The Good, Bad & Ugly from the Miami Dolphins Week 16 win over the Dallas Cowboys
Jason Sanders’ field goal with seconds remaining on Christmas Eve helped the Miami Dolphins overcome the Dallas Cowboys 22–20, improving their record to 11–4 and guaranteeing a postseason berth in the process!
It was a gorgeous, spectacular, hard-fought, wet, sloppy, and incredibly rewarding victory – the kind that establishes the Miami Dolphins as legitimate contenders in 2023.
The story around this team up until Sunday was that of a group that was unable to overcome the “good” teams. The Dolphins were 0-3 against winning teams before they defeated the Cowboys, and their only wins came against clubs who had more losses than wins.
The team was tired of the noise, and shut the critics up in a big way by taking out a 10-4 Dallas team that had lit up scoreboards all season long via quarterback Dak Prescott’s arm and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb’s big play ability.
This was a team victory. All three units — offense, defense and especially special teams — did their part. Miami earned this one, and gifted all of us Dolphins fans the best present we could have asked for this holiday season — the smiles, the warmth and the unbridled joy that comes along with a Miami Dolphins victory.
Now, let’s take a look back at the good, GREAT, and ugly from Miami’s 22-20 defeat of the Dallas Cowboys at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 16.
GOOD
Multiple Dolphins players hit statistical milestones in playoff clinching victory
The Miami Dolphins have 11 wins in a single season for the first time in 15 years, and a lot of the team’s success can be attributed to the offensive wizardry on display each and every week.
With two games left to play, many Dolphins players have already hit significant statistical milestones for the season.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 293 yards against Dallas on Sunday — giving him 4,214 passing yards on the season so far. It is the first time the 25 year-old has thrown for over 4,000 yards in a single season during his NFL career. Tagovailoa’s numbers currently rank fifth for most passing yards any Dolphins quarterback has had in a season — and the most by anyone not named Dan Marino.
Wide receiver Jaylen Waddle only caught one pass on a day where he exited early due to a shin injury — more on that later. However, his lone reception went for 50 yards and allowed him to surpass the 1,000 yard receiving mark for the third consecutive season. He is the first Dolphins receiver in history to achieve that feat.
Running back Raheem Mostert had 46 hard-fought rushing yards against the Cowboys — allowing him to top 1,000 yards on the ground this year. It is the first time the 31 year-old back has exceeded that number in his 9 year career.
GREAT
Jason Sanders nails five field goals including three from 50+ yards
Jason Sanders has had a shaky couple of seasons since his All-Pro year in 2020.
His accuracy on kicks from 50+ yards has been dreadful the past two years, so when Mike McDaniel elected to have Sanders line up for a 57 yard try early on in Miami’s pivotal game against Dallas, there was a jolt of trepidation that ran through the Dolphins fanbase.
But McDaniel’s confidence in his kicker paid off as Sanders made the kick, giving Miami a 3-0 lead right away.And what action did Sanders take next?
Oh, and he just casually scored two more long field goals (the 52- and 54-yarders) along with a shorter make to seal the thrilling comeback win. He then hit the game-winning kick with seconds remaining.
Sanders put on a clutch performance to remember; it was the kind of game that gives him, his teammates, and his coaches a great deal of confidence as the playoffs approach.
UGLY
Jaylen Waddle leaves game in 3rd quarter with shin injury
Jaylen Waddle seems to be unable to get a break.The rookie receiver, who has struggled with ailments all season, left Sunday’s game against the Cowboys in the third quarter due to an ankle injury. After being assessed in the locker room, he ultimately made his way back to the team’s bench. But he didn’t return to the game.
Tyreek Hill, another receiver for Miami, was fortunately available for this one, but he is still sidelined by an ankle injury.
Let’s hope the third-year player’s injury isn’t too significant because the Dolphins perform best when both of their star receivers are on the field. A further update on Jaylen Waddle’s condition will be given during the practice week preceding Miami’s pivotal Sunday matchup with the Baltimore Ravens.
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