Dolphins clinch playoff berth as Tua Tagovailoa leads game-winning drive vs. Cowboys

December 25, 2023 Admin

By Kalyn Kahler, Saad Yousuf and Jon Machota

The Miami Dolphins clinched a playoff berth Sunday after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa led them on a game-winning 12-play, 64-yard drive to beat the Dallas Cowboys 22-20 at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

Kicker Jason Sanders hit a 29-yard field goal as time expired to give Miami its 11th win of the season. Sanders hit five field goals in Sunday’s win.

The game-winning drive followed Dallas’ go-ahead score — an 8-yard touchdown reception by Brandin Cooks. The Cowboys scored after a 17-play, 69-yard drive that took 7:39 off the clock.

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott passed for 253 yards and two touchdowns, while Tagovailoa finished with 293 yards and a touchdown.

NFL Week 16 scores: Live updates, schedule, injury report, news, playoff standings and highlights

Miami gets signature win

Both teams came into this game needing to prove that they could beat a great opponent. Dallas needed to show they could win a big one on the road, and Miami needed to show they could win a big one- anywhere. This is that signature win for the Dolphins, and it didn’t come in their signature fashion of high-scoring, high velocity passing offense, which almost makes it mean more because it shows they’re adaptable. They won this game on the strength of their defense, and a perfect performance from kicker Jason Sanders, who hit from 57, 54 and 52! — Kalyn Kahler, National NFL writer

Mostert scores again

There was a brief moment of panic early in the second quarter when left tackle Terron Armstead accidentally ran over touchdown machine Raheem Mostert. Mostert stayed on the sideline getting checked out for the next Miami drive, and then on his first play back on the following possession, he scored Miami’s first touchdown of the game on first-and-goal, for his 21st touchdown of the season. This isn’t new information, but Mostert doing this in his ninth season at age 31 years old makes him one of the best stories of this NFL season. In his first eight NFL seasons, Mostert scored 19 touchdowns, and in one season he now has 21. — Kahler

Dolphins’ stout defense

Dallas’ defense put up a valiant effort holding Miami to just one touchdown and five field goals but Vic Fangio’s unit turned in a great performance against a top offense as well. Andrew Van Ginkel was all over Prescott in this game. Four QB hits, a TFL, seven tackles, 1.5 sacks and a pass defensed. He led a smart defensive performance from Fangio, who has previously tormented Mike McCarthy in the past. — Kahler

Dallas offense prove inconsistent

Cowboys offense turned in a very Jekyll and Hyde performance. On the one hand, they had a remarkable 17-play odyssey late in the game that would have served as the defining highlight of the season for the Cowboys. That drive had it all, big plays, big conversions and overcoming adversity, all capped off by a go-ahead touchdown catch by Cooks.

While the rest of the game doesn’t take away from that drive, there were simply too many moments by the offense that played a role in not being enough. CeeDee Lamb’s involvement disappeared for the middle two frames, the running game struggled and coming up empty-handed on the first drive was killer. Chuma Edoga, filling in at left tackle for Tyron Smith, had a forgetful performance. Cowboys offense had its moment, just not enough — Saad Yousuf, Cowboys beat writer

Defense better but comes up short

Cowboys DC Dan Quinn expected his group to bounce back after that ugly loss in Buffalo. McCarthy spoke highly of their week of practice during the 105.3 The Fan pregame show. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he expected a better performance, adding, “We’re coming into this (game) like it’s the last game of the year.” While the Cowboys were much better than they were in Buffalo, they again came up short. For the first time in the last two years, Dallas has lost back to back games. The defense was clearly improved from the Buffalo game. They gave the team a chance. But they just weren’t good enough on the final drive. Offensively, there were bright spots, but again, not enough to beat a good team on the road. We’ve seen this movie. The Cowboys will likely need to beat multiple good teams on the road to make a deep playoff run. It’s hard to see that happening right now. — Jon Machota, Dallas Cowboys beat writer