The Dolphins pulled off one of the great finishes of all time on Sunday afternoon when Kenyan Drake broke free after a pair of laterals for a 69-yard touchdown on the final play of their 34-33 win over the Patriots.
The Patriots were apparently expecting the Dolphins to try a heave toward the end zone because they put tight end Rob Gronkowski on the field to protect the end zone. That turned out to be a liability because Gronkowski stumbled and couldn’t make good on a chance to stop Drake before he scored.
“The way it ended sucked,” Gronkowski said, via ESPN.com. “I’ve never been a part of anything like that. I feel like it’s going to test our character big-time. I have to make that tackle.”
Given where the Dolphins were on the field, plenty of people were wondering why Patriots head coach Bill Belichick opted for Gronkowski ahead of a defensive player. Belichick said the Dolphins “could throw it deeper” when asked about it after the game.
He’ll likely get some more questions on Monday, but the answer may be that the team is on to Pittsburgh.