Tag: Mountaineer-Shot

Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores made it very easy to see what side of the “tanking” debate he stood on in 2019. Despite the narrative that the team was looking to flush games down the toilet and secure themselves the No. 1 overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft, Flores’ play-calling and overall approach to coaching the Dolphins was designed to accomplish one goal: win.

And, in the second half of the Dolphins’ season, they actually won a fair amount. The Dolphins went 5-11 in the entirety of the 2019 NFL season but that record came despite starting the season 0-7. Flores’ aggressiveness in some cases directly contributed to a loss — such as the failed 2-point conversion in the final seconds against the Washington Redskins in the first half of the season.

But Miami was attempting to win the football game, period.

While the aggressiveness against Washington did not pay off, there were plenty of risks that did for Flores and the Dolphins. Playing with nothing to lose, Miami was free to fake punts, surprise onside kick and extend drives on 4th-down all throughout the season.

Two of Miami’s 4th-down attempts made the NFL’s highlight reel of the best 4th-down conversions in all of football last season. You’ll definitely remember one — the ‘Mountaineer Shot’ trick play between punter Matt Haack and kicker Jason Sanders against the Philadelphia Eagles. That play won the NFL’s ‘Play of the Year’ award in 2019. The other conversion to make the list? That one also came against the Philadelphia Eagles — as Ryan Fitzpatrick and DeVante Parker hooked up for a long touchdown on 4th and long to help kickstart Miami’s comeback from a 10-0 deficit en route to a victory at home against the Eagles.

What other big plays made the list? See for yourselves — the full slate of 4th-down conversions from 2019 is available to watch here:

Fourth down? No pressure.

The best fourth-down conversions from 2019! pic.twitter.com/KLajobKf2w

— NFL (@NFL) July 9, 2020

Magical things happen when the Miami Dolphins wear these uniforms in front of a December crowd at Hard Rock Stadium, it is officially a fact. 357 days from the anniversary of the Dolphins’ miraculous walk-off win against the New England Patriots courtesy of the Miami Miracle, Brian Flores and company successfully drew up a miracle of their own — a punter passing the rock to a kicker for a touchdown.

The play is called “Mountaineer Shot”, and it’s gaining legs as the next all-time play pulled off by the Dolphins. Analysts were swooning over the play yesterday as reactions poured in from NFL Week 13 action and Miami’s fake, rightfully, takes the cake.

The best play in the history of football 🤩 pic.twitter.com/SrYhbC6glz

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 3, 2019

This play didn’t have the stakes of a “Philly Special”, which the Eagles used to help knock off the Patriots a few years back in the Super Bowl. And the fact that a (then) 2-9 Dolphins team broke this out in a December contest will water down its claim for all-time great status. But from an Xs and Os perspective, this play is a work of art. It was so crazy even Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick hesitated to think this thing would actually work.

“Danny Crossman is crazy! Like what is he dreaming up? This is the NFL,” said Fitzpatrick when asked what his first reaction was to the play.

“Like, that’s not – that doesn’t happen. And I saw – they worked on it multiple times (in practice), so we had seen it, but for it actually to be called in a game, I didn’t think it would ever be called in a game. But pretty cool – pretty cool that it worked.”

Pretty cool indeed. Dolphins fans can find t-shirts with the play design written up — just in time for Christmas. No matter how this season ends for the Dolphins, they’ve once again given fans the gift of an all-time memorable play, one they’ll be able to look back on for years to come and say they remember where they were when it happened.

And, fittingly, they came in those darn throwbacks once again.

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