American soccer arrived in Madrid yesterday to stay. Not only because the NFL commissioner, Roger Goodell, promised to return to Spain next year, but because the match between the Miami Dolphins and the Washington Commanders, without major stars, and without drunken landings, gave the Santiago Bernabéu, packed with 78,610 spectators, a thrilling thrill. The fate of a sport that can change the scenario on any line. As happened seven days earlier in Berlin, overtime had to decide the outcome of the game, much to the relief of the Floridians, who kept their season alive with a fourth win – from seven defeats – thanks to Riley Patterson’s kick that sealed the 16-13 win. A perfect end to his mission to become the Latin Ambassador and a good reason to return.
The match was a pretext for a day of protest for American football. There were proud delegations of fans from both teams, a battle the Dolphins won by a landslide, but the city, from the subway to the areas surrounding the stadium, was a parade of jerseys of any color, from Tom Brady’s Patriots — their most successful quarterback — to Mahomes’ Chiefs, the great contemporary idol. Kilometer-long queues for a fireworks display and coin toss with Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane and Dan Marino, Miami’s great midfielder of the 1990s. A one-day marriage between two meanings of the term football.
The Doplhins gave their team reasons to make plays halfway across the field on their first three plays, the result of two strong runs by DeVon Achane, one of the most explosive running backs in the league. But nothing in the NFL looks like a completed pass, his first, from Tagovailoa to Waddle down the middle lane. A bad sign for the leaders, who have just conceded 82 points in their last two games, but have delivered the following sequence. Had there not been a penalty for running out of time before the ball was put in play, Florida would have left empty-handed, but the final whistle saved them from losing the ball. So Patterson’s field goal marked the first NFL points in Spain. That aggressiveness, of playing in the fourth while risking handing the ball over to the opponent at that point, was assumed by the captains directly, from their court. The courage paid off, as Mariota hit a short pass to Yankov and his team ended up tying the game with another field goal. Two good properties with a consolation prize.
The Dolphins based their tactics on the running back of Achane, who gained meters on the outside to avoid the opposing defense’s ogre, Bobby Wagner, up the middle. Their coach, Mike McDaniel, at the podium, gave the quarterback the final decision between passing or running, called the Run Pass option. That freedom took him away again, but Tagovailoa couldn’t make the third goal: the defense hounded him and Miami had to settle for three points again. Washington’s bet was on rhythm, an attack that chose to improvise by not gathering the team to sing the next play in exchange for exhausting the defense by not giving it time to make changes, as is the case in handball. Chaos for a chaotic passerby like Mariota, happy with chaos, but unable to break the final barrier. After Matt Gay had missed the previous kick, he found the woodwork at the half-time buzzer and the tasteless equalizer occurred six into the first half.
Washington put up its best performance on the scoreboard with a stunning shot to open the second half, thanks to its three playmakers. Mariota releases the ball at the right time under pressure from Miami hunters. Chris Rodriguez, who broke by running through the middle: Only Asthyn Davis’s tackle saved on the ankle hindered his path to the promised land. The defense focused on him, a trap that freed Depo Samuel to run diagonally towards the relegation zone, rendering the attack of three defenders useless. Madrid already had its image for posterity, but it took 33 minutes to see the first one.
So the Dolphins came into the fourth quarter with a comeback in front of them and two ways to confront it: slowly, with Achane’s runs, or taking a risk in the air with Tagovailoa, who played another interception — he has the most in the NFL — and threw into double coverage, but Sainristril’s soft hands saved his life. Despite the pressure, Miami signed a very balanced drive that took them to Washington’s one-yard line, which left no wild cards and gave up the advantage on a run by Ollie Gordon, no frills: big men pushing and running backs sneaking through the middle.
In the absence of points and fireworks, there was dialectic, pure give and take. It’s Washington’s turn again. Improvising Mariota, who ran for his life on a broken third down and made the longest run of the afternoon: 44 yards. One of those brief plays in which he took control of college football from Oregon State toward the No. 2 spot in the draft. With that kick, his team knocked on Miami’s door again: fourth down on the one-yard line, and another no-net play. And there, on the board, the midfielder did not score a goal.
The bad thing about stopping your opponent at the 1 yard line is having to go to the other 99. So, Miami, in a grayscale game, had a game ball with six minutes left. Gordon chased away fatigue with a recovery round. Credit to Tagovailoa who changed the game at the last minute. Miami was forced to clear the ball two minutes later, but the returner Sinristrel did not calibrate the oval that fell from the sky, so it slid away and the Dolphins recovered it. American Football Model: Any routine can explode in your hands. Like those who fell from their wounds on both sides. Miami had to move forward without risk. And Ashani was the perfect player to do that. His endless battery, those legs that never stop accelerating, once again left his team within a micron of relegation with two relegations to overcome, but they couldn’t.
Washington fought back, coming out of hiding on two great passes from Mariota and smelling victory from Miami’s 38-yard line. They had three plays to set up the final kick, but they didn’t. Gay could not find the sticks, in a grueling 56-yard mission under maximum pressure. extension. Another chance for Mariota, who ended up as an anti-hero. His first pass was intercepted by Jack Jones, already on the opposing field. A few more hits from Acane and Patterson’s victorious kick was enough, straight into history.
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