Tua Tagovailoa passed for three touchdowns, and Raheem Mostert added another on the ground Sunday afternoon leading the Miami Dolphins to a 31-17 win over the New England Patriots at Rock Hard Stadium in Miami, Florida.
New England (2-6) scored first for their only lead of the day in the first quarter after Kyle Dugger intercepted Tagovailoa inside Miami territory at the 45 yard line, and returned it 15 yards to the 30. Kendrick Bourne helped the Patriots take advantage of the turnover when he caught a 24-yard touchdown from Mac Jones. The Dolphins quickly tied it going 75 yards in six plays, with Tagovailoa finding Tyreek Hill behind the secondary in the endzone for a 42-yard TD. They would take the lead for good on a short 1-yard touchdown connection from Tagovailoa to Cedric Wilson in the second. Jones would make a bad throw late in the second that led to three more points, as Jalen Ramsay had an interception deep in his own territory and a 44 yard return that set up a Jason Sanders 30-yard field goal to extend it to 17-7 at the half. New England got within one score on two different occasions over the third and fourth quarters, but Miami responded each time on a short Mostert touchdown run and a 31-yard scoring pass from Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle to help improve to 6-2 on the season.
Jones went 19-29 passing for 161 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the loss. Rhamondre Stevenson rushed for 39 yards, and Ezekiel Elliott added 36 yards. Bourne had the most receiving yards catching three passes for 36 yards and a touchdown, while Demario Douglas had five receptions. Dugger made seven total tackles, had an interception, and a sack. Tagovailoa finished 30-45 for 324 yards with three touchdowns and one interception in the win. Waddle (seven catches, 121 yards) and Hill (eight catches, 112 yards) both had big days with a touchdown each for Miami. Hill is the fastest receiver to reach 1,000 receiving yards in the Super Bowl Era (8 games). The Patriots return home to Gillette Stadium next Sunday to take on the Washington Commanders at 1 p.m.
Story by Chris Lessner
