Raheem Mostert rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns, and Tua Tagovailoa threw a touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill on Sunday night in leading the Miami Dolphins to a 24-17 win over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Pats fall to 0-2 for the first time since the 2001 season.
Miami (2-0) never trailed getting a field goal with the first possession of the night. New England had a good drive going the second time they had the ball, driving to their opponents 39-yard line. But on a 10-yard completion on 3rd and 8 from Mac Jones to Damario Douglas, Douglas would be stripped by Bradley Chubb and would fumble and the Dolphins recovered it. That ensuing drive ended in a eight yard touchdown run by Mostert to make it 10-0. Chad Ryland got the Patriots on the board for the first time late in the second with a 49-yard field goal. Miami ended the first half with all the momentum, as Tagovailoa used his arm to engineer a 75-yard drive in the final 1:49. He completed 7-7 for 71 yards, including passes of 22 and 12 yards to River Cracraft and 18 yards to Braxton Berrios. A short two-yarder to Hill in the endzone made it 17-3 at halftime.
Miami was turned away from extending their lead with 3:39 left in the third quarter, when Brenden Schooler blocked a 49-yard field goal attempt by Jason Sanders. The Pats were able to move the ball again, getting to the Dolphins 22-yard line but Jones was intercepted by Xavien Howard trying to get it to DeVante Parker near the goal line at the 3. The hosts did finally find the endzone with 11:27 left to play on a six yard touchdown pass from Jones to Hunter Henry. Christian Gonzalez tried to keep the momentum going when he intercepted Tagovailoa at his own 14-yard line on the Dolphins next possession, but New England couldn’t do anything with it going three and out and punting it back to Miami. The first play from scrimmage after the punt, Mostert got two good blocks from his offensive line and went 43 yards untouched for a TD to extend the lead back to 14 at 24-10 with just 8:51 remaining. The Patriots needed a quick score to stay in it, and got just that as Rhamondre Stevenson capped off a 75-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run taking just 3:16 off the clock. Sanders would miss a 55-yard field goal attempt that would of iced it wide left with 2:19 to go, giving New England one more opportunity. They drove to the Miami 39-yard line, but Jones was sacked by Chubb for an eight-yard loss putting them behind the sticks. After a 14-yard pass to Mike Gesicki on 3rd and 18, Jones completed another pass on 4th and 4 to Gesicki short of the first down marker but Gesicki lateraled it to offensive lineman Cole Strange. The original call on the field was that Strange made the line to gain, but after review it was revealed his knee was down and he was short turning the ball over on downs and ending the game.
Jones went 31-42 passing for 231 yards with a touchdown and an interception, in what was a second straight one possession loss for New England. The run game struggled again, as Stevenson led the way with 15 carries for just 50 yards and a touchdown. Parker and Henry both had six receptions for 57 and 52 yards respectively, with Henry catching a TD pass. Gonzalez had six total tackles and an interception, Myles Bryant had five tackles (two for loss), while Matt Judon had four tackles, a sack, and two tackles for loss to lead the defense. Tagovailoa finished 21-30 passing for 249 yards with one touchdown and one interception in the win for Miami. He is now 5-0 in his career vs New England. Mostert rushed 18 times for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Jaylen Waddle had four catches for 86 yards, while Hill ended up with five for 40 yards and a score. The Patriots travel for the first time this season in Week 3 when they visit their AFC East rival the New York Jets on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Metlife Stadium.
Story by Chris Lessner
