Dolphins’ late play to seal 21-17 win over Saints hides a behind-the-scenes twist and embodies just how far this defense has come

What a far cry this is from Week 1.

Kyle Crabbs — NFL National Writer
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The build up to the Miami Dolphins‘ last minute 21-17 victory over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon didn’t do Miami fans any favors to enjoy a relaxing day at home. Miami appeared to be en route to a convincing victory over the New Orleans Saints in Week 13 before needing a few final stands by Miami’s defense to help seal a victory. No, Miami’s defense didn’t help themselves with their fourth quarter possessions. But the heroics of a fourth-down stop and a stymied two-point attempt were the difference in this football game.

But the more we hear about Minkah Fitzpatrick’s interception of Saints rookie QB Tyler Shough, the more it seems we are still probably under-appreciating the moment.

Minkah Fitzpatrick’s late-game heroics came with a major assist from one of his teammates

First, let’s appreciate the play in question. Fitzpatrick said after the game that the Dolphins were running a low-red zone coverage committed to doubling two of the most dangerous threats on the field.

“It was a double (coverage). We had a double on (WR Chris Olave) and a double on, I think No. 2 to the field (TE Juwan Johnson). I was in basically zero coverage, my guy ran the shallow, slipped in, and caught the ball,” said Fitzpatrick.

Indeed, Miami is playing man coverage across the board with press brackets on backside WR Chris Olave and the No. 2 eligible to New Orleans’ trips formation, Johnson. The result of this coverage call is that the extra pressure goes to LB Jordyn Brooks, playing overtop of the running back in the backfield, and on Fitzpatrick, who aligned overtop of Devaughn Vele as the No. 3 receiver to the passing strength.

There’s no exotics here, this is straight man-to-man for Fitzpatrick against Vele, who ran underneath and way from Fitzpatrick across the field with speed. It’s a recognition play for Fitzpatrick, especially given the angle that he took to the catch point while also being in position to touch and potentially down a diving Vele short of the end zone had he caught the football instead of Fitzpatrick. There’s a lot of credit to be given to Miami’s star safety to recognize the depth of the route, the line to gain, the angle he could accelerate to in order to cut off the ball, and the conviction of his drive across the middle of the field once Vele attacked his crossing pattern the way that he did.

But as was revealed after the game, there’s a load of credit that belongs to Dolphins linebacker Tyrel Dodson on this play, too. Dodson, who was aligned as the press defender over Johnson next to Fitzpatrick at the snap, is the defensive play caller. And Dodson called his shot here thanks to some communication issues that prevented him from getting defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver’s play call in to the defense.

“I think the helmet issue was messing with (Tyrel Dodson) and he just said ‘Everybody, just get a guy,’ and that’s what we did,” said cornerback Rasul Douglas after the game. “Whoever came out to our side, we just played man on them.”

Head coach Mike McDaniel would go on to endorse Dodson’s call on the pivotal play, as well.

“I was about to call a timeout, and then at the last second a couple coaches on the headset said, ‘no, he got the call, he got the call.’ So then I walked back. I was aware of the issue. I was not aware that (Tyrel Dodson) called his own defense. But I think realistically, like we’ve said from the beginning, it’s less about the play call and more about the conviction of the entire group on how you’re playing it. So that’s a Mike linebacker that’s prepared and a defense that believes in him,” said McDaniel.

What a far cry this all is from the first six weeks of the season, when Miami’s defense looked like a cobbled together collection of misfits and spare parts. It felt that way because, in part, it was. The entire secondary was mashed together from late roster additions. The defensive front was filled with rookies and new youngsters. And yet here they are, later in the same season while trying to dig out of a 1-6 start, collectively calling their own pivotal play in the final moments and collectively executing in spectacular fashion.

It may end up being too little too late when this season is all said and done. But if your enjoyment of the game goes at all deeper than just wins and losses, this is one to look back on fondly.

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