The Miami Dolphins special teams were exactly that on Sunday afternoon.
They were special.
The Dolphins won the game 32-26 in no small part because of the play of the special teams. If not for four Jason Sanders field goals and a huge kickoff return by Malik Washington, the game could have turned out must differently.
This was quite a nice change for the Dolphins special teams, who have struggled more often than not this season, including during the Thanksgiving night loss at Green Bay.
It was quite the turnaround against the Jets.
Sanders' field goals included the game-tying field goal 52-yarder with :07 left on the clock in regulation.
It was the second fourth-quarter game-winning or game-tying field goal this season for Sanders and the 10th of his career.
Sanders was in the position to tie the game because of a 45-yard kickoff return by Washington. It was the longest kickoff return for the Dolphins since 2020 when Jakeem Grant also had a 45-yard return.
Washington's return was perhaps the biggest play of the game. It was exactly what the Dolphins needed. It also happened at a time when they needed it the most.
This was Washington's first chance to redeem himself for a fumble he had on a punt return on Thanksgiving night in Green Bay. Washington made the most of it. He had three returns for 95 yards.
"Last week did not define him," head coach Mike McDaniel said. "An absolutely critical return."
After the Jets kicked a field goal to go up 26-23 with less than a minute to play, New York kicker Anders Carlson hit a line drive kickoff which bounced in front of Washington. Washington scooped up the ball and raced 45 yards to set the Dolphins up for Sanders' late-game heroics.
Washington said he just had to be a football player in that instance and give his team a chance to win.
"It’s one of those moments where you make a split-decision and you just take it and see what happens next," Washington said. "You be a football player.”
Washington was looking for his opportunity to make a statement in the game.
“I was hoping they put it in play, yeah," Washington said. "I wanted to call my shot on that one and try to take it to see what we could get.”
Jets interim coach Jeff Ulbrich said Carlson missed the kickoff. The intention was to kick it deep into the end zone so it would be unreturnable. The Dolphins would then have to march the length of the field.
"Yeah, he missed it. He missed it. We're supposed to kick that out of the end zone, we just missed the kick," Ulbrich said. "So went into play, but at the end of the day, we got to cover what's kicked and we didn't cover it well enough."
The strong special teams outing also included two tackles by Siran Neal immediately after a punt was fielded. Neal helped Jake Bailey average an impressive 42.7 net yards per punt.
