Miami dispelled doubts about the quality of rivals

After almost an entire season of hearing that they have nothing to beat a team with a winning record, the Miami Dolphins did it this Sunday, beating the Dallas Cowboys with a dramatic field goal in the rain in South Florida.

It wasn’t pretty. It didn’t have to be pretty. It just had to happen.

The Dolphins have delivered some of the most eye-catching performances so far in the regular season, including a historic blowout of the Denver Broncos in Week 30 that included 70 points scored, or the 45 they scored against the Washington Commanders three days ago. .

But there were always buts.

The Dolphins were humiliated by the Buffalo Bills in Week 4, and then were easily outplayed by the Philadelphia Eagles and then the Kansas City Chiefs, calling into question Miami’s seriousness as a contender down the stretch.

A loss against the Tennessee Titans two days ago didn’t help.

Therefore, it was critical for the Dolphins, for their confidence, to win this game against a Cowboys team that, ironically, faced the same doubt for much of the season.

Very recently, Dallas seemed like the most popular team in the NFL. Today it seems that they are beginning to deflate.

But, as was the case with the previous 10 opponents the Dolphins beat on their schedule, the team led by head coach Mike McDaniel is not to blame for the timing of the opponents’ arrival in the game.

The only thing Miami can control is what is in front of it in the present, and today it was a Dallas team that put up a worthy fight at Hard Rock Stadium, although it may not have played its best game of the year. The Dolphins didn’t either, but they won, and to them that was all that mattered.

In the race for the AFC East, the Dolphins are betting on the court speed of their offensive weapons so as not to be surpassed by the Bills who have been closing the year strong, and whom they will see again in Week 18, after a trip. to the home of the best team in the entire American Conference, the Baltimore Ravens, on the next date.

The skeptics in Miami saw, yes, myself included, one of the most complicated closing seasons in the entire NFL. The Dolphins took the first step this Sunday, although it is also the easiest of the three final duels.

But it was practically impossible to think that Miami could beat Baltimore and Buffalo without first showing that they could beat Dallas, and that first step has already been taken. Confidence in the Dolphins locker room should be at a high point, necessary for that trip to Baltimore. But, at least, it is no longer thought that it is impossible for Miami to aspire to beat a rival with a winning record.