In what will likely go down as the wildest play of the 2018 NFL season, the Dolphins came away with a stunning 34-33 win over the Patriots after they scored a miracle touchdown on the final play of the game

A big reason the miracle was even possible is because the Patriots made a small personnel blunder at the end of the game: They had Rob Gronkowski as their deep safety. 

Putting Gronk in the game would have been a smart move if Miami was throwing a Hail Mary, but that's not what the Dolphins did on their miracle play. Instead of asking Ryan Tannehill to make an impossible 75-yard throw, the Dolphins called a hook-and-ladder style play and it worked to perfection. The play started with Tannehill throwing a quick 15-yard pass to Kenny Stills, who then lateraled the ball to DeVante Parker, who then lateraled the ball to Kenyan Drake, who then zig-zagged down the field 55 yards for a shocking touchdown. 

Before Drake reached the end zone, the last player he had to beat was Gronk, and let's just say that Gronk wasn't very proud of his tackling effort. Following the loss, the Patriots tight end used three very Gronk words to describe his performance on the game's, final play. 

"I did sucky," Gronk said. 

"We've practiced that play a few times for the Hail Mary," Gronkowski said, via Boston.com. "You guys have seen it before. Just go up, get the ball. But they changed it up a little bit and I did sucky."

The ugly thing about Gronk's performance is that all he had to do was keep containment and not let Drake get to the outside. As you can see below, if Gronk had been able to force Drake inside, Patriots safety Duron Harmon was there to help.   

patriots-gronkowski-kenyan-drake-miracle.png
Rob Gronkowski admits that he was kind of "sucky" on the Dolphins' game-winning play.  CBS Sports/NFL Game Pass

Gronk said that part of the reason he struggled is because he didn't think there was any way the play was going to make it to him. 

"I just saw the ball going lateral, hook-and-ladder and stuff," Gronk said, via the Athletic. "I didn't think it was going to get to me, and then I just saw (Drake) trucking down the field. I mean, it would have been…. You saw what happened from there."

As for the Dolphins, they actually seemed thrilled that Gronk was on the field. Tannehill said he knew the Dolphins were going to win after the play came down to just Drake and Gronk. 

"I saw him and [Rob Gronkowski] about 10 yards away. I said, 'Gronk's on the field? We got this!' So, yeah, it was pretty amazing," Tannehill said, via NFL.com. "I was following behind and I actually just turned around and collapsed just with the emotion of the whole thing."

As for Drake, he said there was no way he was going to let Gronk take him down. 

"When I got the pitch, it was sandlot football," Drake said, via ESPN.com. "It was just me and Gronk. I couldn't let Gronk tackle me in that situation. I said, 'Look, sorry Gronk.' He's a great player but I got somewhere to be."

So how did it feel for Gronk to watch Drake run past him to score an improbable touchdown?

"The way it ended sucked," Gronkowski said. "I've never been a part of anything like that. I feel like it's going to test our character big-time. I have to make that tackle."

The bad news for Gronk is that his defensive performance in the game is going to completely overshadow his offensive performance. Gronk the tight end had one of his best performances of the season, catching eight passes for 107 yards and a touchdown. The reception total was his highest of the year while his yardage total was his second-best performance of the season. 

As for the "Miami Miracle," you can see the entire play below.