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 anticipated, 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 that 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.

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NFL / miracle in miami

The Miracle In Miami 1 Year Later

The Miracle In Miami 1 Year Later

The Miracle In Miami 1 Year Later