With the Miami Dolphins‘ playoff hopes on the line as they trailed by three points to the Raiders in the fourth quarter in Las Vegas, head coach Brian Flores reached for a little bit of FitzMagic when he summoned veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick off the bench in relief of Tua Tagovailoa. And in Fitzpatrick’s latest bit of late-game wizardry, he led not one, not two, but three scoring drives to get Miami over the top in an improbable 26-25 comeback victory.
Straightforward enough, right? Well, this time Fitzpatrick had a little something extra up his sleeve, as he helped complete the come-from-behind win with a literal no-look pass, hitting Mack Hollins for a 34-yard gain with a 15-yard penalty tacked on to get the Dolphins within field goal range for the game-winning 49-yarder in the game’s final second.
Response was immediate and inspired by Fitzpatrick’s latest on-field miracle.
I know I’m late but best no look pass of all time 😂😂😂
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) December 27, 2020
The one and only no look pass @PatrickMahomes would prefer not trying
— hydrated king chris long (@JOEL9ONE) December 27, 2020
The new “No Look Pass”. 😎
— Matt Hasselbeck (@Hasselbeck) December 27, 2020
That man fitz did it again 😂😂😂
— Damon Harrison Sr. (@snacks) December 27, 2020
Incredible. 19 seconds. Clinching a game is nearly impossible in today’s NFL!
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) December 27, 2020
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) December 27, 2020
OMG!!!!! Fitzmagic!!!!!
— ⚡️Primetime!!!⚡️ (@Joe_MainMixon) December 27, 2020
Cover 2???
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) December 27, 2020
After the fact, the Dolphins and Fitzpatrick shared something about how Fitzpatrick pulled this together after he was asked to step in and try to save the Dolphins’ flagging hopes …
1:28
Tua Tagovailoa marvels at Ryan Fitzpatrick’s remarkable play in the final moments of the game, while Fitzpatrick explains how he had to take a crucial bathroom break before the play.
So, to recap what happened:
All of this happened in the last 4 minutes:
– 85-yard Raiders TD
– 59-yard Dolphins TD
– 49-yard Dolphins DPI
– Josh Jacobs chose not to score TD
– Raiders FG to go up 1
– Fitz 34-yard pass while facemasked
– Dolphins FG to win
– Raiders eliminated from playoff contention pic.twitter.com/W4cyN8mNEg— StatMuse (@statmuse) December 27, 2020
Seems like the perfect Christmas gift for Dolphins fans, right?
Check under your trees. FitzSanta brought a dub. pic.twitter.com/9RuQhlObca
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 27, 2020
So, after his latest feat of FitzMagic, how does this particular story end for our holiday hero? With Flores announcing postgame that Tagovailoa will be starting next week against Fitzpatrick’s old team, the Bills, in Buffalo.
