American football play involving the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots
The
Miracle in Miami
, also known as the
Miami Miracle
, was an
American football
play that took place at the end of a
National Football League
regular season game on December 9,
2018
, between the
Miami Dolphins
and the
New England Patriots
.
[2]
[3]
It was the first walk-off game-winning touchdown in
NFL
history to involve multiple lateral passes, and the first multi-lateral touchdown since the
River City Relay
in December
2003
. After the game, the play was known by several names, most commonly the "Miami Miracle"
[4]
[5]
and the "Miracle in Miami".
[6]
[7]
The play went on to win the
Bridgestone Performance Play of the Year Award
at the
8th Annual NFL Honors
awards show on February 2.
[8]
History
[
edit
]
Desperation lateral attempts have been used before in American football. In the history of the NFL, only once in the 21st century has a team successfully converted a lateral pass for a touchdown at the end of a game. It occurred in the
River City Relay
on December 21, 2003, where the
New Orleans Saints
successfully completed three lateral passes culminating in a 75-yard touchdown by
Jerome Pathon
against the
Jacksonville Jaguars
. However, kicker
John Carney
missed the extra point, resulting in a 20?19 loss by the Saints.
Several years after the New Orleans game, Miami almost lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers via lateral passes. Referees correctly ruled Antonio Brown, the last Steeler to touch the ball on that play, out of bounds at the 13-yard line to end that game in a Miami victory.
Lead-up to the play
[
edit
]
Entering the game, the Patriots were leading the
AFC East
with a record of 9?3, while the Dolphins had a record of 6?6. A Patriots win would clinch them their 10th consecutive
AFC East
title. After the Patriots struck first with a touchdown, there would be a total of eight lead changes, but Patriots kicker
Stephen Gostkowski
would miss not only the extra point on the aforementioned first touchdown, but a field goal attempt later on. Leading 30?28 after an unsuccessful attempt to score a touchdown in the waning seconds, he would score another field goal to put them up 33?28 with 16 seconds left to play.
The play
[
edit
]
Trailing by five points with seven seconds to go, the Dolphins had the ball at their own 31-yard line. Quarterback
Ryan Tannehill
threw a pass over the middle that was caught by wide receiver
Kenny Stills
, who lateraled the ball to the right side of the field that was caught by
DeVante Parker
at midfield. Parker then tossed the ball to running back
Kenyan Drake
, who ran the ball 52 yards for a touchdown to win the game 34?33. The Dolphins declined to kick the extra point, per the rule change for the 2018 season following the
Minneapolis Miracle
.
One of the keys to the play was the Dolphins
left guard
Ted Larsen
diligently following the play 40 yards downfield and springing a vicious block on the Patriots'
Patrick Chung
, who otherwise might have tackled Drake.
[9]
[10]
Game box score
[
edit
]
Game information
|
First quarter
Second quarter
- NE ?
Julian Edelman
2-yard pass from
Tom Brady
(Stephen Gostkowski kick), 14:14.
Patriots 13?7.
Drive: 5 plays, 18 yards, 2:04.
- MIA ?
Brandon Bolden
54-yard run (Jason Sanders kick), 13:26.
Dolphins 14?13.
Drive: 2 plays, 75 yards, 0:48.
- NE ?
Cordarrelle Patterson
37-yard pass from
Tom Brady
(Stephen Gostkowski kick), 10:32.
Patriots 20?14.
Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:54.
- MIA ?
Brandon Bolden
6-yard run (Jason Sanders kick), 7:28.
Dolphins 21?20.
Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:04.
- NE ?
Rob Gronkowski
16-yard pass from
Tom Brady
, 3:49.
Patriots 27?21.
Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 3:39.
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
|
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
|
|
Broadcaster calls
[
edit
]
- Commentators
Ian Eagle
and
Dan Fouts
called the game for
CBS's NFL coverage
. Eagle and Fouts also called the near miracle in Pittsburgh against Miami five years earlier, when the Steelers tried a similar play and appeared to have pulled it off, except for Antonio Brown stepping out of bounds at the thirteen.
Eagle's call of the play:
Seven seconds left. Tannehill will throw it... and this will end it after the shovel. Or will it? Miami running around. Circling. Oh look out! Gronkowski! Didn't have the angle! Touchdown! Oh ho Kenyan Drake! A miracle! [pause] Miraculous in Miami! Stills... to Parker, to Drake! A lateral... heard 'round the world!
Tannehill. Last shot. Back to throw. They throw it down, they try to pitch it, and they do. To Parker, Parker pitches it, and it's Drake. DRAKE! 30, 20, GRONKOWSKI'S GONNA TACKLE! OH! THAT'S IT! HE GOES INTO THE END ZONE! TOUCHDOWN! UNBELIEVABLE! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE! I DON'T BELIEVE WHAT I JUST SAW! There are no flags and the game is over!
Tannehill throws down the middle caught by Stills, laterals, back to Butler.
(sic)
Or rather Parker, who flips it to Drake, he runs across the 40 of New England, angling inside to the 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, He's gonna win the footrace to the end zone! The Dolphins are going to win it! On the lateral! Once then twice! And Drake takes it in! And the Patriots stand stunned in disbelief!
Reactions
[
edit
]
Patriots head coach
Bill Belichick
was criticized after the game for substituting out safety
Devin McCourty
for tight end
Rob Gronkowski
, who missed the final tackle leading to Drake's touchdown.
[13]
Retired Patriots players
Rodney Harrison
and
Tedy Bruschi
, as well as McCourty and Patriots safety
Duron Harmon
, argued that since the Dolphins were too far away from the end zone to try a conventional
Hail Mary pass
play, Gronkowski, who had historically been used to defend against long passes in late-game situations, should not have been substituted in for a defensive back on the play.
[14]
The press conference following this game is where the well-known "Nobody died" comment from Belichick hails from. Following the game he replied to questioning from reporters by saying, "Look it's the National Football League. Nobody died. Gotta big game against Pittsburgh this week."
[15]
Aftermath
[
edit
]
The Dolphins improved to 7?6 with the victory and remained in contention for a postseason berth and an
AFC East
title. For the Patriots, the loss prevented them from clinching the AFC East, although they maintained their division lead.
The play proved inconsequential to the season as the Dolphins lost all of their remaining games to finish 7?9 and miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
[16]
The Patriots clinched the division for a 10th consecutive year and a first-round bye with a 11?5 record
[17]
[18]
and although the defeat cost them the home-field advantage throughout the
AFC
playoffs as the No. 1 seed,
[19]
[20]
[21]
[22]
their season ultimately concluded with a victory in
Super Bowl LIII
. After the Super Bowl, Patriots quarterback
Tom Brady
said he didn't consider the Miami game a loss.
[23]
The game was also the final victory with the Dolphins for head coach
Adam Gase
, who was fired after the season, and quarterback
Ryan Tannehill
, who was traded to the
Tennessee Titans
. Gase was succeeded by Patriots assistant coach
Brian Flores
, the team's defensive playcaller in 2018. In their final game of following season, Flores led the Dolphins to an upset victory over New England, which dropped the Patriots to the conference's third seed and forced them to play the Titans in the wild card round.
[24]
Tannehill went on to help Tennessee defeat the Patriots in Brady's final game with the team.
[25]
Four years later on December 18, 2022, the Patriots attempted a
lateral pass play of their own
against the
Las Vegas Raiders
with the game tied, but the attempt notably failed and resulted in the opposite intended effect: a walk-off game-winning touchdown for the Raiders, as Las Vegas defensive end (and former Patriot)
Chandler Jones
picked off New England's second lateral pass attempt and ran it in for the score. The Patriots were later criticized for the play, with some analysts such as Charles Curtis of
USA Today
Sports
comparing it to the
Butt Fumble
,
Colts Catastrophe
, and other inept plays in NFL history.
[26]
Officials
[
edit
]
- Referee:
Pete Morelli
(#135)
- Umpire: Steve Woods (#54)
- Down Judge: Steve Stelljes (#22)
- Line Judge: Jeff Seeman (#45)
- Back Judge: Keith Ferguson (#61)
- Side Judge: Boris Cheek (#41)
- Field Judge: Anthony Jeffries (#36)
- Replay Official: Brian Matoren
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins - December 9th, 2018"
.
Pro-Football-Reference.com
. Retrieved
October 7,
2020
.
- ^
Knoblauch, Austin (December 9, 2018).
"Ryan Tannehill on Miami Miracle: 'Pretty amazing'
"
.
NFL.com
. NFL Enterprises, LLC
. Retrieved
December 10,
2018
.
- ^
"Miracle in Miami: Dolphins Stun Patriots with Last-Second Touchdown"
. Boston:
WBZ-TV
. December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 9,
2018
.
- ^
Armando Salguero asalguero@miamiherald. com.
"A behind-the-scenes look at the Miami Dolphins after the Miami Miracle"
.
miamiherald
. Retrieved
December 10,
2018
.
- ^
"MIAMI MIRACLE: Kenyan Drake, Dolphins Stun Patriots"
.
www.miamidolphins.com
. Retrieved
December 10,
2018
.
- ^
Hoffman, Benjamin (December 9, 2018).
"Dolphins Shock Patriots With a Miracle in Miami"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
. Retrieved
December 10,
2018
.
- ^
King, Peter (December 10, 2018).
"FMIA Week 14: On Mahomes, Midway Monsters And The Miracle In Miami"
.
ProFootballTalk
. Retrieved
December 10,
2018
.
- ^
"Miami Miracle Named Bridgestone Clutch Performance Play Of The Year"
. February 2, 2019.
- ^
Beasley, Adam H. (December 9, 2018).
"Kenyan Drake was the hero. But Ted Larsen might have been Dolphins' real MVP Sunday"
.
Miami Herald
. Retrieved
December 10,
2018
.
- ^
Reyes, Lorenzo.
"Dolphins stun Patriots with Kenyan Drake's last-second touchdown after two laterals"
.
USA TODAY
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
"Dolphins Home Radio Call of the Miracle in Miami"
.
YouTube
. December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 9,
2018
.
- ^
"Patriots Radio Announcers React to Stunning Loss vs. Dolphins"
.
YouTube
. December 9, 2018
. Retrieved
December 9,
2018
.
- ^
Zucker, Joseph (December 10, 2018).
"Bill Belichick Takes Blame for Miami Miracle, Decision to Have Gronk in the Game"
. Bleacher Report
. Retrieved
December 13,
2018
.
- ^
Yang, Nicole.
"2 former Patriots were critical of the Patriots' decision-making against the Dolphins"
.
www.boston.com
. Retrieved
December 10,
2018
.
- ^
"Patriots' meltdown in Miami was bad, but not the end of the world: 'Nobody died'
"
.
masslive
. December 10, 2018.
- ^
Buchmasser, Bernd (December 27, 2018).
"AFC East Report week 16: Miami Miracle turns into Miami Meltdown for the Dolphins"
.
Pats Pulpit
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
"Patriots clinch 10th straight AFC East division title"
.
NFL.com
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
"Patriots beat Jets 38-3, clinch 1st-round bye, No. 2 seed"
.
USA TODAY
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
"Chiefs clinch AFC West title, home-field advantage"
.
NFL.com
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
McAtee, Riley (December 9, 2018).
"Miami's Miracle Derailed New England's Chase for Home-Field Advantage"
.
The Ringer
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
D'Andrea, Christian (December 10, 2018).
"Once again, Miami has become the Patriots' Waterloo"
.
SBNation.com
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
D'Andrea, Christian (January 14, 2019).
"The Chiefs are hosting the Patriots because of Gronk"
.
SBNation.com
. Retrieved
February 12,
2024
.
- ^
Smith, Michael David (February 5, 2019).
"Tom Brady: I don't count the Miami game, so we had one loss after the bye"
.
ProFootballTalk
. Retrieved
February 14,
2019
.
- ^
Sullivan, Tyler (December 29, 2019).
"Patriots vs. Dolphins final score: Miami pulls off stunner, sends New England down to No. 3 playoff seed"
.
CBSSports.com
. Retrieved
April 4,
2020
.
- ^
Fortier, Sam (January 5, 2020).
"Patriots are done in by uncharacteristic mistakes in playoff loss to Titans"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
April 4,
2020
.
- ^
"Is the Patriots' lateral to Chandler Jones the most boneheaded play in NFL history?"
.
For The Win
. December 19, 2022
. Retrieved
December 23,
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
|
Franchise
| |
---|
Stadiums
| |
---|
Culture
| |
---|
Lore
| |
---|
Rivalries
| |
---|
Division championships (13)
| |
---|
Conference championships (5)
| |
---|
League championships (2)
| |
---|
Retired numbers
| |
---|
Media
| |
---|
Current league affiliations
| |
---|
Former league affiliation
| |
---|
|
---|
|
Franchise
| |
---|
Stadiums
| |
---|
Culture
| |
---|
Lore
| |
---|
Rivalries
| |
---|
Division championships (22)
| |
---|
Conference championships (11)
| |
---|
League championships (6)
| |
---|
Retired numbers
| |
---|
Media
| |
---|
Current league affiliations
| |
---|
Former league affiliation
| |
---|