Fifth Straight Win Pulls Dolphins to Cusp of First Place in AFC East

Both Fox News and CNN have seen enough. They're calling it: The Miami Dolphins are a good football team.

November 16, 2020

Image: Do good football team things. Win good football prizes.

Do good football team things. Win good football prizes. Photo by Mark Brown/Getty

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The Miami Dolphins have never lost a football game that Tua Tagovailoa has played in. Those are the facts, people. We just report the fair and balanced news.

For the third time in as many NFL starts, Miami's newest sports star left the field victorious, this time in a well-rounded 29-21 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Overall, the Dolphins are now a 6-3 football team that has won five games in a row, and six of their past seven. The 6-3 start is the franchise's best since 2001.

Both Fox News and CNN have seen enough. They're calling it: The Miami Dolphins are a good football team. And because of it, the Dolphins have an inside track on making the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

What’s Tua Tagovailoa’s record as a NFL Starter?pic.twitter.com/HB8ndl9rBk
— KD ? (@notkdk3) November 9, 2020

DUB ????#FinsUp x @Verizon pic.twitter.com/ePIDYbcBbt
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 16, 2020

WWWWW pic.twitter.com/Hs2No4t2Jb
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 16, 2020

I don’t wanna get ahead of myself bc it’s been so long since the Dolphins were good.

(They are good, right?
Don’t answer. Yes. Yes they are.)

But, they are 6-3 (3-0 w/ Tua) & have the Broncos, Jets & Bengals up next.

I don’t know how to behave? pic.twitter.com/lRXhIemPri
— Jorge Sedano (@Sedano) November 16, 2020

Me all the time due to the Miami Dolphins being a good football team pic.twitter.com/yZUtIsh8LR
— Vin Bonaccorso (@VinBonaccorso) November 15, 2020

Tua is 3-0 as a starter this season.

He’s thrown 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. pic.twitter.com/SRCdejWhn0
— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 16, 2020

There wasn't anything spectacular to speak of coming out of the Dolphins' win. Tua finished the game 15-25 for 169 yards and two touchdowns. The defense — quickly becoming considered one of the best in the NFL — didn't have its best game to date. But the Dolphins made winning plays all game and, most importantly, didn't make the sort of mistakes they've been prone to in the past.

In other words, the Dolphins did things good football teams do. Do good football team things. Win good football prizes.

The play of the game undoubtedly came just moments into the game, when the Dolphins blocked a Chargers punt, then on their first play on offense ran it in from the two yard-line.

BLOCKED PUNT.@MiamiDolphins take over at the one. #FinsUp

????: #LACvsMIA on CBS
????: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/p1akRoFoep pic.twitter.com/8VfPi5Wzhf
— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2020

Salvon Ahmed cashes in the #Dolphins TD after the big punt block#FinsUp #LACvsMIA pic.twitter.com/JmdLowmc0A
— The Game Day NFL (@TheGameDayNFL) November 15, 2020

Moments after the Dolphins finished off the Chargers, the Arizona Cardinals did the Dolphins a solid by pulling off the win of the year, beating the Buffalo Bills on a Hail Mary pass to take the lead with just one second remaining.

Incredible. pic.twitter.com/jGyLwsaiMt
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) November 16, 2020

???? pic.twitter.com/JZnF7DZ9dF
— The Phinsider (@thephinsider) November 16, 2020

The Cardinals' win means the Dolphins are just half of a game behind the Bills for first place in the AFC East. Because of COVID-19 craziness, the Dolphins have played one less game than the Bills, meaning they control their destiny the rest of the season.

These aren't your same old Miami Dolphins. These Miami Dolphins are good, and it happened fast. They'll be looking for their sixth-straight win against the Denver Broncos next weekend.

Ryan Yousefi, a sports journalist and MBA holder in business healthcare management, has been a dedicated weekly contributor to the Miami New Times since 2013. Beyond his sports journalism career, he's held leadership roles in web3 gaming companies. He enjoys southeast Asia travel, pho, and whiskey, but most of all, being Lincoln's dad.

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