After a back-and-forth offensive struggle through three-plus quarters, momentum swung Miami's way when two Titans fumbles turned into two Dolphins touchdowns and a 27-13 lead with 4:34 left in the game. But Tennessee rallied to score 15 points after that and stopped Miami's offense twice in the final 2:40 to pull off a 28-27 win on Monday Night Football.
The Dolphins offense could not find the end zone for the first 55+ minutes of action. Miscues including a fumble and failed third-down conversion on two trips to the Tennessee two-yard line, along with a blocked field goal, left points off the board and the Titans in the game.
Despite the missed opportunities, Miami still found itself with a two-score lead late in the game thanks to a muffed punt and an errant backwards pass by Tennessee.
The errors gave the Dolphins starting field position inside the Titans 15-yard line on back-to-back drives and running back Raheem Mostert capitalized with two rushing touchdowns in a span of 60 seconds.
The lead did not last long though as Titans quarterback Will Levis led a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive in 1:54 (plus a two-point conversion), and a four-play, 64-yard scoring drive in 26 seconds to take a 28-27 lead with 1:49 to play.
Levis completed three passes for more than 20 yards and another for 16 yards during the Titans final two drives. Miami, meanwhile, went three-and-out and was stopped on fourth down on its last two possessions.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 23-of-33 passes for 240 yards. Mostert rushed for 96 yards on 21 attempts (4.6 avg.) and tied Ricky Williams (16 in 2002) for the most rushing touchdowns in a season in franchise history.
The Dolphins defense started strong with a three-and-out on the game's opening possession and a turnover on the next.
On third-and-11, defensive tackle Zach Sieler jumped in front of a quick pass intended for Titans running back Tyjae Spears and ran it back five yards for the Dolphins' fourth pick-six of the season and third in as many games.
In the second quarter, Titans running back Derrick Henry capped off a 14-play, 86-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:53 left in the half.
Each team then had field goal opportunities later in the period. Miami's 44-yard attempt was blocked and Tennessee's kick went through the uprights from 28 yards away to give the Titans a 10-7 lead entering halftime.
Coming out of the locker room, it was wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. that helped get the offense started on the first possession of the second half. First, he out-jumped a Titans defender for a 22-yard gain on third-and-two. He caught an eight-yard pass on the next play and later drew a 17-yard pass interference penalty to move the ball to the Titans 10-yard line.Â
But on third-and-two from the two-yard line, Wilson's fourth target of the drive fell incomplete. Kicker Jason Sanders converted his 20-yard field goal to tie the game at 10-10 with 9:35 to play in the third quarter.Â
The Titans answered with a 12-play, 60-yard drive and regained a three-point lead on a 23-yard field goal from Nick Folk.
Early in the fourth quarter, Miami again marched the ball inside the Titans 10-yard line thanks to two 20+-yard completions to wide receiver Tyreek Hill and an acrobatic hurdle from fullback Alec Ingold that picked up 13 yards. The offense would not get any closer though. Sanders' 31-yard field goal tied the game again at 13-13 with 12:37 to play.
The Dolphins went on to score 14 straight points but surrendered 15 on the Titans last two possessions to drop to 9-4 on the season and 5-1 at home.
Miami returns to Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 17 to face the New York Jets (5-8). Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
