Four minutes that ended season

Playoff chances die with completion, penalty on Miami’s final drive

Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders stepped up and drilled a game-winning 44yard field goal with one second remaining to lift Miami to a 26-25 victory over the Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday night.

There was nothing out of the ordinary about one of the league’s most reliable kickers casually knocking such a big one through the uprights.

How the Raiders and Dolphins ended up in that situation was far more wild.

Here’s a closer look at the dramatic momentum swings in final four minutes of the 2020 home finale:

4:01 remaining

Sanders makes a 22-yard field goal to tie the game at 16-16. The Dolphins had gone right down the field on Ryan Fitzpatrick’s first drive in relief of the ineffective Tua Tagovailoa but stalled after getting a first-and-goal from the 4.

3:37 remaining

After starting the ensuing drive with a holding penalty, Derek Carr heaved a throw down the right sideline for Nelson Agholor.

Agholor came up with it and shed a defender, racing past another for an 85-yard go-ahead touchdown, the team’s longest play from scrimmage this season.

This is where the chaos truly began. Daniel Carlson missed just his second extra point of the season, leaving the Raiders up by just six points at 22-16.

2:55 remaining

Fitzpatrick completed short passes to Isaiah Ford on the first two plays of the next drive, then hit Myles Gaskin out of the backfield on a first-down play.

Gaskin caught a short pass over the middle and broke Raekwon McMillan’s tackle before working his way to the right sideline and racing 59 yards for a score.

Sanders made his extra point to give the Dolphins a 23-22 lead.

2:28 remaining

Nelson Agholor draws a 49-yard pass interference penalty on Byron Jones, a free-agent target of the Raiders last offseason. The penalty puts the Raiders in field-goal range.

1:55 remaining

The Raiders, who were 0-for-10 on third down, faced third and 1 from the Dolphins 13. They were able to pick it up when fullback Alec Ingold’s motion drew Miami offside.

Facing first and goal with the Dolphins down to their final timeout, the Raiders had to decide between trying to score a touchdown or bleeding the clock to try to eliminate the possibility of the Dolphins having the last possession with a chance to win.

Josh Jacobs picked up 2 yards on first down, forcing Miami to use its final timeout. On second down, the Dolphins tried to let him score a touchdown, but Jacobs slid to the turf to drain the clock.

Raiders coach Jon Gruden elected to take a knee and run another 40 seconds off the clock instead of scoring a touchdown the Dolphins were willingly conceding.

Essentially, the choice was to take a knee and have a two-point lead with about 20 seconds remaining or score the touchdown and be up five or seven points, depending on the two-point attempt, with about a minute remaining.

Miami would have no timeouts in either scenario.

“We scored with 1:15 left against Kansas City, and (Patrick) Mahomes went out and beat us,” Gruden said. “We thought the play was to eliminate all the clock and all the timeouts and put them with their back against the wall with 19 seconds left. I didn’t want Fitzpatrick to have the ball. He’s a gunslinger, and he was hot. I don’t regret it one bit, I just regret the results.”

0:19 remaining

Carlson’s kick is good despite a low snap trapped

by A.J. Cole. The kickoff goes through the end zone for a touchback, leaving the Dolphins at their own 25.

0:12 remaining

Mack Hollins gets lost in the Raiders’ zone down the left sideline and Fitzpatrick somehow loops him a throw for an easy catch despite Arden Key grabbing him by the face mask and spinning his helmet around.

Hollins got to the 41-yard line and the outer edge of field-goal range, but the 15yard penalty put the Dolphins well within range.

After one incompletion, the Dolphins decided to send Sanders out to try for the game-winner.

0:01 remaining

Sanders knocks it through. Ballgame.

The Raiders have been officially eliminated from the playoffs.

Las Vegas Review-Journal @Heidi Fang Heidi Fang Myles Gaskin runs past Raiders cornerback Trayvon Mullen (27) and safety Dallin Leavitt (32) for a 59-yard TD with 2:55 left.

Steve Marcus The Associated Press With 2:28 left, cornerback Byron Jones is called for pass interference on Nelson Agholor, which sets up a go-ahead field goal for the Raiders.

David Becker The Associated Press Defensive end Arden Key grabs Ryan Fitzpatrick’s face mask on Miami’s final possession. A completion and a penalty set up the winning field goal.

Las Vegas Review-Journal @Left_Eye_Images L.E. Baskow Jason Sanders delivers the decisive field goal in the closing seconds of a 26-25 win that killed the Raiders’ playoff chances.