Dolphins-Jets Week 18: The Five Biggest Plays

The Miami Dolphins got the victory they needed to make the playoffs when they downed the New York Jets, 11-6, at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

We rank the five biggest, most important, plays of the game:

1. The Game-Winning Kick

Talk about redemption! It was a really rough regular season for kicker Jason Sanders, particularly from long distance. But when the Dolphins needed him to come through, Sanders delivered with a 50-yard field goal to provide the winning margin. Sanders ended up 2-for-6 on field goals of 50 yards or longer in the regular season, but it's the last one that everyone will remember.

2. The Horse Collar Penalty

Sanders' kick capped a 36-yard drive that began at the Dolphins 32-yard line, and the biggest play easily was the horse collar penalty on Jets linebacker Quincy Williams after a short completion to Jaylen Waddle. The penalty put the ball at the Jets 39-yard line and Salvon Ahmed's 7-yard run put the Dolphins in position for Sanders' game-winner.

3. The Intentional Grounding Penalty

The game-winning field goal came on the fifth drive of the fourth quarter with the score tied, so each team had a chance to take the lead. The Jets started their last drive at their own 28 and it became a quick three-and-out after Joe Flacco was flagged for intentional grounding on first down when he threw the ball out of bounds in the face of pressure. It was an example of the Dolphins pass rush being effective despite the fact that Miami had no sacks in the game.

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4. Elandon Roberts' Tackle for Loss

The Jets offense didn't do much all game, but New York did have a red zone opportunity late in the first half in a game that ultimately featured no touchdowns. The Jets had a second-and-9 at the Dolphins 14 when Flacco threw a short pass to Michael Carter as he was retreating from pressure. Elandon Roberts' tackle produced a 5-yard loss and the Jets ran a draw play on third-and-14 to settle for a field goal.

5. The Jets' Missed Field Goal

In a game where all the scoring came on field goals, in the end the difference was Jason Sanders connecting on his 50-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds and the Jets' Greg Zuerlein pushing his 55-yard attempt wide left in the second quarter. That miss came after the Dolphins allowed only 1 yard after the Jets got a first down at the Miami 38 — that also was a difference between that situation and the Dolphins winning at the end because Miami was able to make the field goal attempt shorter.

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