into the memories of yesteryear, but will never be forgotten.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter or on Twitter @kcdermody.

More from this contributor:

Oakland Raiders’ Sebastian Janikowski Named Special Teams Player of the Week: Fan reaction

The Oakland Raiders Get a Win at Home Against the Chicago Bears: Fan reaction

Oakland Raiders’ Fan’s Look: Hue Jackson Proving the Naysayers Wrong

Fan’s Look at Why the Oakland Raiders Will Stay on Top of the AFC West

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

Read More: denarius moore injury, oakland raiders injury report, Carson Palmer (QB – OAK), Darren McFadden (RB – OAK), Chaz Schilens (WR – OAK), Marcel Reece (RB – OAK), Darrius Heyward-Bey (WR – OAK), Louis Murphy (WR – OAK), Jacoby Ford (WR – OAK), Denarius Moore (WR – OAK), Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Denarius Moore returned to practice Wednesday and will look to make his way back onto the field Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. Moore sat out last week’s game against the Chicago Bears with an ankle/foot issue that kept him out of practice all week. If he is a full participant on Wednesday, that is an excellent sign he will be able to go this Sunday.

The Raiders skill position players are fairly decimated with injuries with Darren McFadden and Jacoby Ford already likely outs for Sunday against the Dolphins. Moore has been able to stretch the field and developed a solid rapport with Carson Palmer before the injury. The Raiders are built around a strong rushing attack, but having players that can stretch the field is important to open up the running game.

If Ford is unable to go on Sunday, Darrius Heyward-Bey remains the top option, with Chaz Schilens and Louis Murphy getting worked into the rotation. The Raiders pulled out the win against Chicago with limited weapons, but when Marcel Reece puts up the biggest receiving numbers, concern will rise. If Oakland can get Denarius Moore back on the field, that will be huge against a resurgent Miami Dolphins squad.

For more on the Raiders, check out Silver & Black Pride.

Read More: Darren McFadden (RB – OAK), Jacoby Ford (WR – OAK), Miami Dolphins, San Diego Chargers, Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers

The Oakland Raiders have been one of the more surprising stories in the NFL this season and the team is on the cusp of a playoff birth for the first time since 2002. They have found success thus far without two of their more talented players in Darren McFadden and Jacoby Ford, but they will need all hands on deck if they hope to survive the final month of the regular season.

The Raiders will play teams with a combined record of 29-26 in weeks 13 through 17, including a road showdown with the undefeated Green Bay Packers for week 14. What looked like an easy game a month ago now looks like a tough one against the suddenly-hot Miami Dolphins this weekend. The Detroit Lions will come to town in week 15 in a game with big playoff implications before the Raiders head to Kansas City for a big AFC West battle. And despite their recent struggles, the San Diego Chargers in week 17 will not go easily.

According to Football Outsiders. Oakland has one of the toughest remaining schedules of any team in contention for a playoff bid. There will be little room for error in the month of December.

For more on the Raiders, head on over to Silver and Black Pride.

Not surprisingly, the Oakland Raiders’ awesome kicker, Sebastian Janikowski(notes) was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his outstanding efforts in the game against the Chicago Bears on Sunday, November 27. He was the key player in the defeat over Chicago in which the Raiders won, 25-20.

Oakland Raiders Sebastian Janikowski
Broken Sphere/Wikimedia Commons

This is the 12th season Janikowski has been with the Silver and Black, and he’s been one of the most stable forces on the team, along with punter Shane Lechler(notes) who also started for the Raiders back in 2000. In 2008, the “Polish Cannon,” became the teams all-time leading scorer, and just last year he surpassed the 132 point record for most points in a season held by Jeff Jaeger with 142.

In 2009, Janikowski kicked a 61-yard field goal, the fourth longest in the history of the NFL, and during the opening game in Denver at the start of this season he kicked the historic 63-yard field goal tying the NFL record for the longest successful field goal in history. The Raiders ultimately won that game 23-20. Had Janikowski not been able to make the incredible kick, the game could have easily gone the other way.

In game 12 against the Bears, Sea Bass kicked a team record six field goals as well as an extra point, making him responsible for 19 of the 25 points that Oakland scored. Janiksowski was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week in both weeks 1 and 5, and was the AFC Special Teams Player of the Month in September.

There is no doubt in my mind, that Oakland’s late iconic owner, Al Davis, is smiling down from up above. Davis loved Janikowski, who was only the third kicker ever in the history of the NFL to be taken in the first round of the draft. Many people questioned his wisdom, but in retrospect, Davis was right, as he was most of the time.

In the game against the Houston Texans, one day after Al’s death, Janikowski tied yet another NFL record by hitting three field goals of over 50 yards. A feat that’s only been accomplished five times over the many decades of the NFL.

This afternoon I read an article comparing the Dallas Cowboys’ rookie kicker, Dan Bailey to the great Janikowski. The author said he’d rather have Bailey on his team. It was rather humorous, in that there is really no comparison between a kicker with less than a season in the NFL to one with nearly 12 seasons. Bailey has only had one 50+ yard field goal kick to Janikowksi’s six in 2011. In any case, the Cowboys’ fan doesn’t have much of a choice anyway, he’s stuck with Bailey.

Janikowski is already a legendary Raider, destined to become an NFL Hall of Famer, and he’ll be winning games for Oakland for many years to come.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett . Follow her at www.facebook.com/KCDermodyWriter or on Twitter @kcdermody.

More from this contributor:

Oakland Raiders’ Fan’s Look: Monday Update – Campbell Throwing, McFadden Working Out

The Oakland Raiders Get a Win at Home Against the Chicago Bears: Fan reaction

Oakland Raiders’ Fan’s Look: Hue Jackson Proving the Naysayers Wrong

Fan’s Look at Why the Oakland Raiders Will Stay on Top of the AFC West

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