2015 Season - AFC Championship

New England @ Miami

                                                1         2         3         4         FINAL

#5 NEW ENGLAND           7         7         7         0         21

#3 MIAMI                            7         10       3         10       30

MIAMI – With time running out late in the 4^th quarter and his team in prime position to take the lead despite trailing 21-23, New England’s (12-7) LeGarrette Blount was tasked with chewing the clock and working his team into field goal range and towards the end zone.  On a 2^nd-and-4 from the Miami 6-yard line, Blount took a vicious hit from Miami (13-6) linebacker Bobby Wagner at the line of scrimmage, fumbling the ball. With nothing but green grass in front of him, defensive end Courtney Upshaw scooped up the Blount fumble and ran 92-yards into the end zone while punching his team’s ticket to Super Bowl 50.

“Surreal,” Wagner said. “I don’t think he saw me coming – it felt good.”

After back-to-back offensive explosions, the Miami offense was grounded against a gritty Patriots squad playing without their leader Tom Brady.

The Miami defense gave up 379 passing yards to the Brett Hundley led attack, but were able to pile up three takeaways and six sacks while allowing only 32 yards rushing.

“It was a defensive game today,” Leonard Williams said. “We had to get after them – I’m just so happy right now.”

Williams was named the game’s Most Valuable Player with his 4-sack performance on his way to the Super Bowl.

Now 10-1 in their last 11 games, the Miami Dolphins will face the NFC Champion Green Bay Packers (16-2) in Super Bowl 50 two weeks from today.

2015 Season - Divisional Playoffs

Miami @ Pittsburgh

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

#3 MIAMI                21       14       14       3         52

#2 PITTSBURGH   7         10       21       10       45

PITTSBURGH – The Miami Dolphins (12-6) strolled into town and bullied the Pittsburgh Steelers (11-6) all afternoon long defeating the home side 52-45 to advance to the AFC Championship game.

Much maligned passer Ryan Fitzpatrick silenced some critics with a 245 yard passing day to go along with four scoring throws. The signal-caller out of Harvard has been called a game-manager and a has-been throughout the season due to his lack of use under center, but put some of those critics out to pasture with a cool and efficient day in a hostile environment.

“I heard the crowd chirping all game long,” Fitzpatrick said. “Chanting about the Ivy League and making fun of the car I drive, stuff like that. At the end of the day we silenced them pretty well.”

To his credit, Ben Roethlisberger attempted to will his team back after the 35-17 halftime deficit, with 448 yards passing and five touchdown passes.

“It wasn’t enough,” Roethlisberger said. “We will move forward from this one and try to get better next year.”

After an upset in Denver, the Dolphins will get a chance to host next week’s AFC Championship against the New England Patriots (12-6) who are still without the services of Tom Brady (injured Week 17 versus Miami).

2015 Season - Wild Card Playoffs

Cincinnati @ Miami

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

#6 CINCINNATI     7         7         0         0         14

#3 MIAMI                7         17       17       9         50

MIAMI – Marvin Lewis’ postseason failures continued with the most embarrassing loss in franchise history as the Cincinnati Bengals (9-7-1) were demolished by the Miami Dolphins (11-6) 50-14 Saturday at SunLife Stadium.

Three Andy Dalton interceptions, all to defensive back Tramon Williams, and a porous rush defense that allowed 318 rushing yards to Thomas Rawls and company spelled disaster for the AFC North runners up during their nightmare trip to Florida.

“We were after them all day,” Williams said. “I was in the right place at the right time, times, I guess.”

Head coach Joe Philbin gave credit for the victory to a rival coach within his own division for helping his team prepare for their game against the Bengals.

“You know what, without Rex’s (Ryan) help and support coming up with this gameplan, maybe it turns out different,” Philbin said. “They beat them earlier in the year and Rex was willing to help me out leading up to the game – so I’m grateful for that.”

Rawls finished with 155 yards rushing on the day with a score to put another feather in his cap in what has been a magical 2015 campaign.

“We gotta keep it rolling in Pittsburgh man,” Rawls said. “Maybe we have destiny on our side!”
Miami will travel to the Steel City to take on a tough Steelers (11-5) team that has yet to lose at home in 2015.

2015 Season - Week #17

New England @ Miami

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

NEW ENGLAND     14       6         3         8         31

MIAMI                      14       14       3         3         34

MIAMI – After a wild first half that saw a 104-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Miami’s (10-6, 4-2 AFC East) Cordarrelle Patterson and a combined 48 points scored by both teams, the Dolphins took home the AFC East crown against the New England Patriots (10-6, 2-4) 34-31 Sunday in Miami.

A vicious hit by Miami’s Leonard Williams put Tom Brady out early in the third quarter – the second time a Dolphins player has caused Brady to miss important playing time this season.

“There’s not much to say,” Brady said. “They aren’t malicious hits, but there is a pattern there.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for only 132 yards on the day but did not have a turnover compared to two touchdown passes – one a 45-yarder to Jeremy Kerley.

“We stayed within ourselves for sure,” Fitzpatrick said. “I’m proud of our receiving corps for staying in there all year and I’m glad we’re giving them some looks now.”

Despite a fumble in the 3^rd quarter, Thomas Rawls had another solid outing with 100 yards rushing on the day.”

“We are division champs,” Rawls said. “It feels great – now it’s time to get ready for the playoffs.”

The Dolphins will host the Cincinnati Bengals in the #3 versus #6 AFC Wild Card matchup on Saturday.

New York @ Buffalo

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

NEW YORK              0         7         6         21       34

BUFFALO                 3         7         7         18       35

BUFFALO – A wild and wacky affair ended with the Buffalo Bills (8-8, 3-3 AFC East) eking out a 1-point win over the New York Jets (6-10, 3-3).
In a game in which no team seemed to want to win, the Bills somehow managed to come on top before the final whistle.
"Ghastly," Rex Ryan said. "Probably one of the most disgraceful games I've ever been a part of."
Early in the first half, Buffalo's Todd Gurley broke the NFL's single-season reception mark (previously held by Marvin Harrison) before ending the day with 8 total catches to put his season total at 150.
"That's a lot of touches," Gurley said. "I'm just grateful the coaching staff has trusted me so much throughout the year."
New York's Todd Bowles will receive much criticism for electing to kick the PAT after a late touchdown instead of going for the 2-point conversion and a chance at overtime.
"I felt like we had a better chance to get the onside kick,"Bowles said. "I wanted the team to stay hungry so we could win it in regulation."
With the loss, the Jets locked up the #10 selection in the upcoming NFL Draft while the Bills will choose at #17.
"We need some corner help certainly," Aaron Donald said. "No disrespect to the guys we have, but we have some expiring contracts and I'd love to see some dogs back in our secondary."

2015 Season - Week #16

Indianapolis @ Miami

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

INDIANAPOLIS      0         17       0          0         17

MIAMI                      7         14       24       21       66

MIAMI – During his midweek press conference, head coach Joe Philbin said he was finally ready to take the “training wheels” off of his Miami Dolphins (9-6, 3-2 AFC East) offense and to let his defense loose against the Indianapolis Colts (8-7) in the upcoming must-win game. When the dust settled on the rain-soaked SunLife Stadium turf, the Miami Dolphins jumped emphatically back into the playoff discussion by a score of 66-17.

“I don’t know what to say,” Thomas Rawls said. “That’s a crazy video game score. I even thought about not scoring that late one, but coach preached all week to put it on them, so I couldn’t slow down.”

Rawls finished with 215 yards rushing on the day with two touchdowns, including the 78-yard run with 3:00 to go in the 4^th.

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, without the afore-mentioned training wheels, threw for 220 yards on 18-23 passing with three touchdowns.

“It felt great to break that 10 pass attempt mark,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was a great gameplan for sure, but the credit goes to our defense.”

With a defensive aggressiveness similar to the blitzing style of the ’85 Bears, the Miami defense blitzed on 70% of their snaps causing 4 fumbles (recovering 3), scoring twice, and sacking Andrew Luck six times.

“We were all mad about last week in San Diego honestly,” Bobby Wagner said. “We were tentative, scared, and conservative. We made a point to go for the knock out every play and it worked today.”

Wagner forced two of the fumbles, picked up a sack, and spent the majority of the day in the Colts backfield.

The Dolphins stay home to face division-leading New England (10-5, 2-3) next week with the division title on the line.

Dallas @ Buffalo

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

DALLAS                   10       0         0         17       27

BUFFALO                 7         6         3         3         19        

BUFFALO - A 4th quarter meltdown by EJ Manuel ended the Buffalo Bills (7-8) hopes of postseason play in 2015.
Leading 16-10 early in the final period, Manuel threw two ill-timed interceptions to quickly give away the 6-point lead eventually leading to a 27-19 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys.
"I blew it," Manuel said. "Simple as that."
Runningback Todd Gurley continued his record-setting pace with 10 more receptions putting him within two catches of breaking the single season reception record held by Marvin Harrison (143). 
"It's cool and all, but I'd love to be in the playoffs," Gurley said. "We are young though - we will be strong next year."
The Bills end their 2015 season next week against the Jets.

New England @ New York

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

NEW ENGLAND     3         0         7         7         17

NEW YORK             10       3         7         0         20

NEW JERSEY – The New York Jets (6-9, 3-2 AFC East), with no playoff prospects, shocked the New England Patriots (10-5, 2-3) to set up a Dolphins/Patriots AFC Championship game next week in Miami.
Xavier Rhodes flipped the game on its head with a 3rd quarter interception for a touchdown from inside his own endzone.
"I just know what this team will be capable moving forward," Rhodes said. "We showed a lot today to keep them (New England) from winning the division."
Todd Bowles relied heavily on his offensive line and their running game to neutralize the lethal Patriots attack.
"That was the plan (running the football) all week," Bowles said. "Marshall (Yanda), Travis (Frederick), and Zack (Martin) controlled the middle and David (Johnson) had a great game."
The Jets are set to travel to Buffalo for the last game of their 2015 campaign to take on the Bills (7-8, 3-2).

2015 Season - Week #15

Buffalo @ Washington

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

BUFFALO                 3         21       3         7         34

WASHINGTON        0         0         0         7         7

WASHINGTON – On a wet and dreary day, Todd Gurley and the Buffalo Bills (7-7) dominated the Washington Redskins to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

The Buffalo defense made it a no contest throughout allowing only 216 total yards on the day to complement another stellar day by Gurley.

“I’ve been saying it for weeks now,” Gurley said. “One game at a time.”

The rookie out of Georgia ended the day with 190 total yards and three scores to all but cement his status at the NFL’s newcomer of the year.

Head coach Rex Ryan was more blunt with his assessment of the team’s postseason chances.

“No one wants to play us right now, OK,” Ryan said. “We are going to get Aaron back to start the playoffs and make ourselves a little run to history. Period.”

Ryan’s Bills will face the Dallas Cowboys next week to see if they can in fact make a run towards the playoffs.

Miami @ San Diego

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

MIAMI                       3         7         3         7         20

SAN DIEGO              7         14       0         15       36      

SAN DIEGO – The train that had been the Miami Dolphins (8-6) during their 5-game winning streak came to a screeching halt when they visited Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers (7-7) at Qualcomm Stadium.

Rivers and company beautifully managed the game offensively with a balanced attack while the defensive unit stuffed the Rawls/Michael combination throughout.

Miami ended the day with 123 yards rushing – their lowest output since an embarrassing opening weekend loss to the Redskins.

“I don’t know, maybe we started believing the hype too much,” Rawls said. “It’s a wake up call for certain.”

Rivers threw for 270 yards and three touchdowns against one of the hotter defenses in the NFL and was, most importantly, not sacked on the day.

“The offensive line did an amazing job today,” Rivers said. “We got the ball out quick to attack their corners.”

In what now looks to be a must win if the team still wants to make the playoffs, the Dolphins host the Indianapolis Colts in what could amount to a play-in game for the AFC’s 6-seed.

New York @ Dallas

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

NEW YORK              3         0         0         7         10

DALLAS                   0         17        3         0         20

DALLAS – With head coach Todd Bowles home with a severe case of the flu, the New York Jets (4-9) sleep-walked through a 20-10 defeat at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys (11-4) Sunday in Jerry's World.
Despite no turnovers on the day, the Jets managed a paltry 251 yards on offense during this uninspiring affair.
"It just went bad from the start," Bryce Petty said. "It was ugly on all fronts."
Petty, making his return to Texas, had friends and family on hand to witness the beatdown.
The Jets will limp into a showdown with division rivals New England next week. 

2015 Season - Week #14

Buffalo @ Philadelphia

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

BUFFALO                 10       10       7         8         35

PHILADELPHIA    14       3         14       7         38

PHILADELPHIA – The fading Buffalo Bills (6-7) couldn’t overcome two early EJ Manuel interceptions that led to two Philadelphia (4-8-1) touchdowns falling to the Eagles 38-35 in the City of Brotherly Love Sunday.

“It doesn’t look good for us right now,” Rex Ryan said. “I feel like stranger things have happened, so we’re not completely out of the playoff race yet.”

Manuel settled down after the early turnovers, but still has a ways to go if he wants to match the production of Rodgers.

“Nobody is going to replace Aaron,” Manuel said. “He was in my ear all game to fix my footwork and I was able to get it fixed in the second half. I’ll keep improving.”

The young signal-caller finished with 321 yards passing while completing 70% of his throws.

The Buffalo defense never let up their pressure with six sacks on the day, including two by Michael Johnson.

“We will never give up man,” Johnson said. “We will come back hungry next week.”

Standout rookie Todd Gurley surpassed 1,000 rushing yard rushing mark during the game while also picking up his 123^rd reception on the season which is tied for the third most receptions in a season all-time.

“Those are special numbers,” Gurley said. “I like the LT (LaDainian Tomlinson) comparisons, but this means nothing without winning.”

The Bills next head to FedEx field to face the surging Washington Redskins.

Tennessee @ New York

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

TENNESSEE            3         14       10       0         27

NEW YORK              10       0         0         21       31      

NEW YORK – The New York Jets (5-8) stormed back on a shocked Tennessee Titans squad with 21 fourth quarter points to pull out the come-from-behind 31-27 victory Sunday afternoon.

Bryce Petty, making his second career start, hit tight end Troy Niklaus with the game-winner with only 14 seconds on the clock. This decisive score came after Petty lofted a beautiful 65-yard strike to a streaking Devante Parker the possession prior.

“It was awesome man,” Petty said. “I’m so proud of our guys – this is Jets football.”

For the game, the rookie signal caller finished 36-55 with 403 yards and four touchdown passes. Most importantly, the rookie had zero turnovers.

“It’s nice to have a QB who knows how to play the game,” Todd Bowles said. “We have faith in Bryce.”

Not all was well for the Jets in the early going as Marcus Mariota had a solid first half leading to an eventual 27-10 Titans lead after three quarters of play.

When Petty left mid-way through the third, the crowd could easily be heard chanting “Cam, Cam, Cam” in hopes of getting their All-Pro quarterback on the field.

Bowles stuck to his guns however and kept Newton glued to the bench paving the way for the Petty-led comeback.

“Right now it’s Bryce,” Parker said. “I try to take it one week at a time.”

The Jets will travel to Dallas to face the Cowboys.

New York Giants @ Miami

                                    1         2         3         4         FINAL

NEW YORK              3         0         7         9         19

MIAMI                      7         14       7         9         37

MIAMI – The surging Miami Dolphins (8-5, 3-2 AFC East) continued their winning ways picking up their fifth consecutive victory by a score of 37-19 over the New York Giants Sunday in Miami.

The once left-for-dead Dolphins now stand a game behind the division leading New England Patriots (9-4, 2-2) with one game remaining against the league leaders.

“If we can keep this going, that game week 17 will be for the division,” Khalil Mack said. “We beat them up in their place and we may have a chance to win the East if we can keep up the momentum against the Chargers next week.”

Mack and the rest of his defensive teammates kept the New York offense in check throughout the day, holding the Giants to 62 total rushing yards and only 272 through the air.

Since their Week 9 loss to the Buffalo Bills, during their 5-game winning streak, the Dolphins have allowed opponents to score a paltry 16.6 points per game.

With the defense clicking on all cylinders, Thomas Rawls, Christine Michael, and the Miami offensive line were able to grind out 307 yards rushing while controlling the clock and wearing out the Giant defenders.

“We got some beasts up front,” Trai Turner said. “We are rolling right now – got to make it six in a row this week.”

The playoff hungry Dolphins will make a cross-country trip to face the 7-6 San Diego Chargers Sunday.