SPEEDY TURNAROUND
Miami’s lackluster start shifts into thrilling victory to go 3-0
MIAMI GARDENS — Miami Dolphins fans were not shy to share their displeasure with the offense by booing early in the first half in Sunday’s game against the Oakland Raiders.
Those feelings surely did not last for long.
Dolphins speedster Jakeem Grant scored two touchdowns, newcomer Albert Wilson highfived Grant before he put the finishing touches on the game with a touchdown of his own, and Xavien Howard had two interceptions for the Dolphins in a 28-20 win over the Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium.
Dolphins fans left elated with joy after their team improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2013 and for the fourth time in the last 20 years.
The AFC East-leading Dolphins will head to New England to face the Patriots on Sunday, but first they plan on enjoying this victory.
And just like Miami won its first two games of the season, this contest took some grit to grind out as well.
“Sometimes it’s not going to be pretty, but you have to have the grit and togetherness to be able to stick it through and find a way to win,” quarterback Ryan Tannehill said.
“Our guys hung together and found a way to get it done.”
The Dolphins, who started the game with safety Reshad Jones (shoulder) inactive, became riddled with injuries during the course of the contest, saw defensive tackle Akeem Spence ejected at a pivotal point in the first half, and were unable to find a rhythm offensively despite sev-
eral big plays that led Miami to victory.
The Raiders held the Dolphins to just 41 yards rushing for the game, with Tannehill’s ability to escape the pocket netting a teamhigh 26 yards, with just 12 from Frank Gore and 3 from Kenyan Drake.
A Tannehill handoff to Gore was flipped to Wilson, who tossed to a wide-open Grant for a 52-yard touchdown that helped the Dolphins take their first lead of the game, 21-17, early in the fourth quarter.
Safety T.J. McDonald dropped an interception, and backup cornerback Torry McTyer was hit with a pass-interference call on the ensuing possession that nearly spoiled the game for the Dolphins.
But Howard was able to pick off Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who took a wicked hit from defensive end Cameron Wake, with less than three minutes left for his second interception of the game.
And the Dolphins put the icing on the contest with Tannehill connecting with Wilson for a 74-yard touchdown one minute later to help Miami begin a season 3-0 against AFC opponents for the first time since 2001 — one of the previous three times it made the playoffs.
“Albert had probably two of the biggest ones we needed, and it took four quarters for us to really get in any kind of rhythm,” Dolphins coach Adam Gase said after the game.
“[The Raiders] did a great job versus the run game, and we knew we were going to have to throw it to win it, and had a couple plays we really liked that have been working well all week in practice and really we have been working on them for a couple weeks.
“For those guys to go out there and execute it perfect, it was good to see.”
Oakland used a methodical 15-play drive that ate up 9:44 of the clock and ended with Marshawn Lynch leaping at the goal line for a 1-yard touchdown to take a 17-7 lead earlier.
The Dolphins answered quickly with Grant’s first touchdown, an 18-yard score that saw Tannehill shovel a short pass to Grant, who sped into the end zone, in the final minute of the third quarter.
The Raiders entered the game 0-2 with only three touchdowns scored in the first two weeks but needed less than two minutes to get on the scoreboard first against the Dolphins.
Raiders receiver Jordy Nelson took early advantage of Jones being inactive to catch a 67-yard pass from Carr on the second play from scrimmage.
Nelson later scored on a 12-yard touchdown in the first 1:26 minutes of the game. Nelson led all players with six catches for 173 yards.
The Dolphins defense got some early stops on the Raiders, halting a fullback dive on fourth down at the goal line, and with Howard intercepting a deep Carr pass earlier in the first half.
But after Wake’s first sack of the season, Spence was ejected after incurring an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for ripping the helmet off of Raiders offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele and swinging it while falling to the field.
The penalty and Spence’s ejection was especially unfavorable for the Dolphins, who stayed on the field and were unable to capitalize on momentum after Tannehill’s 34-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kenny Stills tied the game at 7 on the previous drive.
The Raiders’ Mike Nugent kicked a 25-yard field goal, resulting in a 10-7 lead with 3:34 left before halftime.
Nugent added a 52-yard field goal with 20 seconds left to cap the scoring.
Tannehill completed 17-of-23 passes for 289 yards, three touchdowns and a 155.3 quarterback rating.
Wilson finished with two completions for 74 yards, a receiving touchdown and a passing touchdown. Grant finished with his two touchdowns going for 70 yards.
Up next: New England. But first, some reflection. “We’ll enjoy this one for the next 24 hours and then after that, we’ll worry about moving on to the next one,” Gase said.