Originally published on Dec. 9, 2019
By Zane Miller
On Sunday, December 9th, 2018, the Miami Dolphins
defeated the New England Patriots 34-33 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens,
Florida, on a 69-yard touchdown pass as time expired, keeping Miami’s playoff
chances alive as the Dolphins went to a 7-6 record on the season, while the
Patriots fell to 9-4 with just a couple of weeks remaining in the season.
A highly competitive first half saw the teams trade
touchdowns back and forth, eventually ending with the Patriots going into the
locker room holding a 27-21 lead. A much more defense-oriented third quarter
saw the Dolphins reclaim the lead with the only touchdown of the quarter to go
ahead 28-27.
Undeterred, the Patriots added a pair of field goals
in the fourth quarter, with the latter of the two field goals coming with just
16 seconds to go in the game. Kicker Stephen Gostkowski then drilled the
ensuing kickoff as a squib kick which was fielded and returned to the Dolphins’
own 31-yard line with seven seconds remaining, down 33-28.
As the Dolphins would need a touchdown to win it, the Patriots
defense lined up planning for a Hail Mary pass towards the end zone, as it
would be within range to do so. However, the Dolphins threw a curveball, which
would eventually win them the game.
Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill took the snap, but
instead of passing deep as the Patriots anticipate, he found wide receiver
Kenny Stills in the middle of the field at the Dolphins’ own 46-yard line. The
team also has no timeouts, so Stills is unable to go down to give his team a
chance at a shorter Hail Mary pass. Instead, Stills immediately pivots and
lateraled the ball to fellow wideout DeVante Parker. Parker ran briefly for a
few yards, before seeing running back Kenyan Drake running down the sideline
with Patriots linebacker Kyle Van Noy in tow. Parker lateraled to Drake, who caught
it near midfield without breaking his stride. He dodged the tackle from Van Noy,
then ran back towards the middle of the field and received a key block of
Patriots defensive back Patrick Chung courtesy of Dolphins center Ted Larsen.
Drake only had one more player to beat, which is
longtime Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski. While Gronkowski normally only
plays on offense, he was on the field in order to give the team a better chance
of either intercepting the ball or knocking the ball down to end the game. The
team wasn’t expecting for him to have to make a game-saving tackle. Gronkowski
had a poor angle to tackle Drake short of the goal line, but attempted to make
a last-second diving grab regardless. It came up just short, as Drake made his
way into the end zone, chucking the ball into the stands in excitement as the
Dolphins claimed the 34-33 victory.
This would be the Dolphins’ last win of the season, as
they went on to finish the season with a 7-9 record and would be unable to make
the playoffs. The Patriots went on to finish at 11-5 to make the playoffs and
eventually win their sixth Super Bowl in franchise history.
What I find really interesting about this game is that
three of the four players who touched the ball during the winning play are no
longer with the team just one year later, as Tannehill currently plays for the
Tennessee Titans, Stills went to the Houston Texans and Drake left to join the
Arizona Cardinals, as all three players were traded during the offseason.
Parker remains as the only one who still plays with the Dolphins.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiz87A3RpEw
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