Dolphins give up 25 unanswered points in 31-28 overtime loss to Raiders
The Dolphins found themselves on the wrong end of another thriller at Allegiant Stadium.
Miami gave up 25 unanswered points in a 31-28 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, dropping the team to 1-2 on the season.
Both teams made field goals on their opening possession of overtime but Raiders quarterback Derek Carr drove Las Vegas (3-0) 72 yards to set up the 22-yard game-winning field goal by kicker Daniel Carlson.
“This is tough because we fought hard,” said defensive lineman Christian Wilkins, who recorded a first-quarter sack. “You got a lot of guys in this locker room who are fighters and give you everything they got. We just didn’t make enough plays ultimately.”
The Dolphins scored the game’s first 14 points, which included an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown by linebacker Elandon Roberts and a 24-yard score from running back Malcolm Brown. However, the team scored just three points on the seven offensive possessions that followed Brown’s score before quarterback Jacoby Brissett led an 82-yard touchdown drive to tie the score at 25 with two seconds left in regulation.
Brissett completed 32 of 49 passes for 215 yards in his first start since Week 17 of the 2019 season. He also rushed for 37 yards and the score to set up the tying two-point conversion. Brissett played behind an offensive line that made another change to its starting lineup, playing rookie Liam Eichenberg at right tackle and moving Jesse Davis from right tackle to left guard for Solomon Kindley. Brissett was sacked twice and hit seven times.
“I think he got a lot more comfortable as the game went on,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said.
Rookie wide receiver Jaylen Waddle recorded a team-high 12 catches for 58 yards.
The Raiders totaled 497 net yards on 6.1 yards per play compared to 330 on 4.2 yards per play from the Dolphins, and controlled the ball for seven more minutes than Miami.
Roberts’ pick-six, which extended the Dolphins’ takeaway streak to a league-high 25 games, gave the Dolphins a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter. Four plays after the Dolphins stuffed running back Peyton Barber short on a fourth-down run, Brown broke loose on the left side of the offensive line to give the team a 14-0 lead later in the first.
The Raiders’ string of points started with a safety after downing a punt at the Dolphins’ 1-yard line. Waddle was tackled after catching a screen pass in the end zone on the following play, cutting the Dolphins lead to 14-2 in the second quarter.
Brissett called the pass a “dumb decision” and “one that I want back.”
Las Vegas inched closer toward the end of the first half, with a 10-play, 95-yard drive that ended in a 1-yard touchdown pass to fullback Alex Ingold to bring the score to 14-12.
The Raiders took their first lead of the game, 19-14, with a third-quarter, 12-yard touchdown pass to receiver Hunter Renfrow, who separated from cornerback Xavien Howard. A 1-yard touchdown run by Barber gave the Raiders a 25-14 lead with 13:47 left in the game.
Jason Sanders made a 46-yard field goal to cut the deficit to eight, 25-17, with 8:30 remaining. The Dolphins defense got the ball back to the offense with 6:59 left after a three-and-out on the following possession, the first since the Raiders’ first drive of the game.
A fourth-down sneak attempt by Brissett was ruled short after a measurement, giving the ball back to the Raiders at their 43 with 4:28 remaining. But the Dolphins defense forced another three-and-out to give the offense the ball at their 18 with 3:22 left.
After a 15-yard, fourth-down completion to wide receiver DeVante Parker continued the Dolphins’ final drive of regulation, wide receiver Mack Hollins, who provided the game-saving catch in last year’s matchup between the teams, drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone, placing the ball at the goal line with 69 seconds remaining.
Four plays later, Brissett scrambled for a 2-yard touchdown and then connected with wide receiver Will Fuller, making his team debut, on the two-point conversion to tie the score at 25.
Brissett found tight end Mike Gesicki for a 27-yard gain on fourth-and-20 to keep the team’s hopes alive on their first possession of overtime after the Raiders made a 38-yard field goal. The drive also included a controversial incomplete pass to Fuller in the end zone. Raiders cornerback Trayvon Mullen appeared to make contact with Fuller before the ball arrived but no flag was thrown. Sanders made a 50-yard field goal to tie the game with 2:49 left in overtime before Carr’s game-winning drive.
In the leadup to another down-to-the-wire finish, Dolphins players recalled the joyous emotions of last year’s victory at an empty Allegiant Stadium. However, this time it ended with a raucous crowd celebrating the home team’s win.
“Really no moral victories,” said Wilkins, “but like I said, we got a lot of guys on this team who are willing to fight. When we’re down late in the third and fourth quarter, we’re just trying to get things going, make stops. Guys didn’t give up. Guys didn’t hang their heads. Guys didn’t point fingers. We stuck together and fought to at least get it in overtime. But again, it just wasn’t enough. Every experience is big. Every battle-tested experience is big for us.”
This story was originally published September 26, 2021 at 7:55 PM.
