Why Sanders Comes In Clutch

Mike McDaniels has every reason to trust his kicker when a game win is on the line.

Sep 8, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Dolphins place kicker Jason Sanders (7) kicks the game-winning field goal against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

In football, confidence is vital for a coach to have in a player when a game is on the line. On Sunday, coach Mike McDaniel put Jason Sanders, one of the most clutch kickers in the NFL, in a position to win their team a game.

With the clock winding down and the score tied at 17, McDaniel and the Dolphins engineered a conservatively called game-winning drive.

In hindsight, McDaniel would ride on the right leg of his kicker despite the offensive firepower in the passing attack. Although that same kicker missed an earlier 42-yarder, McDaniel's faith in putting the ball on his foot at the end is a testament to a coach's trust in a player.  

Sanders nailed a 52-yard walk-off field goal on Sunday, his longest game-winning kick of his career. Although his career has had some roller coaster highs and lows, Sanders is undeniably one of, if not the most, clutch kickers in the league. 

With his game-winner on Sunday, Sanders became the sole active leader in consecutive kicks made in under 2:00 minutes of the games with 11, moving above Dustin Hopkins. 

Sanders has made several signature kicks for the Dolphins throughout his seven years in the NFL. Last season, not only did he hit five field goals in a Week 16 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, but three were from 50-plus yards out. His fifth kick was a 29-yarder, down 20-19, which got Miami a buzzer-beating win at home. 

A season prior, in 2022, Sanders was the Dolphins' offense in a Week 18 season finale against the New York Jets. With a playoff berth on the line for Miami, Sanders was responsible for nine of the Dolphins' 11 points. His 50-yard field goal with 18 seconds left broke a 6-6 tie and put Miami up by three. An end-of-game safety iced the win, and Miami made the postseason. 

Postgame, McDaniel cited those Jets and Cowboys games in his confidence in Sanders. "There's been several games that he's made multiple kicks," McDaniel told reporters postgame. He said, "I go back to the '22 Jets game where he had all our points. I go back to the Dallas Cowboys game last year. There's many beyond that."

McDaniel said, "Bottom line is, can you count on people to own their fundamentals and technique in the moment of truth? And the previous kick gave me no reason to hesitate in that moment."

The Miami coach voiced his own confidence, adding, "I knew he had the game locked as long as we stayed. We kept the ball once we got that final first down.

Sanders' clutch ability and current 11-game streak of made kicks in the final 2:00 minutes of a game (2019-2024) puts him in outstanding company. To put this into perspective, former Miami kicker Olindo Mare hit nine straight kicks in the final 2:00 minutes as his longest streak. The record in this case was 17 by Ryan Longwell from 1999-2006, as per OptaStats. 

Right behind Longwell, with 16 straight kicks in this game area, were arguably two of the best in NFL history. Justin Tucker's streak ran from 2015 to 2022 and even had a 15-game streak from 2012 to 2015. Perhaps the clutches of them all, Adam Vinatieri had a decade of not missing in the games' final 2:00 minutes (2007-2017). 

While no kicker can hold a candle to Vinatieri's career, Sanders can claim perfection on kicks within 1:00 minute. Sanders is 100%, 7-7 in his career, on kicks inside of 1:00 minute to go in the fourth or overtime. Over Vinatieri's 24 NFL seasons, he has a career clutch kicking accuracy (last minute of the fourth/overtime) of 85.4% (35-41). 

While Sanders has a long way to go to reach the same level as the former New England and Indianapolis legend and four-time Super Bowl champion, he has solidified himself as a clutch kicker. Sunday's sixth game-winner kick was a significant step in his career. As for Vinatieri, he made 29 game-winning field goals in the last 1:00 of a game over his storied career. 

The next chapter for Sanders and the Miami Dolphins will be a significant test at home in just a few days. The Buffalo Bills come to Hard Rock Stadium for a Thursday Night Football primetime AFC East clash. This game will be an actual test of Sanders' clutch performance under pressure, and as he has shown, when the lights are on, he is prepared to shine the brightest.