Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith (9) celebrates a touchdown in overtime during an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa wouldn’t want to repeat everything that was said in the Miami Dolphins’ huddle Sunday when they trailed the New York Jets in the fourth quarter.
“Just know we were getting after everyone inside the huddle,” Tagovailoa said, “to make sure you’re blocking the way you need to block, you’re running the routes the way you need to be — you need to be in the right spots.”
Whatever was said helped keep Miami’s slim playoff hopes alive as the Dolphins (6-7) overcame 8- and 3-point fourth-quarter deficits, as well as one of Aaron Rodgers’ best games in years, to beat the Jets 32-26.
Tagovailoa sealed it with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith in overtime to help the Dolphins spoil Rodgers’ first 300-yard passing game in nearly three years and beat the Jets for the ninth straight time in Miami.
After Jason Sanders tied it with 7 seconds left in regulation with a 42-yard field goal, Tagovailoa quickly moved the Dolphins down the field.
That came after Anders Carlson gave the struggling Jets (3-10) — who were eliminated from postseason contention for the 14th straight year — the lead with a 42-yarder with 52 seconds remaining. But Malik Washington put the Dolphins in great position to help set up Sanders’ field goal with a 45-yard kickoff return to Miami’s 46-yard line.
“It was one of those moments where you make a split (second)- decision and just take it and see what happens next,” the rookie Washington said, “and be a football player.”
Tagovailoa was 33 of 47 for 331 yards and two TDs. He had just one incompletion on Miami’s eight-play, 70-yard scoring drive that was capped by Smith’s fourth touchdown of the season. Smith didn’t have a reception before catching three passes for 44 yards on the winning drive.
“A win means a lot,” said Tagovailoa, who has 300 yards passing in three straight games. “It means a lot because we have no room for error to lose another game.”
Rodgers was 27 of 39 for 339 yards, ending a drought of 34 regular-season games without a 300-yard passing game — dating to Dec. 12, 2021, while with Green Bay — and had a TD pass to Davante Adams.
But Rodgers could only watch from the sideline in overtime as the Jets never got the ball after blowing a second straight second-half lead.
“A lot of different ways we’ve lost these games,” Rodgers said. “Everybody has some skin on that, but we had opportunities on offense. Whatever happens on defense doesn’t matter. We got to get to 30 (points). We didn’t do it.”
Rodgers and Adams connected for a 3-yard score in the third quarter, the pair’s 79th touchdown in the regular and postseason. They passed Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown for the fourth-most by a quarterback-receiver duo in NFL history.
Adams finished with nine catches and 109 yards.
Down 8 at the start of the fourth, Tagovailoa found Tyreek Hill for a 4-yard touchdown, and Jaylen Waddle caught the two-point conversion to tie it at 23. Hill caught 10 passes for 115 yards, and Waddle added 99 yards on nine catches.
The Jets had taken a 20-15 lead in the third on Adams’ touchdown that was set up by a 42-yard pickup by Garrett Wilson, who beat cornerback Jalen Ramsey on a double move to get open. A 40-yard field goal by Carlson later stretched New York’s lead to 8 after the Dolphins went scoreless in the quarter.
“Actually, when we were down 23-15, when we were trotting back on the field, everybody knew what was at stake at that moment,” Hill said. “We know if we lose, it’s over. Our season is over.”
The matchup pitted the Jets’ No. 2-ranked pass defense against Tagovailoa, the NFL’s most accurate passer, and Miami’s No. 9-ranked pass defense against the four-time MVP Rodgers who has had a subpar season.
Both quarterbacks were strong and the teams played rather evenly at first, with each scoring on their first three possessions. The first punt of the game was on Miami’s first drive of the second half, and the Jets scored on their first five possessions.
Tagovailoa had just three incompletions in the first half and was 3 for 3 on Miami’s final drive of the second quarter, moving the Dolphins into field goal range in 45 seconds to set up a 57-yarder by Sanders, which tied the kicker’s career best.
Sanders also made kicks of 39 and 24 yards, and De’Von Achane had a 2-yard touchdown run on Miami’s opening possession.
Rodgers moved the Jets inside Miami’s 20 three times in the first half. Isaiah Davis ran for a 17-yard score, and Carlson made field goals of 28 and 30 yards.
Wilson caught seven passes for 114 yards.
Injuries
Jets: RT Morgan Moses injured his wrist during pregame warmups. He started, but was replaced during the game by Max Mitchell. … WR Irvin Charles left with a knee injury.
Dolphins: LT Terron Armstead left early after apparently tweaking the knee that sidelined him this week in practice. … WR Dee Eskridge (knee) and LB Anthony Walker Jr (hamstring) were also injured.
Up next
Jets: At Jacksonville next Sunday.
Dolphins: At Houston next Sunday.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
By ALANIS THAMES
AP Sports Writer
This post was last modified on 12/08/2024 4:08 pm
