MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — There’s a public/private disconnect for a good number of Miami Dolphins players when it comes to how they are viewed internally compared to outside of the building.
Tua Tagovailoa is the highest profile of the doubted, but he’s far from the only. Liam Eichenberg is another.
Then there’s Jason Sanders, the former All-Pro kicker who became a bit of a punching bag in the fan base after a couple of relatively down years since his standout 2020 season.
Well, those same Dolphins fans have that same scapegoat to thank for saving their Christmas because the Dolphins without a doubt would not have beaten the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night if Sanders had not had the game of his career.
Jason Sanders’ Career Night Lifts Miami Dolphins Past Cowboys
Sanders on Sunday was a perfect 5-for-5 on his field goals, including three of over 50 yards and a 29-yarder as time expired, to deliver the Dolphins their biggest win of the season.
“You’re locked in,” Sanders said of his game-winner. “It’s between you and the uprights. When you got [long snapper] Blake [Ferguson] and [punter] Jake [Bailey], it’s truly between you and the uprights. You can trust what they’re gonna do so you can worry about yourself.”
Without Sanders’ five kicks, the Dolphins would not be 11-4. They wouldn’t have punched their playoff ticket, and they wouldn’t have ripped the can’t-beat-a-winning-team monkey off their back.
Jason Sanders with an MVP sweater on an MVP night pic.twitter.com/W5p8OcZEpv
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) December 25, 2023
Sanders for the second year in a row made the kick that sent the Dolphins into the postseason. He drilled a 50-yarder with 18 seconds left against the New York Jets in Week 18 of the 2022 season and accounted for all but two of the team’s 11 points.
On Sunday, Sanders’ right foot was responsible for 16 of Miami’s 22.
And in the process, he took a sledgehammer to the narrative that he can’t connect from deep.
Before Sunday, Sanders had missed 10 of his last 16 attempts from 50 or more yards.
On Sunday, he converted a perfect three of three from that distance, including a career-long 57-yarder that his coaching staff was so confident he would make, they sent him out even after a timeout Miami had to call because the Dolphins only had 10 men on the field.
MORE: NFL Playoff Bracker 2023
After his five kicks Sunday, Sanders is now 22 of 26 on field goal attempts (84.6%) on the year, including five of seven from 50+. He has also made all but one of his 56 extra-point attempts.
“Not every year can be an All-Pro year,” Sanders said. “I think I’m still hitting the kicks — I’m still, I’m still right where I need to be. Had a couple of blocks, you know, here and there. I don’t think there was anything to worry [about].”
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