Miami Dolphins edge Dallas Cowboys, clinch berth, silence critics
MIAMI GARDENS — There was the general manager meeting each player at the tunnel, high-fiving some, hugging others.
There was the kicker, counting off on his fingers how many field goals he’d made, and with it, how many that a good portion of the crowd figured he wouldn’t make before foot hit leather.
There were the two quarterbacks in a long embrace, the losing veteran from Dallas congratulating the up-and-coming winner from Miami, maybe not a torch-passing moment, but close.
And there was the owner shaking his fist to the fans as he left the field Sunday night.
Dolphins 22, Cowboys 20.
Just one win out of 11 for the Dolphins? You know better than that. If you’ve followed the team for more than a minute, you know how much this must mean to general manager Chris Grier, to kicker Jason Sanders, to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and to owner Stephen Ross.
Because it means about that much to you, too.
The Dolphins are in the playoffs. Start there. Celebrate that, why don’t you, because coach Mike McDaniel has been here two years and taken this team to the playoffs two years. If you’re wondering when was the last time the Dolphins made the playoffs two years in a row, the answer is not since 2001. A generation ago. McDaniel was just graduating high school.
Will Dolphins win the AFC East? Earn a first-round bye?
So the heat’s off the Dolphins for getting in the tournament. The only question is how they go in. The AFC East title, No. 1 seed and first-round bye are still quite attainable, even though the Baltimore Ravens currently own the top seed and the Buffalo Bills own a tiebreaker edge over the Dolphins. Good thing, then, that the next two opponents are the Ravens and the Bills, you might conclude.
Or, if you think that’s a bad thing, the Dolphins will understand. McDaniel again acknowledged last week the narrative that the Dolphins hadn’t beaten a team with a winning record. But Sunday, he let on that he’d been fine with that.
“Should we really be entitled to blind faith before we do it?” he said.
Thankfully, it’s moot now. The Cowboys are a 10-win team. People can say all they want about how mediocre they are on the road. Don’t listen. Come crunch time Sunday, they went on a 17-play drive in the fourth quarter to take their first lead since 7-3. Two fourth downs didn’t stop them. Duke Riley and Bradley Chubb being all over quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t stop him. He still found Brandin Cooks — double-covered by Jalen Ramsey and Kader Kohou — for an 8-yard touchdown and 20-19 lead with 3:27 left.
Know what McDaniel was thinking at this point? Exactly what everybody else wasn’t.
“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,” McDaniel said. “So I was pumped.”
Mike McDaniel repaying Stephen Ross’ faith
McDaniel, we know, is a different breed. That’s why Ross hired him in the first place.
“He was the one owner that decided that it was worthwhile to interview and then took a shot on me,” McDaniel said.
So winning on this day, in this fashion, is just one way McDaniel is paying back Ross.
“He has earned everything to his name on his own and been extremely successful to do that,” McDaniel said. “And I know that he hadn’t felt that same success with the Dolphins, by his own admission. But you want to talk about a guy that positions an NFL franchise to succeed where he doesn’t use his power of being the owner, like, literally, he could tell me to stand on one leg for the rest of the week. But he doesn’t. He hires people and lets them do their jobs and supports us. Reaches out to me after a tough loss. Is worried about me.”
The Dolphins have had tough losses this season, to the Bills, Eagles and Chiefs, meaning they hadn’t had that statement win until now.
“Every guy on the team knew what was at stake,” receiver Tyreek Hill said.
Dolphins get contributions from players who ’can’t’
It’s not just that the Dolphins came through. It’s that they came through despite reasons not to.
Tagovailoa huddled his troops before that game-winning drive, knowing Jaylen Waddle was out with eye and shin injuries after becoming the first Dolphin with three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Tagovailoa still completed 4-of-5 passes for 31 yards, none more meaningful than a third-and-3 throw to Hill for 10 yards to the Dallas 23, which is when it became clear Sanders would have a chip shot to win it.
Think about how they got there. Safety DeShon Elliott making an impossible, touchdown-saving tackle on the goal line, leading to a fumble recovery by Brandon Jones in the first quarter. Sanders going 5-for-5, including a career-long, 57-yarder, plus two more from 50-plus. Wait. Sanders?
“I thought it was very fitting,” McDaniel said. “ … Our locker room is filled with ‘they said you can’t’ – filled with guys that have been told they can’t. One of which is Jason.”
Well, Sanders didn’t hit three from 50-plus in four of his six years in the NFL. So counting off kicks on his fingers as the clock struck 0:00?
“I was in the moment,” he said.
More: What Tua Tagovailoa said about Dolphins’ game-winning drive against Cowboys might surprise you
Running back Jeff Wilson was, too. After Tagovailoa’s throws moved the Dolphins into striking distance, the only logical thing to do was to run. Problem was, Raheem Mostert was on the sideline, sparingly used after a second-quarter leg injury, even though he’d broken through the 1,000-yard barrier for the first time in his career. If Wilson has endured days on the inactive list this season, it’s fitting that he was running behind blockers who except for Terron Armstead weren’t supposed to be in there, either. Lester Cotten, Liam Eichenberg, Robert Jones and Kendall Lamm allowed Wilson to rip off runs of 8 and 6 yards to all but devour the clock. Sanders making a 29-yarder on the final play of the evening made it official.
It’s one win out of 11. But it’s the one that stamps the Dolphins as a playoff team. As a team starting to get used to playing well into January. As a team that has a shot of playing into February.
More: No champagne. No dancing. No loud music after playoffs clinched by Dolphins. Here’s why.
That explains Duke Riley blowing kisses to the fans as he exited. Christian Wilkins tossing wristbands to the crowd. Long snapper Blake Ferguson hopping, like a joyful grade-school child escaping into Christmas vacation.
Deep down, they know.
A defining chapter of this season had just been written.
Better strap yourself in for the next one.
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.
