Looking Back: Thankful For Five Straight Miami Dolphins Victories
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It's been a while since Miami Dolphins fans have been able to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday while feeling so good about their football team.
It certainly didn't look like things would be this pleasant back in early October when the Dolphins were a depressing 1-4, fresh off an embarrassing home loss to the Tennessee Titans.
But under the guidance of new head coach Adam Gase, the Dolphins remained focused and stayed the course. Suddenly, things began to shift.
Jay Ajayi thrust himself into the spotlight, leading Miami in a pair of shocking wins over the heavily-favored Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills.
Ajayi topped 200 rushing yards in both wins, making a bit of NFL history while running behind a healthy and productive offensive line.
Miami continued utilizing its run-first recipe for success and the wins continued to come, albeit in very different ways.
Week 9, Special Teams: Trailing the Jets by three, it took a Kenyan Drake kickoff return for a touchdown with 5:15 to go to put Miami up for good, 27-23.
Week 10, Defense: With the game tied and San Diego driving at midfield, Kiko Alonzo intercepted Phillip Rivers with just over a minute remaining in the game and returned it for his first career touchdown. Dolphins 31 Chargers 24.
Week 11, Offense: After doing nothing for 55 minutes, Ryan Tannehill wakes the Dolphins offense up and leads a pair of touchdown drives capped off by DeVante Parker's diving catch in the endzone with :36 seconds to go. Miami wins 14-10.
The Dolphins have come from behind in the fourth quarter of each of their last four wins. Only the Pittsburgh game didn't require a final quarter comeback, though Miami did trail in that game as well.
A team that had become known for finding ways to lose games down the stretch has suddenly done a complete 180. If you are looking for reason behind this shift in culture you need look no further than the head coach.
Gase has earned the trust of his players and coaching staff. It shows on the practice field, in the meeting rooms and on Sundays.
The Dolphins are a week-to-week team now. If you ask Gase who Miami plays next weekend, he probably couldn't tell you.
Right now it's Week 12, which means everyone is focused solely on the San Francisco 49ers.
But we're not on the team so we can cheat and look at the rest of the schedule.
As it stands right now, the only team with a winning record that Miami faces the rest of the season will be the New England Patriots in Week 17.
Getting excited yet?
Thanking playoffs, are we?
Go ahead. Allow yourself to enjoy it, and have a happy Thanksgiving.
