What an odd win. What a strange ending.

What a …

What the …

What was Mike McDaniel thinking?

That’s the question that keeps rattling around Sunday after the Dolphins’ 16-13 overtime win against Washington in Madrid. It’s not the normal question after a win, especially a second-consecutive win in a 4-7 season that could be used to buoy hope of salvaging pride, jobs, momentum — something from this season.

There were some Sunday heroics to talk about, too. Cornerback Jack Jones had the overtime interception to set up the win. Running back De’Von Achane, once again, carried this offense. The defense’s goal-line stand in the fourth quarter kept it a tied game.

But everyone kept asking the same, nagging question: What was McDaniel thinking with 1:44 left when he chose not to take the lead with a chip-shot field goal? He went for it on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line.

Ollie Gordon II was stuffed for minus-2 yards.

“I definitely would not have made the call if I thought it was going to fail,” McDaniel said.

But why go that route? Was he that confident in a Dolphins offense that had scored 13 points Sunday and was 1 for 3 in the red zone? Was he that unconfident of a Dolphins defense that, too, just allowed 13 points?

Does the analytical, often-commendable mindset that made it preferable to go for it on fourth down override all sense of critical, game-situation thinking?

It wasn’t like Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen or some quarterback who made your knees shake was on the other side, demanding you score a touchdown. It was Marcus Mariota. The Commanders’ backup QB. The kind of guy you ask to overcome any lead at the end.

There was another factor of the NFL’s new kickoff rules, McDaniel said. Washington’s return team is, “very, very adept at getting the ball between the 30 and 40, which would leave about 25 yards for a tying field goal opposed to going 60 yards [to hit a game-winning field goal] when they’re backed up,” he said.

“Those are the type of situations you try to do the best thing with the recourse of failure.”

He added, “That was an example of a defense stepping up.”

So, credit Washington’s defense for making the play. And it did. And the one person who isn’t second-guessing McDaniel is Washington coach Dan Quinn. He made the same decision as McDaniel with just under seven minutes left.

Same tie game. Same fourth-and-goal at the 1. The time was a difference, sure, because more time means more possibilities and possessions. Quinn didn’t just want the lead, though. He wanted a touchdown and the Dolphins defense stopped him thanks to safety Ashtyn Davis’ good coverage and tight end Zach Ertz slipping on his route.

Dolphins Deep Dive: Breaking down overtime win over Commanders in Madrid | VIDEO

“We put ourselves in a position where we could finally win,” Quinn said of his team’s five (now six) straight losses. “I don’t love the result, but I don’t second-guess the call.”

So, a sure field goal means nothing in a game where each team has 13 points? Where you could get the lead in the final minutes? The field goal has been diminished more in today’s game than the running back.

You can say none of this matters, because the Dolphins ultimately won the game. But does this win, while nice, really matter in this season? Does it change anyone’s thoughts of these Dolphins heading into late November?

It’s dangerous to read too much into any Sunday, up or down, good or bad. The Dolphins whipped a good Buffalo team the previous Sunday. They squeaked by a 3-8 Washington thanks to some a bizarre closing script.

Achane was the one player who separated the day. He accounted for 165 yards, or more than half the Dolphins’ 311. McDaniel rode him hard in giving him the ball eight of the final nine plays (and on that ninth, the one Gordon ran for the loss, Achane had to come out after being momentarily hurt).

The defense wasn’t as dominant in shutting out Buffalo for three quarters. But it came up with plays when it mattered. Washington was 0 for 3 in the red zone. Jones made the interception that swung the day.

“We’re not searching for perfection, we are searching for conviction,” McDaniel said.

That sounds straight out of a personal development book. Maybe this team should read over the bye week. No doubt there will be talk about the “process,” in such a book. That was the nagging part of this Sunday in Spain.

The Dolphins won. They have reason to feel better about themselves. But the process seemed all wrong when you left wondering about McDaniel’s thinking in not kicking an easy field goal.