MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — While rocking their sweet throwback uniforms, the Miami Dolphins provided a good taste of what’s to come in the future under coach Brian Flores with a 37-31 upset victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Dolphins once again showed that despite being a little short on talent, they lack nothing in fight. They shockingly exposed the playoff-contending Eagles (5-7) thanks to some tricky creativity from their punter and kicker, a career-day from receiver DeVante Parker and a magnificent outing from veteran journeyman quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
At 3-9, the Dolphins aren’t headed to the playoffs. But it’s hard to believe any team in the NFL had a more joyous Sunday than Miami. They don’t quit, and in doing so they are showing that a turnaround is happening.
Parker had a career-high 159 receiving yards, including several Randy Moss-like grabs snatching a 50-50 ball away a defender, and two touchdowns. In his breakout season, Parker has already reached a career-high in receiving yards and touchdowns.
Describe the game in two words. Shocking thrill. The Dolphins were down 28-14 in the third quarter with the Eagles possessing control of the game, but the thrill was just beginning as Fitzpatrick led Miami’s offense down the field for four consecutive scoring drives (three touchdowns, one field goal) — tearing apart the Eagles’ secondary.
The last time the Eagles lost when leading by 14 points in a game was 2018 Week 7 against the Carolina Panthers. It was a shock that the Dolphins, who many mocked as tanking in recent months, were the team to hunt the Eagles down.
Pivotal play: On fourth-and-goal and down 13-7 in the second quarter, the Dolphins sent their field goal team out but audibled from their traditional formation into a unique formation with center Daniel Kilgore snapping to punt Matt Haack in a shotgun formation. The other nine players split wide on either side. When the ball was snapped, Haack scrambled to his left and Sanders slid behind the defense in the end zone. Haack pitched a shovel pass to Sanders, who slid to the ground and caught the touchdown.
It was a play of the season candidate that pumped up the Dolphins, and kept them in the game early. It was the type of creativity trickery that gave this team the belief that they could pull off this win.
QB breakdown: Fitzpatrick threw for a season-high 365 passing yards, and led the Dolphins to 23 consecutive points in the second half. His performance made it clear why Flores chose to go with Fitzpatrick over young Josh Rosen as the team’s starting quarterback.
This Dolphins team plays hard for Fitzpatrick as well as for Flores. No matter who the future quarterback is in Miami, the Fitzpatrick bridge era made some memories on Sunday.
Eye-popping NFL Next Gen Stat: Parker now leads the NFL with four tight window receiving touchdowns (less than 1 yard separation). Parker is the fourth player this season with multiple tight window receiving touchdowns in a single game.
What makes Parker such a hard cover is that even when he’s covered, he can find ways to go up and make plays on the ball. The Dolphins should be excited about Parker and what he means for this team going forward.