Dolphins clinch playoff spot, beat Cowboys on last-second field goal

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took a pair of knees and all that stood in front of the Dolphins and a narrative-busting, self-validating victory was 29 yards.

Jason Sanders calmly booted the short kick between the uprights as time expired, securing a 22-20 win against the Dallas Cowboys on Christmas Eve, as defensive lineman Christian Wilkins raised the kicker into the air, their Miami teammates ran onto the field and the video board at Hard Rock Stadium quickly changed to an aqua background with “CLINCHED” printed in bold, white letters.

The late-second win secured a second straight trip to the playoffs for the Dolphins but could mean more for a team that faced so many questions entering the matchup about their standing among the NFL’s elite.

Miami’s struggles against teams with winning records were well-documented. The Dolphins (11-4) entered Week 16 with a 0-3 record against teams with a winning record, a stat that coach Mike McDaniel acknowledged the team couldn’t avoid — but also couldn’t let impact their focus in a matchup that had the feel of a playoff atmosphere.

And Miami weathered the ebbs and flows of what Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy called “a juggernaut game,” down to the game-winning drive, as Tagovailoa led the Dolphins on a 12-play, 64-yard possession that used up the remaining 3:27 on the game clock and culminated in Sanders’ decisive kick.

“I think, specifically since I’ve been in the National Football League, I think the experience for players has changed with the advent and heavy push of social media,” McDaniel said. “I think it’s really hard to ignore the noise, so to speak, or not hear it. I think you’re going to hear it. And so it’s impossible for people not to know all the things that we’re not capable of doing.”

He added: “But I’m proud for this team because regardless of what people say, you have to get to a mode where you’re solely worried about doing your job and being responsible for that with your teammates. And anything else, you get distracted and lose focus on what actually matters. So I thought this is a big win for this team because it’s always big when you do something that internally you know that you’re capable of. And when it comes to fruition, it’s pretty satisfying.”

The win kept the Dolphins on course to potentially win the AFC East with either a win against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 17 or a loss by the Buffalo Bills, who face the New England Patriots. The winner of the New Year’s Eve matchup in Baltimore will also be the AFC’s No. 1 seed heading into Week 18. This made Miami’s Christmas Eve matchup against Dallas, which is also playoff-bound, all the more important.

When quarterback Dak Prescott found wide receiver Brandin Cooks in between cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Kader Kohou for an 8-yard touchdown in the corner of the end zone, giving the Cowboys (10-5) a 20-19 lead with 3:27 left, it evoked memories from just two weeks ago.

The Dolphins held a 14-point lead against the Tennessee Titans on “Monday Night Football” with four minutes left, only to watch it unravel in a one-point loss that drew more questions and criticism toward the team. And at this moment late Sunday afternoon, Miami had seen a 19-10 lead entering the fourth quarter evaporate.

For all the accolades and feats the Dolphins’ offense has compiled this season, wide receiver Tyreek Hill acknowledged it didn’t mean much if the unit couldn’t come up in the biggest moments. Their game-winning attempt against Tennessee quickly fizzled before Miami could pass midfield but this time would be different.

A penalty on the first play of the possession put the Dolphins in motion when linebacker Damone Clark grabbed running back De’Von Achane’s face mask, moving the ball to the Dolphins’ 46.

Tagovailoa then converted one of two key third downs, hitting Hill on a quick screen pass that gained 10 yards to the Dallas 23 on third-and-2. Three plays later, running back Jeff Wilson Jr. churned through the teeth of the Dallas defense for a 6-yard gain on third-and-2 that forced the Cowboys to use their final timeout and allowed Miami to run the game clock down before Sanders’ attempt.

“I don’t think anyone is necessarily worried about what anyone else is saying outside of the guys in the building,” said Tagovailoa, who completed 24 of 37 for 293 yards and one touchdown. “The confidence, I mean, everyone has confidence in each other and themselves. I don’t think winning these games do anything more or anything less. But it sort of reiterates the work that we put in and gives us the satisfaction that the work that we do put in pays off and we’ve seen it today.”

The game-winning drive came on an afternoon when the Dolphins’ explosive offense only reached the end zone once. Running back Raheem Mostert’s 4-yard touchdown catch late in the second quarter, which gave Miami a 13-7 lead entering halftime, was the offense’s sole score. But the Dolphins leaned on a career day from Sanders, who made all five of his field-goal attempts, his most in a game since his 2020 All-Pro season. Sanders also opened the scoring with a career-long 57-yard field goal in the first quarter.

“I felt like I’ve been waiting for that moment since the Jets game last year,” said Sanders, who also propelled the Dolphins to the playoffs last season with a go-ahead kick against New York in the regular-season finale.

For much of the game, the Dolphins’ defense kept a Cowboys offense that only trailed Miami in points per game in check. After a torrid start for wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who caught four passes for 93 yards and a 49-yard score in the first quarter, the standout pass-catcher was held to two catches for 25 yards the remainder of the game. Miami held Dallas to a combined 85 net yards in the second and third quarters as it built a nine-point lead entering the fourth. The Dolphins’ defense also made a critical goal-line stand on the Cowboys’ opening possession, when safety DeShon Elliott’s tackle prevented running back Tony Pollard from reaching the end zone and then safety Brandon Jones recovered a botched handoff on the next play.

But Prescott led the Cowboys on a 17-play, 69-yard drive to retake the lead late, one assisted by a defensive pass interference penalty on Elliott when it appeared Miami made a stop on fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line. Three plays later, Prescott found Cooks for the score.

The touchdown left the Dolphins faithful at Hard Rock Stadium stunned but with 3:27 left, the Dolphins had more than enough time to get within range for a Sanders kick.

Game-winning attempts against the Titans, Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles were marked by miscues and mistakes but Hill praised Tagovailoa’s command as Miami quickly worked down the field. On the third-down conversion to Hill, who motioned right and then left and drew a pair of defenders with him, Tagovailoa communicated that it was man coverage and Hill was able to slither his way between the defense for the first down.

The drive was all the more impressive considering it came without wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, who missed the majority of the second half because of a shin injury he sustained in the third quarter, and behind an offensive line using its 11th different starting combination this season. Tagovailoa was sacked once the entire game.

“We just can’t be called the best offense, we can’t be called explosive, we have to be able to have good drives and the way Tua orchestrated the last drive, it was a thing of beauty,” said Hill, who caught a game-high nine passes for 99 yards in his return from a one-game absence because of an ankle injury.

When speaking about the resolve of his team, McDaniel has made note of a litany of players who have overcome people telling them they can’t do something, from Mostert’s journey from undrafted player to 1,000-yard runner as a 31-year-old, to Sanders’ career day after long-range struggles.

This week, he led a team that collectively had been told they couldn’t beat a worthwhile opponent.

“I’ve kind of recognized that it’s impossible to be in a vacuum,” he said.

And so in the lead-up to the game, he embraced the discourse, mentioning it to his players but emphasizing the need for them not to be consumed by it.

By Sunday night, it was outside linebacker Bradley Chubb screaming “Who Can’t?” on his way to a celebratory postgame locker room.

“It’s just finally good to get over that hump of the narrative,” Chubb said, “and changing the narrative to be what we want it to be and how we want to approach everything and it’s just been dope to see this team come together, not worry about the outsiders, the naysayers and just do what we do and prepare like we’re a championship team each and every week.”