Miami Dolphins’ huge 22-20 win vs. Dallas is gift needed to give hope for No. 1 seed new life | Opinion

Not quite 52 years ago on January 16, 1972 — generations in the life of football fans and enough time to turn a young man old — the Miami Dolphins appeared in their first Super Bowl. The Dallas Cowboys crushed them, 24-3. Coach Don Shula swore to his dying day that Miami never would have won back-to-back championships the next two seasons if not for the fuel of the embarrassment, anger, hurt and hard-earned resolve his team felt that distant night at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans.

The Cowboys have not been that important in Dolphins history since — until now, until Sunday’s NFL Christmas Eve game at Hard Rock Stadium.

Dolfans sing “and when you say Miami, you’re talkin’ Super Bowl “ all the time in that hokey fight song. but they haven’t had the right, really, since those early ‘70s glory days. And they haven’t sung it with any sort of real belief or hope since ascending star Dan Marino led the club to its most recent Super Bowl in the 1984 season.

Until now.

Until Christmas Eve delivered a wonderful present to the franchise that has spent too many decades leaning on its past.

Miami’s dramatic, playoffs-clinching beating of the Cowboys, 22-20, was not just big for the holiday trappings — Santa Claus leading the pregame chant, Marino the honorary captain, Alex Rodriguez up in a suite. The Fins even donned the retro aqua jersey uniforms — simply the best look this team has ever worn.

But this was a taut, tough, hard-won and extremely important result that needed no whistles or jingle bells.

This twinight test showed again, and to doubters, on so many levels why “Dolphins” and ‘Super Bowl’ finally fit together as plausible, not preposterous.

“This is a big win for this team. A lot of guys are excited their Christmas hasn’t been ruined,” said coach Mike McDaniel. “Nobody on this team thought we were going to lose this game. [It shows] this team isn’t crazy to feel the way they feel. Our lockerroom is filled with guys who’ve been told, ‘No you can’t.’ You are seeing a team playing very hard for each other.”

First, they just beat a good team! Hallelujah! Miami’s first 10 wins had come against nine teams with a losing record and one at .500. The Cowboys also were 10-4 entering Sunday and bent to shed their own demons of a reputation and record of being much worse on the road than at home in Dallas. The Boys also are still fighting to win the NFC East.

“Everybody is going to talk about the things we haven’t done until we do them,” said McDaniel of the can’-beat-a-good-team narrative now vanquished.

Second, after AFC East rival Buffalo (barely) won on Saturday, the Dolphins needed this victory to keep their two-game lead in the division.

A loss Sunday and the season could have gotten very interesting for Miami — by which I mean a bit terrifying.

Buffalo hosts lousy New England next week, a near-certain win for the Bills.

Miami travels to Baltimore, a very possible Fins loss on the road vs. an AFC power.

Now, with the Christmas Eve win, and with the Ravens favored to lose Christmas night in San Francisco, Miami maintains, a good chance to earn the AFC’s overall No. 1 seed and with it a first-round playoff bye. Not to mention big hopes for the AFC East title.

Sunday’s rugged home win over Dallas did nothing less keep the Dolphins in control of a much more favorable playoff path.

These two highest-scoring teams did not get into the shootout some might have expected. The opposite transpired on a night with intermittent rain.

Miami won on Tua Tagovailoa’s 4-yard touchdown flip to Raheem Mostert and on five field goals — three of 50-plus yards — by Jason Sanders.

Sanders hit the 29-yard game-winner with two seconds left to finish a clutch late drive after Dallas had grabbed a 20-19 lead.

“Locked in,” Sanders described that winning kick and his memorable game. “It’s just you and the uprights.”

As if his day into night couldn’t get better, Sanders showed up for the postgame interview in an ugly Christmas sweater that read TREE REXOSAURUS.

Tagovailoa led that final 12-play, 64-yard drive with seeming calm.

“Three minutes 20 seconds is normal play for any quarterback,” he said. “But a hard-fought victory. I’m so proud of this team. We don’t worry about what anyone else is saying outside the building. This shows everyone, ‘We’re fast, but we can be physical, too.’”

Tyreek Hill, despite coming off an ankle injury, toughed out nine catches for 99 yards including a key third-down catch on the final drive.

“We knew what was a stake,” Hill said. “If we call ourselves the best offense, we need good drives [like that last one]. Anything’s possible, man, with this offense.”

Miami won despite Jaylen Waddle having but one catch (albeit for 50 yards) before leaving and missing a chunk of the game with an eye injury.

Miami won largely with defense. They call Dallas the Big D. But that was Miami much of Sunday. Safety Brandon Jones contributed a huge early fumble recovery on a play from the Miami 1. The Fins had four sacks.

Tua, Mostert and Waddle joined Hill on Sunday in giving Miami a 4,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers in a season for the first time in club history.

That team needed its defense this time, and not for the first time. That defense was up to the ask, and the task.

Then it was back to clutch offense and that dramatic fifth and final field goal from 29 yards out.

All of it is why the Dolphins clinched the playoffs on Sunday, and why Christmas will dawn a bit brighter in South Florida.