Dolphins rally against Jaguars for last-second opening-week win — and Tyreek Hill was in the middle of the comeback
By David Furones, South Florida Sun-Sentinel,
2024-09-08
Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill runs for a touchdown agains the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/TNS
MIAMI GARDENS — The home opener for the Miami Dolphins started about as inauspiciously as one could imagine.
But after star wide receiver Tyreek Hill was detained by police outside the stadium and the Dolphins trailed by 10 points in the second half — with the Jacksonville Jaguars vying for more — it eventually turned into the celebration that a return of football should be for a Dolphins team hopeful of making a deep playoff run after back-to-back postseason appearances.
An 80-yard touchdown from Hill sparked a comeback and the Dolphins stormed back for the Week 1 win over the Jaguars, another playoff hopeful this season, 20-17, on Sunday afternoon at Hard Rock Stadium.
The Dolphins proved resilient after off-the-field pregame events that could’ve easily rattled any squad and then in-game adversity in the form of a deficit that was snowballing.
“I was really just happy with the way that our team came together when teammates were in need,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said, alluding to how the team rallied around Hill. “I think I was proud of other guys jumping in to try to help a teammate. Then, all the support.”
A last-second 52-yard field goal from kicker Jason Sanders completed the Dolphins comeback to make Miami 1-0 to start the new season. Sanders was resilient himself, booting through the winning points — something he’s done previously, including Miami’s last win of 2023 against the Dallas Cowboys — after missing earlier in Sunday’s second half.
“As a kicker, you don’t think about that stuff,” he said. “You just think about one kick at a time. So whatever I can do to help this team win. I just wish it happened earlier.”
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finished with 336 yards on 23-of-37 passing and the touchdown to Hill. Hill and Jaylen Waddle both surpassed 100 receiving yards, Hill with 130 and Waddle at 108.
“It’s great for the confidence in the locker room, for all the guys to see that, ‘Hey, we are not going to be easy to beat,’ ” Hill said about completing the comeback after struggling early. “We are going to have games like this. Granted, we don’t want to put ourselves behind the 8-ball, but if we have to, we still have to be mindful we can come back at any moment because we got the team to do it.”
Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence was held to 162 yards on 12-of-21 passing and a touchdown.
The Jaguars appeared primed to take full control, leading 17-7 in the third quarter and driving. Additionally, running back Travis Etienne was charging toward the end zone up the middle.
It set up Hill’s 80-yard touchdown on the very next play. The star wide receiver beat cornerback Ronald Darby and safety Andre Cisco crossing deep down the field and then outran the two for the long score. In celebration, Hill put his hands behind his back as if being handcuffed, like he was Sunday morning when detained for a traffic violation outside the stadium. It brought Miami to within three, 17-14.
“Waddle was the first read,” Tagovailoa said. “I saw space. There was nobody over there, and I knew Tyreek was coming into my vision.”
Miami seemed like it was about to take back the game at any moment. Safety Elijah Campbell, on the kick coverage unit, forced a fumble, but the Jaguars recovered. Shortly thereafter, Etienne was stopped on a fourth-and-1 where he started left, flipped the field and was stopped short by Kendall Fuller, Zach Sieler and Jalen Ramsey.
The Dolphins could’ve capitalized in Jacksonville territory, but Sanders missed from 42 yards out. Sanders’ 37-yard field goal later, with 4:22 remaining, tied the Dolphins and Jaguars at 17.
Tied at 17, Emmanuel Ogbah and Jaelan Phillips, who was playing his first game back off last season’s torn Achilles, made back-to-back sacks to give the Dolphins the ball back ahead of Sanders’ game-winner.
Waddle had a 13-yard catch on the key late drive to get into deep field-goal range, and fullback Alec Ingold had one of multiple short-yardage conversions on a third-and-1.
After a lackluster first four drives for the Dolphins offense after going down 14 points, they finally strung a series together before halftime. De’Von Achane punched in a 1-yard touchdown after Hill and Waddle made key third-down catches in Jacksonville territory to extend the drive.
Achane finished with seven receptions for 76 yards plus 24 rushing yards. Raheem Mostert only had six carries for 9 yards, and Jeff Wilson Jr. actually led Miami in rushing with 26 yards on five carries.
Despite leaving just 1:04 on the first-half clock after the Achane touchdown, the Miami defense allowed Jacksonville to pick up 43 yards on six plays to set up kicker Cam Little’s 53-yard field goal that sent the Jaguars into the locker room up, 17-7, at halftime.
Early second-half drives for the Dolphins brought boos from fans on hand as the first two series after halftime ended in third-down sacks. They were allowed by Liam Eichenberg and Austin Jackson.
Earlier in the second quarter, Jacksonville took the two-touchdown lead as Lawrence impressively found rookie wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. tip-toeing in the back of the end zone over Ramsey and safety Jordan Poyer in zone coverage.
The Jaguars scored first Sunday after Thomas drew a pass interference on Ramsey in the end zone for a 40-yard penalty that set Jacksonville up at the 1-yard line. Etienne punched it in from there to give the Jaguars the lead deep into the first quarter.
The Dolphins defense had a strong first series for the unit’s newcomers. Defensive tackle Calais Campbell, who played his college football for the University of Miami 17 years ago, sacked Lawrence on his first snap with the Dolphins. Then, he had a tackle for loss in run defense on second down. On third-and-long, Poyer nearly came up with an interception.
Meanwhile, Miami was sloppy on its first several offensive series. The first drive ended in a failed fourth-down attempt in Jacksonville territory. Tagovailoa then missed Hill deep on the second possession, leading to a punt. On a pair of fourth-down tries, Tagovailoa went to Braxton Berrios and Miami didn’t convert.
Miami Dolphins place kicker Jason Sanders walks off the field with the ball after kicjking the winning filed goal against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
Comments / 0