On Sunday, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel defended the unsuccessful decision to try to score a touchdown instead of attempting a short go-ahead field goal in the final two minutes of a 16-13 overtime win against Washington in Spain.
“I definitely would not have made the call if I thought it was going to fail,” he said of Ollie Gordon’s failed fourth down run with 1:44 left in the fourth quarter and the game tied at 13.
“I thought the play was going to work and it didn’t. 1:47 and something left, no timeouts, a field goal gives them the ball back.” (A field goal would have given Washington the ball back with a Dolphins lead instead of with the game tied, however.)
McDaniel said Washington’s “special teams is very adept at getting the ball between the 30 and 40 [after a kickoff], which would leave about 25 yards for a tying field goal as opposed to going 60 yards [to hit a game-winning field goal] when they’re backed up. Those are the type of situations you try to do the best thing with the recourse of failure. That was an example of a defense stepping up.”
On that possession, De’Von Achane gained no yards on a 3rd and goal from the Washington 1. McDaniel then bypassed what would have been a short go ahead field goal by Riley Patterson and instead ran Gordon up the middle, a play then lost 2 yards after Jevon Kinlaw shed a block from right guard Cole Strange.
Washington marched down the field but Matt Gay missed what would have been a game-winning 56-yard field goal with 15 seconds left, sending the game to overtime.
Jack Jones intercepted Marcus Mariota on Washington’s first play in overtime, and Achane then gained 22 yards on three runs before Patterson hit the game-winning 29-yard field goal.
McDaniel’s decision to eschew the field goal was highly unusual. Per the Associated Press, the Dolphins became only the second team this century to bypass a field goal on fourth and goal from the 1 in the final two minutes of a tie game. The Bengals did it in Week 17 of 2021, got the first down by penalty, took a knee and kicked the game-winning field goal on the final play.
The analytics-driven Next Gen Stats said McDaniel should have kicked the field goal in that situation.
McDaniel addressed other issues:
▪ He said his players “were well prepared” and it was “a well-fought win. We’re running the ball pretty well.”
▪ Of people doubting his team — which is now 4-7 after two consecutive wins – “you be lying if you didn’t use that as motivation. If you stay together as a team, the strength you gain from the hardships can be tough for other teams to gain from. Four of the [losses], we were in contention the last couple of minutes. We have a bye week, need to rest our bodies and get to work.
▪ McDaniel said this upcoming bye week is “very much needed. We have guys on the schedule who [can] potentially return. We do need the rest.”
Right tackle Austin Jackson is expected to return after the bye, potentially when the Dolphins play host to the Saints on Nov. 30.
Here are my 12 notes and thoughts on the game, including why I don’t agree with this root-for-losing-for-the-greater-good philosophy.
This story was originally published November 16, 2025 at 1:41 PM.
Barry Jackson
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.
