Miami Dolphins Pull off Wild Trick Play Touchdown

Heading into Sunday's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Dolphins, the focus was [...]

By John Newby

Heading into Sunday's game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Miami Dolphins, the focus was entirely on quarterback Carson Wentz and his struggling offense. However, that conversation quickly changed as the Dolphins scored on a bizarre trick play. Instead of kicking the expected field goal, Miami rolled out the special teams unit and finished in the end zone.

Facing a fourth-and-goal from outside the one-yard line, the Dolphins lined up with a formation that had never been seen before. Five players were bunched together on the left side of the field while four lined up on the right. Only the long-snapper and the punter, Matt Haack, were in the middle.

Upon the snap, Haack ran to the left while the Eagles defenders attempted to tackle him. He tossed the ball at the last possible moment and found a wide-open player in the end zone. The recipient of the touchdown was the placekicker, Jason Sanders.

Interestingly enough, this was a historic play for the kicker in Sanders. With this touchdown, he became the first kicker to score on a touchdown reception since 1977. The last man to do so was Jim Turner of the Denver Broncos.

This play gave Miami a one-point lead late in the first half, and they used this momentum to continue putting extra pressure on the struggling NFC East team. The 2-9 Dolphins even held a nine-point advantage over the 5-6 Eagles with fewer than three minutes remaining in the game.

With injured wide receiver Alshon Jeffery back in the lineup for the first time in weeks, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz did play one of his best games while throwing for 310 yards and three touchdowns. However, the Eagles defense was unable to contain Ryan "FitzMagic" Fitzpatrick, who threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns of his own. One of these scores was a 43-yard touchdown pass to receiver DeVante Parker on fourth down.

The Dolphins offense performed much better than expected, but most of the attention was paid to Haack, Sanders, and the special teams unit that pulled off this wild trick play to perfection. There were many factors that could have caused issues, including a penalty or a turnover, but Miami had no such concerns. They remained disciplined, avoided a false start or illegal formation penalty, and they tricked the Eagles at a critical time.

Photo Credit: Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire/Getty

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