MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Three minutes, 27 seconds remained in regulation when the Miami Dolphins took over on their own 25, down a point to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.
How those final 207 seconds played out would go a long way in determining not just the team’s postseason fate but the tenor of the debate surrounding the team for the next week (at least).
Consider the message sent to the rest of the league: The Dolphins are for real and are going to be a handful when the postseason begins in three weeks.
Mike McDaniel called a near-flawless drive, pulling the strings on a game-winning, 12-play, 64-yard field goal drive that exhausted every second off the clock.
Jason Sanders was the hero when he put through the 29-yard field goal — his fifth of the game.
But that chip shot was only possible because McDaniel called great plays, Tua Tagovailoa made great throws, a patchwork offensive line made great blocks, and Jeff Wilson Jr. was the most determined player on the field.
How the Miami Dolphins Beat the Dallas Cowboys
McDaniel called four runs, five passes, and two kneel-downs — and nearly every one was needed to get the Dolphins where they needed to go.
Four plays in particular were the difference:
One was the six-yard run by De’Von Achane on the drive’s opening snap which turned out to be the biggest gainer of them all. Why? Cowboys linebacker Damone Clark pulled Achane down by his facemask, giving the Dolphins an extra 15 yards and putting them near midfield in a heartbeat.
“The penalty, the face mask, was a big call obviously on the drive,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “But it’s a challenge in these games because you know it’s going to come down to one play, and they probably made a play or two more than we did. It was a hard-fought game.”
The fight wasn’t over for the Dolphins — far from it. Their two essential pass plays came on consecutive snaps.
The first was a seven-yard pass to the flat on 2nd-and-10 from the Cowboys’ 40 to the unlikeliest target, Alec Ingold. That completion ensured that Sanders would have a makeable field goal attempt, assuming the Dolphins didn’t go backward.
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They would not — thanks to Tyreek Hill. Tagovailoa, who completed four of five passes for 31 yards on the drive, found Hill on a jailbreak screen that picked up 10 yards and forced the Cowboys to start using their timeouts.
“Getting Tyreek the ball isn’t that novel,” McDaniel said. “I was picking the play that I thought you guys would second-guess the strongest if it didn’t work.”
Added Tagovailoa: “The entirety of the game, or for most of the game, third downs, as we got closer into the red zone, they were trying to double Tyreek. So I basically just told them it was man. So when Tyreek motioned over and they both ran over, Tyreek already assumed that, ‘OK, it’s man, but now I’m being doubled on this play.’
“So when Tyreek came back out, the guy watching him was trailing him, and nobody wants to be behind Tyreek, so they’re going to try to overplay it. When that happened, there was a screen, and Tyreek was able to do what Tyreek does.”
All that was left at that point was for Wilson to put his head down and pick up six yards on 3rd-and-2 from the Cowboys’ 15. That allowed the Dolphins to run out the clock — and walk away with their 11th win of the season.
On the drive, the Dolphins rushed for five yards per carry.
“I was excited to see which phase was going to win the game,” McDaniel said. “I wasn’t going to count our defense out for a second, and I wasn’t going to count our offense out either. And the second that they scored the touchdown, went up by one, I was happy for the opportunity because I know you have to figure out a way to win in those moments to have the season that you want. I was very pumped.
“I was confident that our guys would execute. And I think we got — it was cool that we matriculated down the field. Their pass rush was real, and we were able to get into scoring position.
“And then to be able to convert to get to first down, to get — it epitomizes what the Dolphins are. Jeff Wilson comes and fights for the yardage that allows us to kneel down and kick a field goal.
“That is happening all over the place in all three phases, which is why you’re seeing a team that is playing very hard for each other each and every week. So many guys are contributing. So many guys are stepping up with injuries, and that’s the most fun football to be a part of.”
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