MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — For the Miami Dolphins, the day started with chaos and ended with celebration.
Jason Sanders nailed a 52-yard field goal as time expired, and the Dolphins — on probably one of the more bizarre days in their history, one where two players were placed in handcuffs outside the stadium a few hours before kickoff — rallied past the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-17 on Sunday to win their fourth straight season opener.
Fresh off a big offseason payday, Tua Tagovailoa threw for 336 yards and a touchdown and led Miami on an eight-play, 31-yard drive over the final 2:09.
“We just needed to get our head out of our (butt),” said Tagovailoa, who gave an impassioned halftime address, calling out both teammates and coaches with Miami down 17-7. “That was it. That was it.”
Tyreek Hill started the comeback with 80-yard touchdown catch that sparked Miami’s sluggish offense in the third quarter and got the Dolphins within 17-14. After the score, Hill placed his hands behind his back as if to simulate being handcuffed, hours after he was placed facedown and handcuffed on a street by Miami-Dade Police officers after being stopped for a traffic violation near Hard Rock Stadium.
“I have no idea, for real. No idea. No idea, man. It was crazy. No idea,” Hill said when asked why he was handcuffed after being stopped, he said, for speeding and reckless driving. “I wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way. Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that. Like I said, I’m still trying to figure it out, man.”
So, too, were the police. Miami-Dade officials reacted quickly, saying an investigation was already opened into the officers’ conduct and that one of the officers was placed on administrative leave.
Seeing that Hill was handcuffed, defensive tackle Calais Campbell stopped to assist as he drove past the scene. He, too, was handcuffed, saying officers told him the reason why was that he disobeyed their direct orders.
“That’s definitely a first,” Campbell said. “It is definitely startling, especially with probably our best player. That’s not what you want to see.”
Hill finished with seven catches for 130 yards. Devon Achane seven catches for 75 yards and ran for 25 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Sanders tied the game with a 36-yard field goal with 4:22 left, and the Dolphins’ defense stepped up from there, sacking Trevor Lawrence on consecutive plays to set up Tagovailoa for the winning drive.
Lawrence, who also signed a big contract extension in the offseason, completed 12 of 21 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. Tank Bigsby had 73 yards on 12 carries.
Rookie receiver Brian Thomas Jr. had a 14-yard touchdown catch and drew a pass-interference call on cornerback Jalen Ramsey — who had been listed as questionable with a hamstring injury — on Jacksonville’s first touchdown drive. The play set up Jacksonville at the 1-yard line and Travis Etienne ran it in from there.
Etienne had the ball punched from his grasp by Dolphins safety Jevon Holland just before crossing the goal line in the third. Miami scored one play later when Tagovailoa found a streaking Hill, who outran two Jaguars defenders into the end zone.
“Obviously turnovers are killers, especially down in the red zone,” Lawrence said, “but I thought Travis did a good job of bouncing back and keeping his head in the game. … We still had plenty of time in the game, and we have to be able to handle the adversity and go score in the next series.”
After the Dolphins got a fourth-down stop on Jacksonville’s next drive, Sanders missed a 42-yard field goal that would have tied it.
Achane had a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, but besides that, the opening half of the season was mostly a dud for the Dolphins, who were expected to be as good or better offensively after bringing back most of the weapons from a unit that led the NFL in total yards in 2023.
Miami turned the ball over on downs twice and punted four times before Hill’s touchdown.
“The thing that really motivated me the most was when we come in during halftime, and this is like the first time I heard Tua’s Hawaiian accent,” Hill said. “It’s crazy. He was turned up and animated in the locker room. I’m like, ’Ok, I’m liking this.’”
Jaylen Waddle had five receptions for 109 yards, including a 63-yard catch that set up Miami at the Jacksonville 26 while trailing by 10. Miami went backwards for three straight plays, though, and Tagovailoa took a third-down sack that knocked the Dolphins out of field goal range.
Injuries
Jaguars: CB Tyson Campbell left with a hamstring injury in the fourth.
Dolphins: Waddle was evaluated for a concussion after taking a hard hit in the first half but returned a couple of plays later. … LB David Long left in the third quarter with a hand injury but returned.
Up next
Jaguars: Host Cleveland next Sunday.
Dolphins: Host Buffalo on Thursday night.
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