‘They call him FitzMagic for a reason’: Ryan Fitzpatrick leads Dolphins past Raiders, keeping Miami’s playoff hopes alive

Brian Flores took a gamble, benching rookie Tua Tagovailoa for veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick, with the Miami Dolphins’ playoff hopes on the line in Las Vegas.

And the Dolphins left Sin City victorious.

The Dolphins’ aspirations to reach the playoffs during Flores’ second season were dwindling in the wind before Flores pulled Tagovailoa, and Fitzpatrick led three scoring drives in the fourth quarter to keep hope alive. Miami (10-5) is hanging onto the No. 7 and final playoff seed in the AFC.

After the Raiders took a 25-23 lead with 19 seconds remaining, Fitzpatrick led an improbable drive in the closing seconds with his pass to Hollins and the facemask penalty that got the Dolphins to the 26-yard line with 12 seconds left.

“I’m not even sure how he got the ball off,” Hollins said.

Added Fitzpatrick: “I didn’t know it was complete. As you saw, my facemask was getting pulled and my head was getting ripped off. … I didn’t know we completed it.”

Sanders made the kick, and the Dolphins celebrated on the field as they reached 10 wins for the first time since 2016. The Dolphins need a win on the road over the AFC East champion Bills to reach the postseason for just the third time since 2001.

And for Fitzpatrick, the wily 16-year veteran who helped pioneer the Dolphins’ rebuild as Miami’s starting quarterback last season, his first trip to the playoffs is still on the line.

“I am well aware that I’ve never been to the playoffs, and I would love nothing more than to get there,” Fitzpatrick said, proud of the contribution he has made to the franchise for the past two seasons.

The Dolphins entered the game with a 36 percent chance to make the playoffs, which now sits at around 56%, according to FiveThirtyEight.com. If Miami would have lost, their odds would have dropped to 11%.

And their odds apparently were better with Fitzpatrick than Tagovailoa in Las Vegas.

Fitzpatrick completed just 9-of-13 passes in relief of Tagovailoa, but gained 182 yards in the process — a dramatic disparity from Tagovailoa’s performance.

Tagovailoa was accurate, completing 17-of-22 passes, but he finished with just 94 yards and a touchdown pass. His longest completion went for 14 yards to Grant on the second drive of the game. He was sacked three times.

“We felt like we needed a spark the way the game was going, and Fitzy gave us that,” Flores said.

But we have a lot of confidence in Tua. He’s a young player. He’s developing. He’s learning on a daily basis. He’s learning from his experiences. He’ll be better next week.”

The Dolphins offense struggled mightily for much of the night, against the Raiders defense, which entered the game as one of four teams surrendering at least 30 points per game.

While tight end Mike Gesicki and receiver Jakeem Grant played despite their injuries, the Dolphins were without No. 1 receiver DeVante Parker, who missed his second straight game with a hamstring injury, and No. 2 receiver Preston Williams has been out with a foot injury since early November.

The lack of playmakers appeared to affect Tagovailoa, who did not extend the field with his throws. Still, it was enough for Fitzpatrick to help the Dolphins win.

Fitzpatrick found running back Myles Gaskin for a 59-yard touchdown that made the score, 23-22, with 2:55 left.

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It was the response Miami needed after Raiders quarterback Derek Carr found receiver Nelson Agholor, who may have pushed off Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones, for an 85-yard touchdown that gave Las Vegas a 22-16 lead with 3:37 remaining with Las Vegas missing the extra-point kick.

But after Miami took the lead, Jones was called for pass interference after making contact with Agholor, which put Las Vegas in field goal range in the final minute. Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson hit 22-yard field goal with 19 seconds left to take a 25-23 lead.

The Dolphins’ season was on the brink after two poor plays by the team’s highest-paid player in Jones, who signed a five-year, $82.5 million deal to join Miami this past offseason.

The Dolphins defense kept Miami in the game, as the Raiders resorted to four field goals in the red zone, keeping the score close. While Miami gave up 418 yards, it kept Las Vegas from converting none of their 10 third-down plays all game.

Luckily for Miami, the Raiders left just enough time for some Fitzmagic to happen.

And Fitzpatrick delivered.