The Miami Dolphins won their 11th game of the 2023 season on Sunday. But the 22-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys was a little different than the preceding 10.

None of those victories came against a team that had a winning record entering Week 16 of the NFL season. On Sunday, the Dolphins defeated another 10-win team.

After directing a 12-play, 64-yard drive that resulted in a field goal on the final snap of the game, Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said the team never put any stock in the Dolphins-haven’t-beaten-anybody line.

“I just think of the amount of work it takes to play a game week in and week out to prepare for a really good team on Sunday,” Tagovailoa said. “Every team is good, so to do that and to come out with a hard-fought victory, that makes it all worth it. …

“I’m so proud of this team for just coming in day in and day out and work on their craft. I don’t think anyone is necessarily worried about what anyone else is saying outside of the guys in the building. The confidence? Everyone has confidence in each other and themselves. I don’t think winning these games do anything more or anything less than sort of reiterate the work that we put in and gives us the satisfaction that the work that we do put in pays off, and we’ve seen it today.”

Dallas took the lead with a 17-play, 69-yard drive that took 7:39 and ended with an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dak Prescott to wide receiver Brandin Cooks with 3:27 left to play.

Tagovailoa completed 4-of-5 passes for 31 yards and two first downs to get Miami’s final possession rolling. After a 10-yard gain on a third-and-3 throw to wide receiver Tyreek Hill put the Dolphins on the Dallas 23-yard line, Miami ran the Cowboys out of timeouts, then had Tagovailoa take two kneeldowns.

Jason Sanders knocked in a 29-yard field goal for the victory. Sanders made five field goals in the game, including connections from 52, 54 and 57 yards.

“Around the league, everyone knows that three minutes and 20-something seconds is normal play for any quarterback,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s how we looked at it. We didn’t have to do anything more than what was required for us during that play. We didn’t have to take a shot if it wasn’t necessary. As long as we got completions and we got the ball moving forward and they were positive plays, that’s all we could have asked for.”

Tagovailoa completed 24-of-37 passes for 293 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions against Dallas as the former Alabama All-American surpassed 4,000 passing yards in a season for the first time in his career.

The touchdown came on a 4-yard toss to running back Raheem Mostert with 17 seconds left in the first half to complete an eight-play, 71-yard series as the Dolphins took a 13-7 lead. Tagovailoa went 6-of-8 for 57 yards during the drive.

The victory secured a spot in the AFC playoffs for Miami.

“It’s awesome,” Tagovailoa said. “That’s what we work hard for throughout the entirety of OTAs, training camp, and that’s why you try to win as many games as you can early on in the season. But I don’t think that changes our mindset as a team. I don’t think we look at our next opponent or our schedule any different than how we have.”

The Dolphins joined their next opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, as the 11-win teams in the AFC. Baltimore will play the NFL’s other 11-win team, the San Francisco 49ers, on Monday night before hosting Miami on Dec. 31.

The Dolphins will complete their regular-season schedule with a home game against the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 7. With three straight wins, the Bills have a 9-6 record as they try to catch Miami in the AFC East. Buffalo defeated the Dolphins 48-20 on Oct. 1.

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.