In Miami Gardens, Florida – Will Levis knew he couldn’t get too caught up in his mistake. The rookie quarterback for the Tennessee Titans made a poor pass to running back Derrick Henry in the fourth quarter against the Miami Dolphins, leading to a turnover that gave Miami a 14-point lead.
But Levis put the play behind him and led two scoring drives in the final minutes, and the Tennessee Titans tied the game with Miami at 28-27 on Monday night, sending the Dolphins out of first place in the AFC East.
Levis Handles the Mistake and Leads Tennessee to Victory
Levis said of the mistake: “It was a nightmare, no one wanted to look at me, no one wanted to talk to me. I didn’t want to talk to anyone after that. I just wanted to move on – to be ready for the next two-minute drive that I knew we could accomplish.”
The Tennessee Titans (5-8) kept Tua Tagovailoa and Miami’s explosive offense under control for most of the game but fell behind by two points in the fourth quarter due to critical mistakes that gave the Dolphins (9-4) short-field opportunities. Raheem Mostert scored touchdowns to give Miami leads of 3-0 and 5-0.
Levis Leads Tennessee to Tie and Win
Levis, the second-round draft pick playing in his sixth career game, orchestrated a nine-play, 75-yard drive that took 1:54, capped off by a three-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins and a two-point conversion pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.
The Titans got a stop and Levis hit Hopkins with a 28-yard pass and Cheyenne O’Grady with a 16-yard pass to get into scoring position. Derrick Henry scored on a three-yard run and converted the extra point to give the Titans a one-point lead.
Levis took off his helmet and shouted in joy, embracing coach Mike Vrabel on the sideline.
The Dolphins took over with no time left, reaching their own 45-yard line, but Harold Landry III sacked Tagovailoa to end the game. Miami lost at home for the first time this season, ending their three-game winning streak. Thus, Baltimore leads the conference by one game.
Miami Plays Without Star Hill
Miami played most of the game without star player Tyreek Hill, who left in the second quarter and most of the third after injuring his ankle in the first quarter. He returned and caught passes of 23 and 25 yards to set up Miami kicker Jason Sanders’ 31-yard field goal that tied the game 13-13 early in the fourth quarter. Hill, who leads the NFL in receiving yards, was in the game from then on and finished with 61 yards.
Tagovailoa went 23 of 33 for 240 yards and saw his streak of 21 consecutive games with a touchdown pass come to an end.
Levis completed 23 of 38 passes with a touchdown pass and an interception. Hopkins caught seven passes for 124 yards, and Henry scored twice.
The game saw a surprising turn in the fourth quarter when Tennessee’s Eric Gray attempted to recover a fumble while the game was tied 13-13 with 6:16 remaining. The ball bounced off his hands and was recovered by Elijah Campbell of the Dolphins at the 7-yard line.
Mostert scored a touchdown, then scored again after the Titans turned the ball over on the next drive due to a poor pass from Levis to Henry. Mostert leads the NFL with 16 rushing touchdowns.
Henry, who finished with 34 yards, moved into 15th place in NFL history for career rushing yards when he scored his 87th touchdown in the first quarter, ending it tied 7-7.
It was
The first attack in Miami, which ranks first in the league, was held scoreless in the first half against the Tennessee Titans defense, which allowed the fewest red zone attempts in the National Football League. The Dolphins’ red zone success rate was 2 out of 5, and they lost the ball at the 2-yard line to the Tennessee Titans due to a bad exchange between the quarterback and center on the first drive.
Miami head coach Mike McDaniel said, “I think there are a lot of people who are going to have trouble sleeping tonight, myself included. This is not something you can do and expect to win football games. It’s a very hard lesson, but there is no safe progress. I think that’s one of the hardest things about it.”
Miami led 7-0 when defensive player Zach Sieler intercepted Levis at the 5-yard line and took it to the end zone. For the first time in the team’s history, the Dolphins scored a touchdown after an interception in three consecutive games.
Tua Tagovailoa faced more pressure than usual with three key players missing from Miami’s offensive line. Left tackle Terron Armstead (knee/ankle) and right guard Rob Hunt (thigh) did not play, and center Connor Williams injured his knee in the first quarter.
Sanders converted a 20-yard field goal to tie the score 10-10 in the third quarter. He also had a 44-yard field goal attempt blocked by Denico Autry.
Injuries
Tennessee Titans: DE Kyle Pecco injured his calf in the third quarter and did not return. … Sean Murphy-Bunting temporarily left due to a knee injury at the start of the fourth quarter.
Dolphins: Williams did not return after his knee injury. … Xavien Howard left the game temporarily after colliding with teammate Brandon Jones. … Jaylen Waddle temporarily left after taking a hard hit on Miami’s first drive. … DeShon Elliott left due to a rib injury and will be evaluated for a suspected concussion. He did not return afterward.
Next Games
Tennessee Titans: Host Houston on December 17.
Dolphins: Host New York Jets on December 17.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
About the Writer
Alanis Times is a sports writer for the Associated Press in Miami. She has previously covered sports for The New York Times.
Source: https://apnews.com/article/dolphins-titans-score-levis-70c5acfe6003bd7435fbf73cda6e4cc0
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