4TH QUARTER MAGIC AS DOLPHINS SNAP THREE GAME LOSING STREAK

The Dolphins have been questioned and blasted the past few weeks as the team dropped three straight games to the Colts, Titans and Bills. The offense went stagnant against perceived bad defenses and the defense was struggling against some poor offenses. Things got so bad you even had people calling for the end of Ryan Tannehill as quarterback and the ousting of Joe Philbin as head coach. Of course that is typical of a three game losing streak, but proof that things were getting tense in South Florida. Things didn't appear to be going to get better as the high flying Seattle Seahawks came to town with a dominating defense with a secondary nicknamed "The Legion Of Boom". The Dolphins didn't stand a chance, right?

Well, not only did the Dolphins stand a chance today, they took the game and put in in the win column. The victory was guided by Ryan Tannehill as he led the offense on three critical 4th quarter drives that led to 17 points, including kicker Dan Carpenter's 43 yard game winning field goal as time expired. The offense started slow, but after a few good plays they appeared to get out of the funk that had haunted them the past two games against the Titans and Bills. Tannehill had a good day going 18 of 26 for 253 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Tannehill also added 33 yards rushing on 4 carries. Running backs Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas also were impressive as they combined for 147 yards rushing and two touchdowns. 

The Dolphins got the scoring started in the first half when Bush turned the corner for a 21 yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter. The Seahawks would tie it at 7-7 going into halftime with a final minute 3 yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to tight end Anthony McCoy. The Seahawks took a 14-7 lead in the 4th quarter when Wilson threw a 4 yard touchdown pass to fullback Michael Robinson. That was the score entering the 4th quarter when the game became very thrilling. Tannehill and the Dolphins drove 82 yards that set up the 3 yard touchdown run by Thomas to tie the game at 14-14, but the Seahawks would quickly capture a 21-14 lead when Leon Washington took the kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown. The Dolphins didn't panic as they took the next possession 80 yards that ended with Tannehill finding tight end Charles Clay for a 29 yard yard touchdown pass. After stopping the Seahawks on the next possession, the Dolphins took the ball 65 yards that set up the game winning field goal by Carpenter.

The Dolphins are now 5-6 and still clinging to playoff hopes. They will face a major test next week when they welcome the dominate New England Patriots to Sun Life Stadium. For the moment, the Dolphins and their fans can enjoy a big time home victory over the Seahawks. With the Jets and Bills both losing this week, the Dolphins move back into 2nd place in the AFC East.

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