Miami Dolphins 24 – 27 Green Bay Packers
Sat in the top tier open to the blazing sun, it was a very hot and sweaty afternoon at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium yesterday (photo taken 30 mins before kick off) as the Packers rallied late to win 27-24 after Aaron Rodgers threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Quarless with three seconds left.
With many empty seats around the 80,000 capacity stadium (the official attendance was given as 70,875) there appeared to be as many Green Bay fans as there were home ones sat on the bright orange seats, and they made themselves heard after Rodgers moved the Packers down the field to eventually pass to Nelson for a 9-yard touchdown after less than 5 minutes.
Green Bay three times in the first quarter stopped Miami at the 1 yard line including on fourth down when Williams tackled Moreno for a turnover, although Miami did pull back a field goal. 7-3 Packers.
With the sun avoiding the clouds the second quarter was hard to watch with both teams and fans wilting in the heat. In fact two players left the field suffering from heat exhaustion. The game being live on television didn’t help as the game kept stopping at will. Packers did add a field goal to their tally to lead 10-3 at the half as the group of us sought some shade and cold beer.
It all looked a bit of a stroll in the park for Green Bay, with their fans, many with cheeses on their heads (photo), enjoying their day in the sun. Miami looked fearful to make the big plays and Aaron Rodgers had plenty more gears to tap into if needed.
However the Dolphins quarter back Ryan Tannehill brought Dolphins back into it by passing to Landry for a touchdown to bring the somewhat boisterous Dolphins fans around us to life and tie the game at 10-10.
When in moments of nothingness during NFL games I always amuse myself by looking through the players names, and one Randell Cobb was next to collect a Rodgers pass for a touchdown after an 8-minute drive. 17-10 Packers.
The fourth quarter was the most exciting part of a game that was now getting on for 4 hours.
The Dolphins were still incredibly still very much in the game and they overcame deficits of 10-3 and 17-10 to take a 24-17 lead with 9 minutes left when first rushing back Lamar Miller ran in a touchdown before Ryan Tannehill hit Mike Wallace for a 5-yard score.
Green Bay, who saying this as a Chicago Bears fan, would’ve been unfortunate to lose but it looked like the sun and humidity had done for them. but then Rodgers found that extra gear as he so often does to direct consecutive drives of 68 and 60 yards for victory 27-24.
We shot out of the stadium and back to our air-conditioned bus to fight the traffic back the 20 miles to South Beach, where I found out that I had also picked out of an empty coffee cup Green Bay’s exact points total on the bus to the stadium to win a few dollar bills to add to the day.
Chicago Addick 
CA, the previous day we sat on the 50 yard line, about 3/4 of the way up, with 80,000 fans in South Bend, Indiana, with a game-time temperature of 60 degrees “F”, with bright sun, blue skies and no wind whatsoever. It was ideal football weather and what a game, as the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish first went down 14 – 0 in the first five minutes and then came back to take the University of North Carolina Tar Heels 50 – 43 in an absolutely entertaining (if not exactly a defensive struggle) football game. Like your Miami game, it took approximately four hours to complete (mind you, it’s always great to watch the fantastic Notre Dame marching band during the thirty minute half time), proof positive that both college and pro football have sold their souls to the big television networks! I remember when games took no more than 2 1/2 hours to complete.
That was quite a game Bob.
The major difference, as you know Bob, between Pro and College is that at least the stadiums maintain their atmospheres in College games. Without the colourful Packers fans, and there must have been 30,000 of them, the Sun Life stadium would have been a pretty soulless, and desolate place.
No marching bands in Miami, that fun is reserved only for College I think, but just advert breaks on the big screens, kiss-cams sponsored by wireless companies, various prizes all sponsored of course, and the obligatory cheerleaders, one of whom named cheerleader of the week, gave a 5 minute video of herself slinking around in a bikini….
Sorry, but give me The Valley any time. Or College sport.
Thanks for the report CA, glad you enjoyed it. Rodgers is amazing. How lucky we Green Bay fans are that after 15 plus years of one HOF QB, we get to have another one.
Bob, ND have a huge game this week. I’ll be watching it in the UK.