Thirty minutes after the Miami Dolphins almost pulled off their largest upset in franchise historical past, coach Mike McDaniel was nonetheless attempting to determine what occurred.
He sat there, winter cap nonetheless on within the first moments of the offseason, and mentioned somebody advised him it was a primary down on the Buffalo 48-yard line with lower than three minutes left.
Who advised him? Someone in his headset, he mentioned at first. But there was an official beside him, too, he mentioned.
“I don’t know exactly who it was from,” he mentioned after the Dolphins’ 34-31 loss to Buffalo within the wild-card spherical of the playoffs.
He despatched on the first-down unit, then heard it was actually fourth-and-1. He tried swap to that short-yardage unit and someplace in there a valiant and heart-tugging effort by the Dolphins become one thing else in addition to the Dolphins obtained a delay of recreation penalty.
“It was probably the first time all year that has happened,” McDaniel mentioned.
Only there, within the huddle, the gamers all the time knew it was fourth down, left deal with Terron Armstead mentioned. They had been ready to listen to what short-yardage play to run when … properly, the play was late in getting there.
“It was real loud, so just the operation has to be better,” Armstead mentioned.
All day lengthy the Dolphins by no means obtained it of their heads they’d no likelihood. They saved forgetting a mediocre group with a third-string rookie quarterback couldn’t go on the highway and beat a Super Bowl favourite led by an All-Pro quarterback.
They ignored it, down 17-0, after they rallied again behind a protection that made Josh Allen appear to be a misplaced child within the mall. They paid no consideration once more down 34-24, and all Buffalo figuring they had been lifeless for positive then.
But they appeared to smile and say, “We ain’t dead yet.” Rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson then assembled an 11-play, 75-yard drive to carry them to inside 34-31 with 11 minutes left.
Plenty of time. The protection shut down Allen’s offense on three performs. Then once more. Without beginning quarterback Tua Tagovailoa or backup Teddy Bridgewater, a day nobody gave them a shot was near being their day of days.
And then it occurred. Confusion. Miscommunication. Something on that fourth-and-1 play. More of one thing, really. They’d already taken three time-outs within the second half as a result of McDaniel’s play-calls gave the impression to be coming in late to Thompson.
That was an issue earlier this season. But now? Here? Costing them 5 treasured yards and making them face fourth-and-6?
“Inexcusable,” CBS analyst Tony Romo mentioned.
“We had some operational issues kind of plague us throughout the season,” Armstead mentioned. “It showed its face again. That’s most likely going to be one of our biggest points of emphasis in the offseason.”
Unfortunate, too, as a result of McDaniel proved a lot this season. He was the true MVP of this group. He nursed Tagovailoa again to his faculty type when he was a standout at Alabama. He put in a enjoyable offense. He confirmed once more on this closing day he may lead a group into a tricky day.
Now he sat right here saying, “Fourth-and-1 most of the time is easier than fourth-and-6. But at the time you just have to adjust to whatever variables are put out there and I think we had a chance at fourth-and-6 as well.”
Thompson threw a go to tight finish Mike Gesicki. An excellent go. But Gesicki was lined and couldn’t come down with it.
“It was a piece of the reason why we’re unable to come out without a victory, but it definitely wasn’t the only reason,” McDaniel mentioned.
He’s proper, in fact. Dolphins receivers dropped six passes as Jaylen Waddle left greater than 100 yards on the market. Thompson threw a third-and-19 interception that he’ll spend the offseason wanting again.
But a lot went proper at the present time. The protection sacked Allen seven instances and had three turnovers. Kicker Jason Sanders made all three discipline targets and Cedrick Wilson Jr. had a 50-yard punt return because the maligned particular groups had an enormous day.
Even after that fourth-down miss, there was nonetheless two minutes and 22 seconds left. But the Dolphins had no time-outs because of losing them earlier. They might simply watch the clock on their season tick down after Buffalo obtained a primary down. The recreation over.
And what a recreation it was.
What a efficiency.
It was the form of day that makes you already hear the group bus warming up for subsequent season. But was additionally the form of day the place you puzzled what might have been however for a fourth-down screw-up.
Even a valiant defeat, you see, doesn’t come simply for the Dolphins.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com