The 2019 Miami Dolphins put a bow on their 2019 season by doing something the team hasn’t done since 2008 — defeat the hated New England Patriots in Foxborough. This victory, a last minute 27-24 win, served as a sweet finish to a season void of a postseason berth, something Dolphins fans have become all too accustomed to.
This one feels different, though.
Miami’s Modus Operandi throughout the vast majority of the last decade followed the same general script: offseason hype followed by a promising start, followed by “in the hunt” and ending with an inevitable late-season collapse. It happened under the late Tony Sparano and his physically tough, run-first teams. It happened under Joe Philbin and his…erm…superior organization skills. And yes, it happened under Adam Gase in 2017 and 2018, when he had a team of “his guys.”
It did NOT happen in 2019 with first year head-man Brian Flores and his roster of UDFAs.
On the contrary, Flores took his team of misfits and made them more competitive as the season wore on, despite the roster continually churning as the season aged. Let us break the season into quarters.
The first quarter of the season is the most forgettable, with the team going 0-4 while being outscored by opponents 163-26. Miami then lost the next three before securing their first win against Adam Gase and the rival Jets to ensure going 1-3 in the second quarter of the season. Perhaps more importantly than the win/loss result during this span is how the team truly didn’t get blown out in any of the three losses, being outscored 75-51.
The third and fourth quarters of the season brought the aqua and orange four more losses and four more wins, with two straight to put a bow on the season at 5-11. Five wins. A mere two wins less than the 2018 roster with far superior talent.
All of this after so many national pundits screamed about what a disgrace the Dolphins were to football. After so many predicted a winless season.
I absolutely buried the Dolphins earlier this year. Thought it was embarrassing how little effort they put forth. What they have done in the last ten weeks, most notably today, is outstanding. I was wrong about them. Very, very wrong. Also, Pats….yikes.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) December 29, 2019
In 2018, Miami lingered right around .500 and were riding the highest of highs after the unlikely Miami Miracle play to put them over New England as time expired. They followed that performance with three straight losses and the evergreen 7-9 finish Dolphins fans know so well. 2017? Three straight losses to finish 6-10. In fact, the Dolphins will wrap up the 2010’s with a record of 70 wins and 90 losses. The quintessential mediocre 7-9 football club.
That is what the Miami Dolphins are trying to escape. That is why they tore it down, punting on the continual hole patching and hoping for the best. That is why 5-11 in 2019 was sheer over-achievement and should have a fan base optimistic about the future after a 27-24 win in Foxborough.
Brian Flores truly squeezed every ounce of talent possible out of the Miami Dolphins roster in 2019, ending on the highest note possible: taking down the oft-victorious Patriots in their house. The arrow points up with the ever-critical off-season on the horizon. Fins up!
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