Tagovailoa sits with finger injury, but Dolphins beat Texans to end 7-game losing streak

The only matchup on the Week 9 NFL weekend slate featuring two teams with losing records provided a game fitting of its billing.

Twenty-six points between both teams, nine sacks, 10 penalties and nine turnovers — each more unfathomable than the next — but the Dolphins found a way to win — or maybe not lose — defeating the Texans, 17-9, at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

With the Dolphins leading 17-9 with 2:33 left, Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s pass to tight end Jordan Akins, originally ruled incomplete, was overturned after a challenge by coach Brian Flores to a forced fumble by safety Eric Rowe that was recovered by rookie safety Brandon Jones. It effectively ended Miami’s seven-game losing streak and gave the team its first win since Week 1.

“We’re really feeling good. I’m going to enjoy this,” said rookie safety Jevon Holland, whose first career interception led to running back Myles Gaskin’s 6-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. “I know we have a short week, but I’m going to enjoy this tonight for real. We needed that.”

The day began with the latest injury setback for second-year quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a left finger injury that sidelined him for the fourth time this season. Tagovailoa was active but served as the backup for Jacoby Brissett. After the game, Flores said Tagovailoa couldn’t make the requisite throws to run the offense and is day to day ahead of the team’s Thursday night home game against the Baltimore Ravens (6-2).

However, even Tagovailoa’s absence — and five giveaways — wasn’t enough to derail the Dolphins (2-7) against Houston (1-8), a franchise currently in the midst of a rebuild that mirrors Miami’s 2019 season.

Brissett’s 5-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mack Hollins right before halftime was the team’s first second-quarter touchdown of the season and its last score of the afternoon — assisted, of course, by a Texans turnover, with linebacker Jerome Baker pulling off a toe-tapping interception of Taylor, who appeared to be trying to throw the ball away. But it gave the Dolphins all the breathing room they needed against a Texans offense that was for 0-for-4 in the red zone. Houston came as close as the Dolphins’ 1-yard line down 17-6 but opted for a field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Maybe the most encouraging development of the Dolphins win was the continuing return of a defense beginning to resemble the unit the led the league in takeaways last season. The defense pressured and hurried Taylor, making his first start since a Week 2 hamstring injury, into several rushed throws and sacked him five times. Two of his three interceptions resulted in touchdown drives.

“It’s always communication, tackling, limiting big plays,” Flores said. “We work on getting the ball off really every day and we were able to do that. Got some decent pressure on the quarterback. Then when you get in the red zone, those plays are — they’re so critical. Especially at the end of the game. One of those is a touchdown instead of a field goal, and it’s a whole different game. We work on it a lot, and they executed today, so it helped us.”

And in a season that’s been marked by a lack of development from top picks in recent drafts, some of Miami’s young players played a key role in the victory. On Holland’s interception, Jones’ free rush forced the errant pass from Taylor. Rookie outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips’ tireless pursuit led to the wacky pick from Baker before halftime. And wide receiver Jaylen Waddle’s high-volume rookie season continued, catching eight passes — five of which went for first downs — for 83 yards.

Sunday was just the first time since 1990 the Dolphins had won a game with five turnovers, a sloppy performance Flores and players acknowledged couldn’t be repeated if the team wants to have a chance against the Ravens, who sit atop the AFC North.

Brissett, who completed 26-of-43 passes for 244 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, responded with an emphatic “Hell no” when asked if he thought the Dolphins could replicate another win with such a sloppy performance.

But tight end Mike Gesicki (four receptions, 54 yards) said “a win is a win,” a message that resonates even more for a team that has seen its season turn the wrong way at so many points.

“It gives a lot of confidence that the work we’re putting in is not going to waste,” Rowe said. “That’s the biggest thing, because once you start believing that all the hard work you are putting in is not going anywhere, then ultimately you stop working hard, and then you lose even worse. The fact that we came away with this win, the fact that we came away with the win and the hard work that we put in showed on the field, and it just gives a lot of boost and confidence.”

This story was originally published November 7, 2021 at 4:22 PM.