Dolphins' Special Teams Key to Miami's Win over Vikings

As the fourth quarter progressed, the Miami Dolphins seemed to do everything possible to once again lose in the waning moments of the game. In a two-minute stretch during the middle of the final frame, the Minnesota Vikings erased an eight-point deficit to go up seven on Miami, and the end of the game seemed to surely include Miami limping away with another tough loss.

For the second time in the game, however, the Dolphins offense rallied for a quick score to keep the team in the game. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game with 1:11 left, giving Miami 35 points.

The first big run Miami made came in the second half, when the Dolphins started the third quarter down by 10 points. Miami scored 14 straight points to put themselves in a position to close out the game. As with the theme of this season, key penalties and a fumble by Jarvis Landry nearly cost the team another win, but Miami’s defense stood strong when it needed to.

The Vikings tried to push the ball downfield with just more than a minute left, but Miami’s pass rush was draped on rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Star defensive end Cameron Wake had a huge bounce-back performance against Minnesota, and his sack to end the Vikings’ last drive was an emphatic end to his day.

After Miami spent their final timeout, it seemed as though Tannehill and the offense would have about 40 seconds left to get a field goal. But 2014 seventh-round pick Terrence Fede was this week’s unexpected hero, as he burst through the Vikings’ offensive line and his 33.875” arms were enough to block Jeff Locke’s punt for the game-winning safety.

The 37-35 victory over the Vikings didn’t affect Miami’s playoff odds, which disappeared when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Kansas City Chiefs earlier in the day.

Although Miami will again miss out on playoff festivities, owner Stephen Ross declared after Miami’s thrilling win that head coach Joe Philbin would return in 2015, per ESPN.com. "We're building something great here," Ross said in the locker room. "He's the right guy. ... I believe in this team. I believe in the coach."

Whether or not Ross is making the right move to extend the Philbin era can be debated ad nauseam, but the decision likely comes back to the fact that Tannehill and the offense have grown tremendously since the end of 2013. Tannehill has posted back-to-back 300-yard games and is nearing the 4,000-yard mark for the season. His touchdowns and completion percentage have risen, while his interceptions have dropped.

Winning against the Vikings likely had little to do with Ross’ postgame announcement since the game was ultimately meaningless, but the franchise will be stable heading into the offseason. General manager Dennis Hickey and offensive coordinator did a nice job in their first seasons, and year two should continue to show improvement.

One game is left in the 2014 season, and Miami should be motivated to end with a winning, 9-7 record, especially as it plays the New York Jets. Facing Geno Smith will be a nice break for the Dolphins defense after a stretch of Joe Flacco, Tom Brady and Teddy Bridgewater. Of course, the run defense will have to hold the Jets to less than 277 yards rushing.

At least in Week 16, Miami played with some pride and showed the heart needed to come back from a poor start and early adversity. Another win could create some positive momentum into the offseason, and this organization needs as much positivity around it as possible.

All stats used are from Sports-Reference.com.

Ian Wharton is a Miami Dolphins Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report, contributor for Optimum Scouting, and analyst for eDraft. 

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