Kicker is one of the positions where the Miami Dolphins have been set for years. However, a strange injury to Jason Sanders during pre-game warmups in the team’s final preseason game threw that into question.
Sanders suffered a hip injury and has spent the entire season on injured reserve. We don’t know when Sanders will be back, but we do know that his replacement, Riley Patterson, has done a good job in Sanders’ absence.
Patterson, of course, closed out the Dolphins’ Week 11 win against the Washington Commanders with a winning 29-yard field goal in overtime.
"Yeah, it was awesome," Patterson said about his game-winner in Madrid, Spain. "It was super special because I grew up being a soccer fan and then watching the El Clásico all these years. It's just special to play a game in that stadium, and to be the first team to be a part of that game was really cool. And also special for me to kind of end it the way we did, and then also to get a win. So all around, just a cool, cool week."
Miami held kicking tryouts before the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts and ended up signing Patterson to the practice squad. They then signed Patterson to the active roster in Week 4 after using up his three designated game-day call-ups.
The Dolphins’ trust in Patterson seemed weird at the time. Patterson kicked for three different teams in 2024, and he was just 4-for-7 on field goal attempts.
There were other kickers available with better pedigrees, but the Dolphins saw something in Patterson, and it’s paid off.
Patterson has made 17 of 19 field goal attempts this season, while also hitting on 23 of his 24 extra point attempts. He’s tied for 12th in total makes and is alone in 12th in make percentage at 89.5.
While those numbers might not scream success, it’s important to remember that Patterson is tied for 15th in overall attempts. If Patterson was 18 of 19, he’d be at a 95% make percentage, tying him for third with Brandon Aubrey.
Obviously, that’s a hypothetical, but it’s fair to point out that just one kick shouldn’t be the difference between saying Patterson has been great and just OK.
One of Patterson’s misses this season came in a close game, though. His first miss was a 57-yarder against the Chargers, a game Miami lost by two. Although 50-yard field goals have become somewhat commonplace, 57 yards is not an easy kick.
His other miss was a 35-yard attempt against the Baltimore Ravens that would have made the score 7-6. That game wasn’t close, but his missed kick stopped the Dolphins’ momentum after it had strung together a 10+ play drive to get deep into Baltimore territory.
His only missed extra point was against the Bills in Week 10, which didn’t matter one bit.
So Patterson’s misses haven’t been too impactful, and he hit a game-winning kick in overtime against the Commanders in Week 11, which got the Dolphins to 4-7.
Combine that with his overall numbers, and it’s hard not to be impressed with how well he’s done since the Dolphins signed him off the street this summer.
While Patterson has done a good job since Sanders went out, it’s hard to imagine Miami not going back to Sanders whenever he’s healthy.
Sanders has seven years of kicking experience, was an All-Pro in 2021, and he probably could have been one last season, too. In 2024, Sanders hit 37 of 41 attempts, including an impressive 12 of 14 from beyond 50 yards.
That last stat is probably what separates Sanders from Patterson. In his career, Patterson is just four of 10 from beyond 50 yards, and again, he’s missed his only kick from beyond 50 this season.
Assuming Sanders can kick again, he’ll likely be the Dolphins’ choice.
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