Audio By Carbonatix
The Miami Dolphins are an NFL playoff team. What is an NFL playoff team, you might ask? It’s a team that plays all 16 regular-season games and then plays an additional matchup in a single-elimination tournament that concludes with a game between the final two remaining teams, called the “Super Bowl.”
It’s been awhile, Miami, but is any of this ringing a bell?
With the Dolphins entering their season finale this Sunday against the New England Patriots with little more than playoff seeding at stake, Dolphins fans can take a moment to look back and reminisce about what has been one of the more incredible Dolphins seasons in recent memory.
When the Dolphins were 1-4, nobody could have predicted they would be 10-5 by Week 17. Here are some of the best moments that happened between then and now. These are the moments that shaped what has been a wacky and improbable 2016 season.
Jay Ajayi is GONE.
62 yards.
WOW.#FinsUp #PITvsMIA https://t.co/fFm2SWrUez— NFL (@NFL) October 16, 2016
1. Jay Ajayi breaks off a 62-yard touchdown run to seal a 30-15 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
At this moment, the Dolphins were just a cute little 1-4 team that brought its A-game for a week. This win almost made Dolphins fans upset because it showed them a glimpse of what the team is capable of when it plays its best football. It ended up being a sign of things to come.
Kenyan Drake with the 96 yard #Dolphins kickoff TD!
NINETY-SIX YARDS!#NYJvsMIA #FinsUp https://t.co/R6yzByW1fP
— Audible Sports (@AudibleSports) November 6, 2016
2. Kenyan Drake’s 96-yard kickoff return beats the New York Jets.
With the Dolphins staring down a three-point deficit with five minutes left, everyone was already trying to figure out what the Dolphins could do on offense to regain the lead. Ryan Tannehill would never take the field, though, because Kenyan Drake burst through the Jets’ special teams for a huge game-winning kickoff return touchdown.
KIKO. ALONSO.
SO CLUTCH.60-yard PICK-6! #MIAvsSD https://t.co/txUlwzxUFk
— NFL (@NFL) November 14, 2016
3. Kiko Alonso picks off Phillip Rivers and returns it 60 yards for the go-ahead fourth-quarter score.
Pick six. Dolphins win. OK, something is seriously going on here. This play got the Dolphins back to .500. This meant the season wasn’t over. It meant no more talk of tanking to get a draft pick. It was time to start looking at the standings again.
TOUCHDOWN @MIAMIDOLPHINS!
After trailing the whole game, they take the lead with 36 seconds left. #MIAvsLA https://t.co/DmHAdY7Z1t
— NFL (@NFL) November 21, 2016
4. DeVante Parker scores a nine-yard touchdown with 36 seconds left to beat the Los Angeles Rams.
OK, who is this football team, and what have they done with our Miami Dolphins?
5. Ndamukong Suh tackles Colin Kaepernick two yards short of the goal line as time expires.
With the game on the line, Ndamukong Suh crumbled Colin Kaepernick into a pretzel just short of the goal line to seal the Dolphins’ win against the San Francisco 49ers. It was another close win against a terrible opponent, but nonetheless, it was a win the Dolphins probably didn’t get in past years. By this point, this season definitely felt different from others in recent memory.
He. Is. GONE.@God_Son80 takes the slant 66 yards for the TD! #MIAvsNYJ https://t.co/BouJLoUxOK
— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2016
6. Jarvis Landry scampers 66 yards to RIP the New York Jets.
Zoom, zooooooom. Jarvis Landry isn’t known for his breakaway speed, but on this play against the Jets, he left defenders in his wake. This turned a game in doubt into a signed, sealed, and delivered Miami Dolphins blowout. Those are rare, so when they happen, it’s pretty special.
7. Andrew Franks boots a career-long 55-yard field goal to send the game against the Buffalo Bills into overtime.
Chaos! What is happening?! The Dolphins are about to lose…
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
THIS. TEAM. IS. CLUTCH.
8. Kenyan Drake goes full videogame for a 45-yard touchdown against the Bills.
Kenyan Drake did the Tecmo Bowl on them. He used the glitch. Nobody circles the wagons like Kenyan Drake.
