Frankie Fins Fan Week 12 Another Season in Hell
This is what NFL hell looks like. Lead by ten points on the road in the fourth quarter but lose on a last-second field goal 27-24. The difference was a scared coach in Adam Gase with a mediocre quarterback not being able to compete with the greatness of Andrew Luck.
The game started great for Miami coming off their bye at 5-5, as they went down the field and scored on the first possession with Kenyan Drake catching a 33-yard screen pass from Ryan Tannehill who was playing for the first time after missing five straight games. Tannehill’s numbers were solid in his return as he completed 17 of 25 passes for 204 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. After the Dolphins began the game with a touchdown, the Colts answered creating the theme of the first half. However, missed opportunities also was a theme of the game, as the Dolphins were unable to capitalize on a Jordan Wilkins fumble at midfield.
The Colts took a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter, as Andrew Luck connected with Jack Doyle on his second touchdown pass of the game. However, Miami used the big play to tie the game as Tannehill connected with Leonte Carroo on a 74-yard pass play. From there, things got sloppy and crazy as Xavien Howard picked off Luck. Once again, the Dolphins failed to capitalize as Mike Gesicki made all fans feel sickly with a terrible fumble. On the next play, Howard picked off Luck again, leading to end of the first half.
The Dolphins posted the only points in the third quarter on a 29-yard Jason Sanders field goal. After Adam Vinatieri missed his field goal attempt, the Dolphins extended the lead to 24-14 as Drake scored on a 14-yard run early in the fourth quarter. It was at this point the game changed and not in a good way. Despite the Colts moving the ball well all game, the Dolphins decided to go into a shell as the rest of the game they were tentative and played scared. The Colts cut into the lead with a 46-yard field goal by Vinatieri. Now leading 24-17, the Dolphins responded with the most brutally useless drive of the season, losing five yards on three plays and taking all of 43 seconds off the clock. Forced back to work right away the now tiring Miami defense allowed the Colts to march down the field to tie the game as Luck connected with Eric Ebron for the second time in the game. Now tired, Miami’s offense was unable to get going and went three and out again. From there, the Colts marched down the field to set up Adam Vinatieri for an easy 32-yard field goal as time ran out to win 27-24.
Once 3-0, the Dolphins are now 5-6 and all but done in the Wild Card race. Next week comes a home game against the Buffalo Bills, which they should win, but beyond that are games against the New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings. The loss to the Colts is extra painful as both teams were 5-5 and tied for sixth, now the Colts are 6-5 and have the most vital tiebreaker head-to-head. This is NFL hell in a nutshell. No playoffs, not bad enough to get a great draft pick, stuck with a mediocre quarterback who will never improve and a coach who is scared when the chips are down.