Tua Tagovailoa didn’t want to repeat everything that was said in the Dolphins’ huddle on Sunday when they were trailing 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. The Dolphins (6-7) overcame 8- and 3-point deficits in the fourth quarter, as well as one of Aaron Rodgers’ best performances in years, to defeat the Jets 32-26.
Tagovailoa sealed the win with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith in overtime, helping the Dolphins spoil Rodgers’ first 300-yard passing game in almost three years. Miami also extended their streak of winning against the Jets in Miami to nine games.
After Jason Sanders tied the game with a 42-yard field goal with 7 seconds left in regulation, Tagovailoa quickly led the Dolphins down the field.
This came after Anders Carlson gave the struggling Jets (3-10) the lead with a 42-yard field goal with 52 seconds remaining. Malik Washington made an important play with a 45-yard kickoff return to the Dolphins’ 46-yard line, setting up Sanders’ game-tying field goal.
“It was one of those moments where you make a split-second decision and just take it and see what happens next,” said Washington, the rookie. “And be a football player.”
Tagovailoa completed 33 of 47 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns. He had just one incompletion on Miami’s eight-play, 70-yard scoring drive, which ended with Smith’s fourth touchdown of the season. Smith had not caught a pass until then, but he grabbed three passes for 44 yards during the winning drive.
“A win means a lot,” Tagovailoa said. “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 34-game streak without a 300-yard passing performance dating back to Dec. 12, 2021, when he was with Green Bay. He also threw a touchdown pass to Davante Adams.
But Rodgers had to watch from the sideline during 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 touchdown in the third quarter, marking their 79th touchdown together in the regular season and playoffs. This set a new record for the fourth-most touchdowns by a quarterback-receiver duo in NFL history, passing Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown of Pittsburgh. Adams finished the game with nine catches for 109 yards.
Down 8 at the start of the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa found Tyreek Hill for a 4-yard touchdown. Jaylen Waddle caught the two-point conversion to tie the game at 23. Hill caught 10 passes for 115 yards, and Waddle had 99 yards on nine catches.
The Jets had taken a 20-15 lead in the third quarter, with Adams’ touchdown set up by a 42-yard pickup by Garrett Wilson, who beat cornerback Jalen Ramsey on a double move. Carlson’s 40-yard field goal later stretched New York’s lead to 8 after the Dolphins failed to score in the third 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 game featured a matchup between the Jets’ No. 2-ranked pass defense and Tagovailoa, the NFL’s most accurate passer, as well as Miami’s No. 9-ranked pass defense against the four-time MVP Rodgers, who has had a difficult season.
Both quarterbacks played well, and the teams were evenly matched at first, with each scoring on their first three possessions. Miami’s first punt came in the second half, and the Jets scored on their first five possessions.
Tagovailoa had just three incompletions in the first half and was perfect on Miami’s final drive of the second quarter, moving the Dolphins into field goal range in 45 seconds. Sanders made a 57-yard field goal to tie his career-best.
Sanders also made field goals of 39 and 24 yards, while De’Von Achane had a 2-yard touchdown run on Miami’s opening drive.
Rodgers moved the Jets inside Miami’s 20-yard line 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.
