Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill celebrates a touchdown. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
LOS ANGELES — It is important to start with this. The Miami Dolphins have won five consecutive games. The Miami Dolphins, once 1-4, are not-so-suddenly 6-4.
It’s important to start with this. The Miami Dolphins trailed the Los Angeles Rams, 10-0, in the fourth quarter on Sunday, in what was a miserably played, tough-to-watch, surprisingly rain-soaked clunker at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
And yet, they won.
It’s so important now to drill down on how and why this has happened. For it was not at all expected early on, when things looked so bad that the first-year coach Adam Gase seemed shell-shocked at how poorly his offense was performing and quarterback Ryan Tannehill struggled to explain how he could foresee it all being fixed.
And yet once again, they won.
They’ve won again and again and again and (hit me two more times) and again and again.
And it’s important to speak about how this has happened.
It hasn’t always been pretty. It hasn’t always been perfect.
But that Miami found a way to win this game, on this day, at the end of a long West Coast, two-game sweep, says everything you need to know about why the franchise is headed in the right direction.
After it was over, you should have seen the smile on the owner Stephen Ross’ face, and how he praised his quarterback, Tannehill.
After it was over, you should have seen wide receiver Jarvis Landry, limping so badly from cramps it’s hard to know how long it took him to get to the bus. Landry said he can’t remember a locker room scene so emotional.