Christmas came early for Miami Dolphins fans.

Just when it looked like the AFC East rival New England Patriots would hand the Dolphins a loss that would have ended their playoff hopes, the unthinkable happened: Kenyan Drake put the final touch on a 70-yard lateral series, and the Dolphins won on the 'Miami Miracle'

It's hard to put the entire play into words. Shocking, tremendous, amazing, epic, incredible, un-Patriots like, you name it. The Dolphins went 70 yards downfield in only seven seconds.

This play is reminiscent of the Music City Relay, where the Tennessee Titans defeated the Buffalo Bills in the 1999 AFC Wild Card Game. Kevin Dyson caught a lateral pass and ran it 75 yards to help the Titans win as time expired.

A similar play happened when the New Orleans Saints visited the Jacksonville Jaguars back in 2003. Dubbed the 'River City Relay', the Saints used a series of lateral plays before scoring a touchdown as time expired. Kicker John Carney missed the extra point, however, and so the miracle play went to waste.

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This was a huge win for the Dolphins, who move to 7-6 on the season. The Patriots fall to 9-4 and are two games behind the Kansas City Chiefs for the top seed in the AFC. Furthermore, the Houston Texans sit at 9-4 and are tied with the Pats for the other first-round bye.

What This Means

Coming into this game, one of the hot storylines was New England's perennial struggles in South Beach. Tom Brady is now 7-10 all time in Miami, having lost five of his last six trips there.

This back and forth contest featured quite the shootout between Brady and Ryan Tannehill, and it ended in epic fashion. The Dolphins are tied with three other teams for the final wild card spot in the AFC at 7-6.

It could be a very long time until we see an ending like this again. So sit back and enjoy it, Dolphins fans. After 20 years of misery and mediocrity, you deserved this.

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