Yes, that's why down on the goal line those fake handoffs to a running back then a pass to a tight end veering out to either side of the endzone usually end up with the tighend wide open. Passing down near the goal line is a great thing when executed properly. What you said about the "unexpected" is so important.
Play action only works on the goal line if the defense is expecting a run, which means not 2nd down if they stuffed the run on 1st. Now if you passed on 1st play action on 2nd would probably work. Of course all that goes away if the team is the Dolphins anywhere between 1984 and 2003, they had no running game and nobody expected the run ever, which is why the league never bought Dan Marino any jewelry.
passing near the goal line is also very difficult, due to having 22 large men in a very small area. this increases further with the quality of the defense (a big factor in this case) and the inexperience of your QB (a lesser, but still present factor in this case). while the pass play nearly succeeded, and I think Big Ben made a good decision, I strongly disagree with the call to throw in that instance.
someone else here also noted that passing on 2nd down after afailed run is hardly a surprise in today's NFL.