USA Today
Eagles Stunned in Miami, Lose 37-31 to Dolphins
Ryan Fitzpatrick did it again, concocting another dose of his “Fitzmagic” to knock off the Eagles, 37-31, on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Miami Dolphins quarterback was sensational, just as he was when he beat them as Tampa Bay’s quarterback last year.
Fitzpatrick threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns, completing 27 of 39 throws. Last year in a 27-21 win with the Bucs, he threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns against the Eagles in a 27-21 victory. He is now 3-3-1 in his career against them, with all seven starts coming with seven different teams.
Receiver DeVante Parker was unstoppable. It didn’t matter who was on him, he took turns jumping over Eagles cornerbacks Jalen Mills and Ronald Darby and ended with a career-high 159 yards on seven catches, two of which went for touchdowns. Tight end and former Penn State star Mike Gesicki also did damage, making five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
This latest bit of “Fitzmagic” may have ended the season for the Eagles, who have now lost three in a row and are 5-7 with just four games to play. It may not matter that three of those games will be against teams with losing records - the Giants twice and the Redskins - and the fourth is against the Cowboys, who are still in first place in the NFC East despite a 6-6 record. As poorly as Dallas and Philadelphia are playing, it's required there is a division winner, and it could come down to the Cowboys at Eagles game on Dec. 22.
It's hard to take the Eagles playoff chances seriously after Sunday. They have a losing record and the Dolphins had just two wins until they beat Philly.
The Eagles held a 28-14 lead early in the third quarter, but could not add on or protect it against a team that went into the season "Tanking for Tua."
Quarterback Carson Wentz threw three touchdowns. He has 20 for the season and extended his consecutive games with a TD throw to 15, which is the longest active streak in the NFL. Russell Wilson has done it in 14 straight and will look to make it 15 on Monday night against the Minnesota Vikings. Wentz completed 28 of 46 throws for 310 yards with an interception that happened on a Hail Mary throw at the end of the game. The numbers look good for Wentz but they are empty.
The Dolphins took the lead for good with 11:06 to play on a four-yard run by Patrick Laird. A two-point conversion pass to Laird made the score 34-28.
The Eagles’ defense, which had not given up more than 17 points in the last four games, allowed five touchdown drives to a Dolphins team that had scored just 18 offensive touchdowns all year.
For the third straight game, the defense was bitten by a trick play that led directly to a touchdown. Miami took a 14-13 lead on a touchdown pass from punter Matt Haack to kicker Jason Sanders on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line. It looked like the Dolphins were going to try a field goal, but spread the field and direct snapped to the Haack, who rolled left and flipped the ball to Sanders in the end zone.
It was the first touchdown catch by a kicker since 1977, when the Denver Broncos’ Jim Turner did it. This trick play obviously will not be remembered as fondly as the "Philly Special" by Eagles fans.
Two weeks ago, New England used a backward pass to Julian Edelman, who threw for a touchdown in a 17-10 win by the Patriots, and last week, Wilson threw a 33-yard touchdown off a flea-flicker in a 17-9 Seattle win.
The Eagles didn’t turn the ball over, but they hurt themselves with 10 penalties for 91 yards.
