Achane revives ground attack as Dolphins top 49ers to keep faint playoff hopes alive
The Miami Dolphins’ playoff hopes are still alive…for now.
They made sure of that by surviving Sunday’s contest against the San Francisco 49ers when they hung on for a 29-17 victory at Hard Rock Stadium.
Jason Sanders went a perfect 5 for 5 on field goals and the Dolphins (7-8) found the end zone twice, sealing the outcome with 1:36 remaining when De’Von Achane broke loose down the sideline for a 50-yard touchdown.
As a result, the Dolphins held off the 49ers (6-9), who were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention in the NFC just before kickoff.
The Dolphins still have a faint sliver of a chance to make the playoffs.
“Our chances are slim, but we have a lot of fight left in us,” Calais Campbell said. “We kept believing and kept fighting. We’re going to play football because we respect the game. But when you have something to fight for, you have to hold on to it. Obviously, we’d like to be in a better situation, but we still have life.”
But those chances could evaporate before they even take the field again next Sunday at Cleveland.
Miami trails the L.A. Chargers (9-6) and Denver Broncos (9-6), who each hold the final two wild card spots in the AFC, by two games. If both win their respective games on Saturday, the Dolphins would be eliminated from postseason contention. The Dolphins are also in a three-way tie with the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts, who also have 7-8 records after Week 16.
Sanders’ fifth field goal from 48 yards gave the Dolphins a 22-17 edge with 2:10 remaining.
Miami’s defense made it stick when Kader Kohou made a falling interception in front of Jauan Jennings with 1:56 remaining in the fourth.
“My last one like that was in college, my sophomore year,” Kohou said. “That was a long time ago.”
The Dolphins sealed the outcome after a pair of runs by De’Von Achane and Alec Ingold picked up a first down, and Achane followed with his burst to the end zone.
“Chances [good] or not, we need to go out there and play every game and still give your all,” Achane said. “Everybody can say what they wanna say, but we just have to lock in for Cleveland.”
The Dolphins’ offense finally found some rhythm in its running game in the fourth quarter to secure victory.
Achane finished with 17 carries for a season-high 121 yards. It was Achane’s first 100-plus rushing yard game this season and the first time the Dolphins rushed for more than 100 yards since Nov. 3 at Buffalo as Miami finished with 167 rushing yards as a team. Achane also led the Dolphins in receiving with six catches for 70 yards.
“On offense we did a great job and the offensive line did a great job, didn’t give up a sack,” Achane said.
Miami appeared to be in danger of relinquishing a nine-point fourth-quarter lead for the second time this season after San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Eric Saubert cut Miami’s lead to 19-17 with 12:02 to go.
But the Dolphins responded with a seven-play, 41-yard drive which led to Sanders’ final field goal.
“It’s been a long season, but it was probably the validation of why we’ve put so much into this team and why we’ve been fighting for it to stay alive,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “There’s been a lot of learning lessons and tough ones at that, but we’ve been waiting for a three-phase game and that was what this was today.”
Tua Tagovailoa completed 22 of 34 passes for 215 yards, no interceptions and connected on a 3-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill with 3:20 left in the second quarter.
Jonnu Smith broke the franchise record for receptions and receiving yards in a season by a tight end as he finished with six catches for 62 yards.
The win proved costly though as Jordyn Brooks (quad, knee) and Kendall Fuller (knee) both left the game in the fourth quarter with injuries and did not return.
This story was originally published December 22, 2024 at 7:40 PM.
