cole strange
NBC

The Miami Dolphins moved to 2-0 on the season with a 24-17 win over the Patriots in New England that was a bit dicier than expected when they led 17-3 entering the fourth quarter. New England’s offense woke up in the final frame and their defense and special teams produced some big plays, with a blocked kick and interception, helping them to have a chance at forcing overtime.

After a Jason Sanders field goal missed wide left from 55 yards, the Pats had great field position to try and set up a game-tying score (or the chance to win with a two-point attempt). Mac Jones got them into Miami territory, but took a bad sack leading to a third and long with just over a minute to play. The Pats would pick up a big chunk of that, but still faced a 4th and 4 with 57 seconds to go and called their final timeout to set up a play.

Whatever they had planned was not exactly how things ended up shaking out, as Jones threw an out route to Mike Gesicki at the sticks but he caught it just shy and got wrapped up and pulled back as he pivoted to try and reach the line to gain. Realizing he had no chance at the first himself, he just chucked the ball back towards his linemen, with Cole Strange making an acrobatic play to leap and catch the ball while spinning in the air, and then became the world’s largest running back and, initially, was given the first down on an incredible effort.

Unfortunately for the Patriots and every non-Dolphins fan who enjoys chaos and fun, upon further review they ruled that Strange’s knee came down before he got to the line to gain, falling a half-yard short.

The Dolphins would kneel out the win and take the lead in the AFC East in the process after the Jets lost to the Cowboys, but their offense that looked unstoppable against the Chargers in Week 1 showed it’s not without some flaws in this one. The good news for Miami is their defense bounced back in a big way, and they still were able to produce enough big plays to beat the Pats.

For New England, a lack of explosive plays on offense remains a considerable issue as they have to be so perfect for so long on every drive to get points that it puts immense pressure on Jones and amplifies his mistakes. In a game where they leaned heavily on running the ball and tight ends in the passing game, it was somewhat fitting that their final play was a pass to a tight end lobbed back to a lineman, who almost produced an incredible moment for the Pats.

Source: https://uproxx.com/sports/patriots-dolphins-lineman-lateral-4th-down-play-video/