The Miami Dolphins managed to squeak out an overtime win against the Washington Commanders in Spain on Sunday, but it wasn’t because they played smart football. They ended up winning in spite of themselves.
With under two minutes remaining in a 13-13 game, the Dolphins were facing a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line. It’s a no-brainer that you kick the field goal and take the lead. But no, head coach Mike McDaniel decided to be a riverboat gambler and go for it.
The game remained tied and went into overtime, where the Dolphins would kick a field goal and win 16-13 in a game that ultimately doesn’t impact anything outside of 2026 draft position.
Mike McDaniel had some ‘splaining to do
Why would McDaniel choose to be aggressive in that situation against a team with a backup quarterback, no No. 1 wide receiver and had only scored one touchdown up until that point in the game?
Ricky Ricardo wanted some answers after the game (what are the odds that anyone reading this gets that reference?).
“You don’t make that decision unless, you know, I thought the play was going to work, and it didn’t,” McDaniel explained. “But looking at from it was about 1:47 or something, with no timeouts, a field goal gives them the ball back. Their special teams is very adept at getting the ball between the 30 and 40, which would leave about 25 yards for a tying field goal, as opposed to going 60 yards when they’re backed up.
“And so those are the type of situations that you try to do the best thing with the recourse of failure. And that was an example of the defense stepping up. They held when it was most critical, and to get a three-phases, a complementary football game where we got takeaways in two phases and didn’t turn the ball over, it was an important win for for our team But, yeah, I definitely wouldn’t have made that call if I thought it was going to fail. But you you also make that decision based upon the recourse if it doesn’t work.”
Heck of an explanation.
Mike McDaniel isn’t the only one who made a poor decision
De’Von Achane was brilliant again on Sunday, but he made a crucial error that could have cost the Dolphins the game.
Achane ripped off an 18-yard run that got the team down to the six-yard line. That’s great and all, but he allowed himself to be pushed out of bounds which stopped the clock. So, on that fourth-down play, there was 1:47 left to go in the game, but if he had stayed in bounds there likely would have been just a little more than a minute.
That could have altered McDaniel’s decision.
For the game, Achane was a big reason they got the win, rushing for 120 yards on 21 carries, while catching five passes for another 45 yards. Right now, he’s the Little Engine That Could for this offense.
The Dolphins have a bye this week, but will return to the field on November 30th when they host the New Orleans Saints.
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