Dolphins Fall to Vikings in a Game of Inches

Dolphins Fall to Vikings in a Game of Inches

The Miami Dolphins have lost their fourth straight game to start the season, falling to the Minnesota Vikings 15-10. This was Miami’s closest loss of the season, not just in score, but also because several big plays could have won them the game if they had gone the other way by inches.

As they say, close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, so even though they were close, they are still losers. 

With Miami trailing Minnesota by three points early in the second quarter, Malik Willis connected with rookie wide receiver Chris Bell on what looked like a long touchdown to take the lead. Unfortunately, upon further review, Bell stepped out of bounds before catching the ball, so officials ruled he touched it illegally. His cleat had to have been less than an inch over the white line, but it was enough to keep the Vikings ahead. 

Later, the Dolphins seemed to get a break when it looked like Ivan Pace Jr. ran into Bradley Pinion, earning a roughing-the-punter call that kept the Miami offense on the field. Ultimately, the call was reversed because his fingers barely touched the ball, so the contact with the punter didn’t matter. 

Running back Ollie Gordon II had a solid day; he ran for 100 yards on 9 carries and scored a touchdown. The most important play of his day, however, came when he took the handoff, tripped, got up, and had a lot of green in front of him, only to be driven down by contact.

The replay showed Vikings linebacker Blake Cashman just barely touching Gordon. Had these plays gone the other way, we might be looking at a final where the Dolphins shocked the Vikings and the world, but they didn’t, and so Miami is now 0-4.