The Miami Dolphins’ season may not be heading to the postseason, but it ended on a high note and with a win that secured a sweep of a rival that dominated their division for most of the past two decades.
A win in the finale over the New England Patriots, 33-24, on Sunday evening at Hard Rock Stadium left many wondering what could have been had the Dolphins not squandered a number of opportunities, like falling to the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars during a 1-7 start.
The Dolphins were instead already eliminated from playoff contention when they took the field against the Patriots after last Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Tennessee Titans, but they left with something to build on heading into the offseason.
“I’m proud of this team,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said. “I’m proud of their fight, their resiliency, their ability to battle adversity. We had ups and downs. It’s a year I’ll definitely remember.”
Miami (9-8) has consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 2003 after finishing 10-6 last year. The Dolphins, after also winning the season opener in Foxborough, completed a season sweep of the Patriots for the first time since 2000. They’ve won three in a row and four of their past five in the series with New England.
The Patriots (10-7), who already clinched a playoff berth entering the final week, are the AFC’s No. 6 seed, dropping from No. 5 after the Las Vegas Raiders’ overtime win against the Los Angeles Chargers on “Sunday Night Football.” They advance to face the third-seeded Buffalo Bills.
Outside of the opening drive, the Dolphins did it mostly on the ground — and with the defense scoring twice. Duke Johnson ran for 117 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who is now 3-0 in his career against the Patriots and 2-0 against former Alabama teammate Mac Jones, was 15 of 22 for 109 yards, getting nearly half his passing yardage total on the opening series.
“I don’t ever look at it as me versus another quarterback,” he said. “It’s always our offense versus their defense. … I don’t really dive into all the ‘Me versus Mac.’
“I’m just so happy that we could end this season off with a win, and we’ll see what this offseason has in plan for us.”
Tagovailoa’s 11-yard scramble for a first down on third-and-8 with under two minutes was key in securing the victory after a late New England rally, and he ended up with 38 yards on the ground, including a 23-yard scamper.
“He made some big runs in critical situations, picked up first downs when we needed them,” said Flores of Tagovailoa. “He made a lot of good throws. Thought he moved the ball well, ran the ball well. So he led us and gave us an opportunity to win the ball game, specifically at the end when we needed a drive.”
Jones finished 20 of 30 for 261 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The Dolphins scored two touchdowns in the first nine minutes to start Sunday’s action.
First, on the opening drive where Jaylen Waddle broke the NFL rookie receptions record, he caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa. Tagovailoa, who started 8 for 8 on Sunday, completed all seven of his passes on the initial series for 54 yards and the touchdown.
A minute and a half later, following the scoring drive that took 7:26, Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard intercepted Jones and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.
“I feel like the momentum changed when we scored on defense,” Howard said. “Everybody was excited, and everybody came to play after that.”
After the lead got up to 17 on a 30-yard Jason Sanders field goal, the Patriots scored for the first time midway through the second quarter. Running back and ex-Dolphin Brandon Bolden ran 15 yards for a touchdown. Jones had a 35-yard pass to tight end Hunter Henry get New England into Dolphins’ territory before that.
After a Nick Folk field goal in the middle of the third quarter got the Patriots within one possession, 17-10, Johnson scored running to the outside from the 1-yard line with 4:31 remaining in the period. It put Miami up, 24-10.
The Patriots were then driving just outside of the Miami red zone when Jones mishandled a snap from under center for a fumble that was recovered by outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips. It eventually led to another Sanders field goal for a 17-point lead, 27-10.
Bolden scored a receiving touchdown with 6:32 remaining to begin a late rally, and Damien Harris punched in a 1-yard rushing touchdown with 2:53 left to trim the New England deficit to three, 27-24.
On the final play, after the Patriots were left with minimal time and backed up, linebacker Sam Eguaoven picked off a lateral attempt for a defensive touchdown as time expired on the season.
Dolphins defenders Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel had sacks of Jones on Sunday. With two more in the finale, Miami finished with 49 sacks on the season, tied for the team record set in 1983 and matched in 2005.
Miami picked up a pair of fourth downs against New England while having punter Michael Palardy on the field. First, the Dolphins ran a fake with Palardy sliding short of the yard to gain, but Bolden was called for a personal foul although he appeared to avoid helmet-to-helmet contact while diving over Palardy. On the final play of the third quarter, New England had an illegal formation, awarding Miami a first down on fourth-and-1.
The Dolphins, while missing the postseason for a fifth consecutive season, will now start a key offseason where they determine whether they move forward with Tagovailoa or pursue a top-tier quarterback, what to do with key free agents like defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah and tight end Mike Gesicki and figure out how to fix an offensive line that struggled most of the season.