With their 22-20 victory over Dallas on Sunday, the Miami Dolphins have won 11 games for the first time since 2008, are 11-4 for the first time since 1990 and are headed back to the postseason for the second consecutive year.
We go Inside the Numbers, presented by BDO, to take a look at the most notable team stats, individual metrics, milestones and more from Miami's playoff-clinching performance against the Cowboys.
Securing A Playoff Spot
The last time Miami made the playoffs in back-to-back years was from 1997-2001, when the team went to the playoffs five years in a row.
This will mark Miami's 25th playoff berth in franchise history and their second appearance under Head Coach Mike McDaniel.
McDaniel joins Don Shula (1970-71) and Dave Wannstedt (2000-01) as the third head coach in team history to lead Miami to the postseason in each of his first two seasons on the job.
Special Teams Success
Kicker Jason Sanders hadn't attempted five field goals in a game since Week 5 of the 2020 season. Sunday night, he made all five of his kicks, including the game-winning 29-yard boot as time expired to secure the Dolphins' spot in the playoffs.
It was the eighth game-tying or winning fourth quarter/overtime kick of Sanders' career and his first since his 50-yard kick in Week 18 of last season to beat the Jets and get Miami into the postseason.
Sanders made kicks from 57 (career high), 52, 54, 35 and 29 yards away against the Cowboys and became the first player in Dolphins history to make three field goals of 50+ yards in the same game.
It wasn't just Sanders that made an impact on special teams though. When Miami's offense took the field to start the second half and exited after just four plays, punter Jake Bailey kicked the ball down inside the Dallas five-yard line and defensive back Elijah Campbell eventually downed it at the 2-yard line.
That end zone pressure at the backs of the Cowboys' offense coupled with pressure from Miami's defense forced a three-and-out and eventually led to another Sanders' field goal that gave the Dolphins a nine-point advantage.
Disciplined on Defense
Wide Receiver CeeDee Lamb totaled four receptions for 93 yards (23.3 avg) and one rush for nine yards on the Cowboys first two possessions. His biggest contribution came on a 49-yard catch and run that put the Cowboys up 7-3 in the first quarter.
But after that quick start, Lamb did not touch the ball again until the fourth quarter and managed just 30 yards on three touches during the remainder of the contest.
Miami held Dallas to a 4-of-12 mark on third down, which tied their lowest number of third down conversions in a game this season.
Linebacker Bradley Chubb was a key contributor to Miami's defensive success and upped his season sack tally to 11.0. He is the first Dolphins player since defensive end Cameron Wake (2017) to record double-digit sacks in a season.
Offensive Milestones
Maimi has a 4,000-yard passer (QB Tua Tagovailoa), 1,000-yard rusher (RB Raheem Mostert) and two 1,000-yard receivers (WR Tyreek Hill and WR Jaylen Waddle) in the same season for the first time in franchise history.
Tagovailoa surpassed 4,000 passing yards on Sunday and became the third quarterback in team history to top 4,000 yards in a season, joining QB Dan Marino (six times) and QB Ryan Tannehill (twice).
He also logged his eighth game-winning drive and sixth fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
Waddle became the first player in Dolphins history to post three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons and the ninth player in NFL history to begin a career with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons:
Mostert eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards, the first time a Dolphins player has done so in a season since running back Jay Ajayi in 2016.
For more analysis from the win, listen to the latest episode of Drive Time with Travis Wingfield.
Tagovailoa surpassed 4,000 passing yards on Sunday and became the third quarterback in team history to top 4,000 yards in a season, joining QB Dan Marino (six times) and QB Ryan Tannehill (twice).
He also logged his eighth game-winning drive and sixth fourth-quarter comeback of his career.
Waddle became the first player in Dolphins history to post three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons and the ninth player in NFL history to begin a career with three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons:
Mostert eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards, the first time a Dolphins player has done so in a season since running back Jay Ajayi in 2016.
For more analysis from the win, listen to the latest episode of Drive Time with Travis Wingfield.
