Frankie Fins Fan Week 15: That one hurt
I guess miracles don’t come in pairs, the Miami Dolphins went to the Land of 1,000 lakes and were boat raced on every one of them, losing to the Minnesota Vikings 41-17. The Dolphins and Vikings have had their similarities all season, with each hanging on to the Wild Card Hunt despite less than stellar records. The difference is the Vikings hopes were more realistic with most of the NFC stinking, while the Dolphins were a pure fantasy the result of delirium from that miracle play against the Patriots last week.
The game began at noon Central time, but the Dolphins looked as if they did not hear the bell ring as the Vikings quickly went down the field and scored on the game’s opening possession. However, the Dolphins offense struggled in the first quarter as they managed just two first downs. The Wikings meanwhile got three touchdowns and held a 21-0 lead as the team responded to the firing of offensive John DeFilippo in a big way with their highest point total of the season.
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The Dolphins showed some signs of life in the second quarter, as Minkah Fitzpatrick had a pick-six for 50 yards to put them on the board. The Dolphins managed to get some momentum with the Fitzpatrick interception return and had their longest sustained drive of the game but settled for a 25-yard field goal by Jason Sanders. The Dolphins momentum continued in the second half, as Kellen Ballage took the first play and went 75 yards for a touchdown.
At 21-17 the Dolphins looked to be closing in on another big gritty win, but that was the last breath of hope as they went back into their coma not to wake again until next season. The Vikings continued pulling away, getting a pair of Dan Bailey field goals and a pair of touchdowns to fall to 7-7 and all but end any hope of the playoffs as another season of mediocrity has been confirmed.
Any way you slice it the numbers were ugly. The Dolphins managed just 193 yards on offense, and 75 of those were on one play. Ryan Tannehill was flat out terrible, completing just 11 of 24 pass attempts for 108 yards as he was sacked nine times. The Dolphins road woes will be the story of this years, failures as they have won just one of seven games on the road, with the final game of the season in Buffalo still to come.