MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The Miami Dolphins are going to the playoffs. And they’re four wins away from the Super Bowl.
Miami rallied to beat the Dallas Cowboys 22-20 here Sunday night in easily the team’s best win of the season.
Jason Sanders kicked a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the game — his fifth of the game — to send the Dolphins home to their families winners. The win improved the Dolphins to 11-4. The Cowboys, meanwhile, fell to 10-5 with the loss.
Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins Instant Observations
A Championship Drive
The Dolphins are two wins away from the No. 1 seed in the AFC by grinding out a 12-play, 64-yard scoring drive that took the final 3:27 off the clock.
Tua Tagovailoa completed 4 of 5 passes for 31 yards on the drive, and Jeff Wilson Jr. picked up a key third down on the ground.
What a way to close it out.
Dolphins Defense Coughs Up Late Lead
For the second time in three games, the Dolphins’ defense coughed up a two-score fourth-quarter lead.
But nothing we saw in the Tennessee Titans’ game was quite like the 17-play, 69-yard touchdown drive that the Cowboys put together when they needed it the most.
The Cowboys scored on their seventh goal-to-go try of the possession, a perfect eight-yard pass from Dak Prescott to Brandin Cooks. The Dolphins thought they got off the field on fourth down, but both DeShon Elliott and Xavien Howard were flagged for defensive pass interference on the same play.
The CeeDee Lamb Plan
The best way for the Dolphins to stop CeeDee Lamb would have been by putting Jalen Ramsey on him all day. Vic Fangio had other plans, and Lamb roasted the Dolphins for 93 yards on four catches in the game’s first two drives.
But Fangio trusted the process. And his pass rush.
The Dolphins’ front four heated up after two bad possessions to start the game, and Lamb’s impact plummeted for the rest of the game. He finished with 118 yards on six catches.
Jason Sanders Reads Your Tweets
Remember that whole Jason-Sanders-Can’t-Make-Long-Field-Goals Narrative?
Time trash it along with all the bad Tua Takes.
Sanders connected from 57, 52, and 54 yards Sunday night — after missing 10 of his previous 16 attempts from 50+ dating back to the start of the 2021 season.
But credit Dolphins defense special teams coordinator Danny Crossman for keeping the faith.
Second Quarter, Money Quarter
The first quarter?
Ugly for the Dolphins.
The second quarter?
Ugly for the Cowboys.
The Dolphins outscored the Cowboys 10-0 and outgained them 128-8 in the period.
Milestone Game for Dolphins
The Dolphins in 2023 have a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher, and two 1,000-yard receivers — and there are still two games left in the season.
Jaylen Waddle joined Tyreek Hill in the 1,000-yard club for the second straight year.
Raheem Mostert went over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career — at age 31. He also had his NFL-leading 21st touchdown Sunday and seems destined for the Pro Bowl.
MORE: NFL Playoff Bracket 2023
He and Tua Tagovailoa would rather be preparing for the Super Bowl that week, however.
Tua on Sunday became just the third Dolphins quarterback to go over 4,000 in a season, joining Dan Marino (six times) and Ryan Tannehill (twice).
Mike McDaniel Outsmarts Himself, Again
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel can’t win inside the 10.
The Dolphins had another empty goal-to-go possession in the first half, throwing a fade on 4th-and-goal from the 5 — less than two weeks after insisting that he would learn from his “trash f—ing plays” in the shadow of the end zone.
And yet, he dialed up another low-percentage fade — this time to Cedrick Wilson.
McDaniel should have just taken the points — particularly since Mostert and Waddle got hurt on the previous two plays.
Granted, he made up for it with a masterful final drive.
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