The Miami Dolphins were endowed with a dose of FitzMagic after Christmas.
Veteran defender Ryan Fitzpatrick replaced Tua Tagovailoa in the fourth quarter on Saturday and led his team to a remarkable winning game to get a 26-25 victory on the field against the Las Vegas Raiders, significantly increasing the chances Miami to make the playoffs.
The game came with the Dolphins down 25-23 with only 19 seconds left. Fitzpatrick stepped back and picked up a miraculous try from Ave Maria on the left line, where he found an open receiver in Mack Hollins for a 34-meter finish. It was Hollins’ ransom, who gave up a possible touchdown just minutes earlier.
“For lack of a better term,” Hollins said, “I live for it.”
“In that case, you are really saying a prayer,” Fitzpatrick said. “I did not know it was complete initially. My face mask was pulled and my head was ripped off. I turned to make sure I saw the face mask, then [right tackle] Jesse Davis or [running back] Myles Gaskin had to tell me it was finished. “
The Raiders’ defensive leader, Arden Key, was the one who broke Fitzpatrick’s mask, adding a crucial 15-meter penalty. The yard prepared the Dolphins for a 44-meter winning goal by Jason Sanders.
It was a wild five-minute final that consisted of a Fitzpatrick pass, a 59-yard touchdown pass to Gaskin, a 19-second Raiders field goal, aided by a very pass-through interference call. questionable and, finally, Fitzpatrick’s rise.
Fitzpatrick added that in the fourth quarter, it was the first time in his 16-year career in the NFL that he had to go to the locker room. And when he returned, Dolphins coach Brian Flores told him he would come in. After a handful of roller coaster series for both teams, Fitzpatrick did what he called the best piece of his career with the Hollins throw.
A unique Raiders decision was also introduced to make Josh Jacobs slip on the 1 yard line, setting up a field goal rather than the runner crossing the goal line for a touchdown.
The 10-5 Dolphins now have a 62% chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN’s power index, and their path is very simple: they win next weekend at Buffalo and are post-season for the first time since 2016.
This is the second time this season that Tagovailoa has been included in the fourth quarter of a close game in search of an offensive impulse (the other was the loss of week 11 to Broncos). Fitzpatrick failed to return to that game, finally pulling off the incredible trick on Saturday.
After the match, Flores said that Tagovailoa will be the starter of next weekend against Bills. Flores says he went to Fitzpatrick on Saturday because the team needed a “spark to win the game,” but the rookie will still be number 1 in the top depth.
“If we had to go to a pitcher in the ninth [inning]”That’s what we’re going to do,” Flores said. Fitz, he’s always ready to go. … I have a lot of confidence in Tua. He made many pieces for us. He did plays today. I felt we needed a spark. Fitzy gave us that.
“Tua is a young player. He develops. He improves daily. He learns from these experiences. He will be better next week.”
Fitzpatrick threw for 182 yards in the fourth quarter, tied for most yards in a final frame (Week 15 of 2013 vs. Cardinals).
Fitzpatrick managed to complete several passes thrown more than 5 meters down than Tagovailoa, who fought hard in the same throws. Fitzpatrick went 5-for-6 for 154 yards and a touchdown while Tagovailoa went 3-for-7 for 35 yards. Fitzpatrick averaged 9.8 yards per try at 4.2 for Tagovailoa.
Tagovailoa, 22, said after the victory that it is a learning experience and knows that he has to take more chances on the field, especially when the game is on the line. It is a constant balance for him to take what his defense offers and make brilliant games, as Fitzpatrick did.
“It wasn’t that shocking. It was called FitzMagic for a reason,” Tagovailoa said. “It is the second time [getting benched has] it happened. It’s just something you have to learn from. When Fitz is there, I will support him. “
Flores relied continuously on 38-year-old Fitzpatrick as a more experienced relative when needed in a sticky situation, seemingly with little concern about what he does that comes in line with Tagovailoa’s mentality. Both defenders said they will do everything the staff thinks gives them the best chance of winning in Miami. The team supports both and there seems to be no controversy as to who the defender will be, although players often notice the magical feeling when Fitzpatrick enters the line.
“Different energy. Everyone knows Fitz, he’s a different kind of guy. It’s a change,” Gaskin said. “Probably the most fun game I’ve ever played in my life.”
In the end, Flores ‘moves paid off and could have saved the Dolphins’ chances of the playoffs. Questions will come about Tagovailoa in the long run and Fitzpatrick in the short run, but Flores remains focused on what he thinks is best for the team now with his choices.
“There are a lot of people in that locker room who are trying to win. That is at the forefront of the decisions I will make here today and I will move on as long as I am here,” Flores said. “Tua is a tough kid. He’s a tough-minded kid. He’s happy that Fitzy went there too and I won the game because he’s a selfless guy, the first team – that’s why he’s here.”