After two decades of getting sand kicked in its face, the Dolphins have finally done something that has only been done once since 2001, eliminate the New England Patriots from postseason contention. Finally, the Fish are closer to a playoff berth than their divisional neighbors from New England, and their future is much brighter as well.
Dolphins’ coach, Brian Flores, a former assistant to the legendary Bill Belichick, was matter-of-fact after the game when he stated, “It’s always good to win, that’s why these guys put all the blood, sweat and tears in. I’m happy we can bring some joy to our fans because they deserve it.”
The NFL point spreads wavered between 1 ½ to 2 points on the Dolphins as home favorites over the visiting Patriots, but they drew away at the end to a 22-12 win and put the final nail in the Patriots’ coffin. Much of the credit belongs to the rookie quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, who scored a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Miami landed their coveted quarterback of the future when they selected Tua as the fourth overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Head coach, Brian Flores, has been making all of the right moves. Instead of giving the former Alabama quarterback a baptism by fire in the NFL, he elected to start veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick in the first several games. On November 1st, Flores took the training wheels off and let Tua ride as the starting quarterback. The decision paid off when the Dolphins came away with a 28-17 win over the Rams, and the rest is history.
Week 15’s victory over the Patriots ensures Miami a winning record for the time since 2016. The moment was not lost on Flores’ first draft pick as head coach of the Dolphins, defensive tackle, Christian Wilkins, “Since day one, there was never a doubt in my mind after I met Coach Flores and got around the organization that we could do some good things,” Wilkins said. “I hope that good things can continue to keep happening for us, but it’s all about putting the work in, putting the work in every week, and just keeping moving. I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
Washington Huskies product Salvon Ahmed, an undrafted rookie who signed with the 49ers before being claimed on waivers by the Dolphins in August, made only his third appearance as a professional against the Patriots. Still, he looked like a seasoned veteran after amassing 122 yards and a touchdown.
“I just went out there to try and do my best,” Ahmed said. “It’s just fun to be part of a win. This is a big win.”
Former Patriots linebacker, Kyle Van Noy, was pulling no punches after Sunday’s victory and explained that he and his team were itching for payback after dropping their opening game of the season to New England, “They kind of schemed us up the first time,” Van Noy told Sports Illustrated’s, Albert Breer. “I’m going to keep it real. They thought everything was good … if that makes sense. They were all laughing and joking. We remembered that, and we’re in a different situation than they were. They were basically already eliminated. We just needed to finish it basically, and we did that today.
“I think the honeymoon’s over. We got the job done.”
But Van Noy was just getting started and clearly had some unsettled issues with the Patriots who allowed him to walk in free agency after a 2019 season that was among the best of his career, “I think (the final, touchdown-scoring drive) shows we can win in every single way,” Van Noy said. “Some games we’ve been run-dominant, other games we’ve won through the air. And some games, we’re doing both. But this game was back and forth, smashmouth football, who’s going to break? And they ended up breaking before we did. We knew we weren’t going to break, and they just broke.
“We knew that was going to happen; that’s what we practice all week, all year. That’s the mentality our coach has. We ain’t backing down from nobody.”
