Looking Back on the Miami Dolphins’ “Miracle in Miami” Play Five Years Later,

Miracle In Miami Play Five Years Later….

Five years ago today, the Miami Dolphins had a memorable NFL moment with their “Miracle in Miami” play.
John Galletley By John Galletley December 9, 2023No Comments4 Mins Read

Miami Dolphins
Oct 9, 2021; London, England, United Kingdom; A Miami Dolphins logo is seen at Tottenham Hogspur Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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The Miami Dolphins have been part of a few memorable moments in NFL history. Today is the fifth anniversary of one of those moments. We look back on the “Miracle in Miami” play that took place on December 9, 2018.

Setting the Scene
This game was at home against the New England Patriots. For a while, it was looking like the Patriots were going to take care of business as usual. Keep in mind that at this time, New England still had Tom Brady and was coming off of two straight Super Bowl appearances.

The Miami Dolphins had the ball on their own 31-yard line with seven seconds to go. At the time, Ryan Tannehill was still their quarterback. Plus, the Dolphins had no timeouts.

Originally, Tannehill threw a pass 15 yards down the field to WR Kenny Stills. It is harmless for the Patriots, right? Well, not so fast.

 

Two laterals later, the ball ends up in RB Kenyan Drake’s hands. Drake exposed a flawed defensive scheme from the New England Patriots to get close to the end zone. The final man he beat was the most memorable part of this play.

 

That is because Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski was deep down the field. When Drake deked to the right side of the field, Gronkowski could not adjust quickly enough to catch him. In fact, he practically fell trying to get closer to Drake. In the end, Drake completed a 69-yard touchdown play that would forever go down as the “Miracle in Miami.”

New England Patriots Then and Now
As stated above, the Patriots still had several key franchise players back in 2018. These players included Brady and Gronkowski. New England was still at the top of the football world at the time.

However, this game arguably cost them the top seed in 2018. That is because Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs were quickly surging that season. As a result, it set up a classic showdown between these two teams at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC Championship.

In the end, the Patriots won that AFC Championship in a controversial fashion. Then, they took on the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl. Brady and the Patriots ultimately won their sixth Super Bowl that season.

Now, that Super Bowl feels like a long time ago. New England is currently 3-10 in the 2023 NFL season. At the time of writing, they are sitting with potentially the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. It is highly speculated that they may draft a quarterback next season to replace Mac Jones.

Miami Dolphins Then and Now
As for the Dolphins, they have trended in the opposite direction in the last five years. Miami finished the 2018 season 7-9 and missed the playoffs. Since then, Ryan Tannehill has been traded to the Tennessee Titans. His future there looks uncertain considering he has been benched for rookie QB Will Levis.

Now, the Miami Dolphins have a stable head coach in Mike McDaniel. Plus, they have two NFL MVP candidates in QB Tua Tagovailoa and WR Tyreek Hill respectively.

Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) runs onto the field during pregame ceremonies of an NFL game against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Nov. 19, 2023.
On top of this, they have owned the New England Patriots since this game took place. Including the “Miracle in Miami” game, the Dolphins are 8-3 against the Patriots in their last 11 meetings. They won five of their last six meetings, including both in 2023. It is safe to say that in just five years, there is a new sheriff in town, as the Dolphins look like they will cruise to an AFC East title this season.

Sep 10, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel walks on the field prior to the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 10, 2023; Inglewood, California, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel walks on the field prior to the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
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