Monday night football returned to Hard Rock Stadium for the first time in six years.
Entering Monday Night, the Miami Dolphins were the only AFC team that had yet to lose at home.
That changed dramatically.
Will Levis directed two touchdown drives with ease in the final 4 1/2 minutes, and the Tennessee Titans rallied to stun the Dolphins 28-27 on Monday night, knocking the Dolphins out of the top spot in the AFC.
The Titans won their first road game of the season; it was the first home loss of the Dolphins.
“We knew we had the opportunity to do something special tonight on national television, probably our last primetime game,” Levis said. “I hope America liked what they saw.”
Titans (5-8) were the two touchdown underdogs entering week 14, the week’s biggest underdog. Now, they are possibly the biggest upset of the season.
“We showed the type of team we could be this season,” Levis added. “We have a special locker room, special guys across the board. The defense played a heck of a job against a potent offense, so I’m so happy we could grind it out at the end.”
Levis went 23 of 38 with a touchdown pass and an interception. DeAndre Hopkins had seven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown; Derrick Henry ran for two scores.
It was the first win by a team down 14 with less than three minutes left since 2016. And teams were down 14 in the final 3:00 minutes and lost 767 straight games.
The Titans won the game despite committing three turnovers.
Dolphins’ (9-4) top-ranked offense was held scoreless in the first half against a Titans defense that has given up the fewest red zone touchdowns in the NFL. The Dolphins were 2 of 5 in the red zone.
“It is the NFL; anything can happen. We have to do a better job finishing the game with the time we had while we had the ball, not allowing their opposing team’s offense to get that opportunity to score,” Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “It is a team sport; can’t blame one side; from an offensive standpoint, there are things we could have done better.”
Tagovailoa was 23 of 33 for 240 yards and had his streak of 21 consecutive games with a touchdown pass snapped.
“When you have someone like Tyreek go down, it does make it tough,” Tagovailoa said. “When you also have a couple of your key offensive linemen go down, it does hurt the way we want to operate.”
Tagovailoa faced more pressure than usual, with the Dolphins missing three starters on their offensive line. Left tackle Terron Armstead (knee/ankle) and right guard Rob Hunt (hamstring) did not play, and center Connor Williams injured his knee in the first quarter.
Tagovailoa was sacked five times.
Miami played much of the game without star receiver Tyreek Hill, who sat out the second and most of the third after injuring his ankle in the first quarter. Hill, who leads the NFL in receiving yards, was in and out of the game from there and finished with 61 yards.
“It was a lot of pain. It sucked when it happened. I have been dealing with ankle injuries all season. When it happened, my first reaction was my ankle is gone,” Hill said. “I sat for a while, and it became stiff; after halftime, I texted my wife, who told me to return to the game. I made up my mind it is going suck, it is going to hurt tonight and tomorrow morning, and I went back in the game on my own.”
No wide receiver has ever won the MVP award in the NFL. Only two have ever received votes (Randy Moss and Cooper Kupp). Hill is still in the running, pending how he recovers from the ankle injury.
Levis was impressive Monday night, other than the interception thrown. He was the best player on the field in this matchup. He showed you everything you want from a franchise quarterback. After the interception from there, he never flinched, proving in the second half he belongs to be part of the Titans franchise.
It was a massive disappointment for the home team Miami Dolphins.
It was Dolphins first loss versus a team under .500 or worse (9-1) this season.
“It was a legitimate team loss; everyone had their hand in it,” Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel said. “I don’t think it was intentional. I don’t think people went through the motions during the week, It was a terrific week of practice.”
In the last game, the Dolphins had zero offensive touchdowns through three quarters, with Tagovailoa as their quarterback. It was week seventeen at Tennessee in 2021.
It was errors, poor operations, and missed opportunities for the Dolphins throughout the game. They could have operated better with the ball more efficiently with the talented offense they put on the field up to this point of the season.
In two short seasons, coach McDaniel has changed the mindset of this entire Dolphins fan base from hope to expectation. Expectations of winning the division, getting the top seed and potentially to a Super Bowl. He has done it with the combination of being cheerful and brilliant as far as the Xs and Os are concerned. The Dolphins remaining four games will be his chance of redemption after their Monday night disappointment.
Photo/TennesseeTitans/X
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