Sunday's NFL: Dolphins nip Cowboys on last-second field goal, secure playoff spot
Miami Gardens, Fla. — Jason Sanders had waited all season for this moment. On a Miami Dolphins team that scores more touchdowns than any other in the NFL, the former All-Pro kicker hadn't needed to attempt many field goals.
Sanders entered Sunday's matchup against the Dallas Cowboys with just 21 field goal attempts on the year, but Miami needed his booming right leg in its biggest game of the season, and he delivered.
Sanders kicked his fifth field goal of the day, a 29-yarder as time expired, and the Dolphins secured a playoff berth with a 22-20 victory over the Cowboys.
“Not every year can be an All-Pro year,” said Sanders, who is 22 of 26 on field goals and 5 of 7 from 50-plus yards. “I think I'm still hitting the kicks. I'm still right where I need to be.”
Tua Tagovailoa threw for 293 yards and a touchdown for the AFC East-leading Dolphins (11-4), who beat a team with a winning record for the first time this season. He connected with Tyreek Hill twice on the decisive drive, which covered 64 yards and took the final 3:27 off the clock.
Hill, who leads the NFL in receiving yards, had nine catches for 99 yards after missing last week’s victory over the New York Jets with an ankle injury.
Miami has the NFL's top passing and scoring offense, as well as a top-five rushing attack and an ascending defense. However, all the Dolphins' wins entering Week 16 came against teams that were .500 or worse.
“It’s always big when you do something that, internally, you know that you’re capable of,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “When it comes to fruition, it's pretty satisfying. … Nobody on this team thought we were going to lose that game, and that's pretty cool when everyone tells you that you can't do X, Y or Z.”
Dak Prescott went 20 of 32 for 253 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys (10-5), who have already clinched a playoff spot but fell a half-game behind Philadelphia in the NFC East.
Prescott put Dallas in front 20-19 with an 8-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Brandin Cooks in the corner of the end zone. But the Cowboys were haunted by their red-zone struggles earlier in the game, including a fumble by Prescott on first-and-goal from inside the 1 on Dallas’ first possession.
“We’re not taking any moral victories from this,” Prescott said. “We will take some confidence. We’re committed to one another and holding each other accountable in our goal.”
Sanders’ first field goal was a career-long 57-yarder in the first quarter. He added kicks of 52, 54 and 35 yards to help the Dolphins take a 19-10 lead late in the third.
Dallas got back into the red zone early in the fourth quarter, but Miami’s defense held and the Cowboys settled for a field goal to get within 19-13.
Prescott's dynamic playmaking kept Dallas in it. On the go-ahead drive, he completed a pass to Michael Gallup as Miami linebacker Duke Riley was pulling him to the ground at the 21.
After Miami safety DeShon Elliott was flagged for defensive holding in the end zone on fourth-and-goal, Prescott got the ball to Cooks, who hauled in the ball over over All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
CeeDee Lamb caught six passes for 118 yards for the Cowboys, including a 49-yard score in the first quarter.
Raheem Mostert scored his NFL-leading 21st touchdown of the season on a grab from Tagovailoa just before halftime. The 31-year-old, who was undrafted out of Purdue in 2015 and bounced around the league earlier in his career, had 46 yards rushing Sunday to put him over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. He's the Dolphins' first 1,000-yard rusher since Jay Ajayi in 2016.
Miami defensive coordinator Vic Fangio opted to not have Ramsey shadow Lamb, and it initially looked like the dynamic fourth-year receiver would make him pay for it. Lamb torched the rest of Miami’s secondary early for 93 yards on four catches in the first quarter.
Prescott hit Lamb on a crossing route that went 22 yards on the Cowboys’ second possession. A few plays later, Lamb beat second-year cornerback Kader Kohou in the slot for a catch-and-run touchdown that put Dallas ahead 7-3.
After giving up more than 150 yards on Dallas’ first two drives, Miami’s defense settled in. Fangio dialed up more pressures, and it worked. The Dolphins sacked Prescott four times, which gave them a franchise-best 50 on the season and forced four straight Cowboys punts.
“It’s just finally good to get over that hump of the narrative and changing the narrative to be what we want it to be,” linebacker Bradley Chubb said, “and it’s just been dope to see this team come together, not worry about the outsiders, the naysayers and just do what we do and prepare like we’re a championship team each and every week.”
More games
▶ New England 26, (at) Denver 23: Chad Ryland made a career-long 56-yard field goal with 2 seconds left, and New England dealt a near-fatal blow to Denver's playoff hopes.
The Patriots (4-11) scored a pair of touchdowns in a 6-second span of the third quarter, then fended off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Broncos (7-8). Denver now has just a 6% chance of ending an eight-year playoff drought, according to the NFL's calculations.
Ryland’s kick capped a seven-play, 44-yard drive that began with 58 seconds left after the Broncos went three-and-out. Denver had tied it up with a pair of long TD drives and 2-point conversions on its previous two possessions.
Ryland missed a 47-yard field goal and an extra point, but the rookie came through at the end.
The Broncos were 7 1/2-point favorites, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, making the Patriots the fourth underdog to win at Empower Field at Mile High in coach Sean Payton’s first season.
Bill Belichick improved to 11-10 against the Broncos during his 24-year tenure in New England.
▶ (At) Tampa Bay 30, Jacksonville 12: Baker Mayfield threw for 283 yards and two touchdowns, and NFC South-leading Tampa Bay won its fourth straight while extending Jacksonville's skid to four games.
Mayfield threw a pair of TD passes as the Buccaneers (8-7) built a 20-0 halftime lead. In both cases, the Bucs cashed in after intercepting Trevor Lawrence, who struggled after spending the past week in the NFL's concussion protocol.
Lawrence threw a second-half TD pass to Calvin Ridley before spending the fourth quarter on the bench with what the Jaguars announced was a shoulder injury.
The Bucs are alone atop their division, one game ahead of New Orleans and Atlanta.
The Jaguars (8-7) remained in a first-place tie atop the AFC South with Indianapolis and Houston because both rivals also lost on Sunday.
▶ Cleveland 36, (at) Houston 22: Amari Cooper set a franchise record with 265 yards receiving and scored two touchdowns and a 2-point conversion as Cleveland beat Houston to move closer to a playoff berth.
The Browns (10-5) are all but guaranteed to secure their second postseason appearance since 2002. It’s the third time since 1999 that they’ve reached double-digit wins, doing so in 2007 and 2020.
Joe Flacco threw for 368 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in his fourth start for the Browns, who built a 22-7 halftime lead and cruised to their third straight victory.
Cooper broke the Browns record previously held by Josh Gordon, who had 261 yards receiving against Jacksonville on Dec. 1, 2013. Cooper has 1,250 yards receiving, making him the first receiver in team history with consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.
The Texans (8-7) saw their playoff chances diminish. Case Keenum threw for 62 yards with two interceptions in his second start in place of star rookie C.J. Stroud, who remains out with a concussion. Keenum was replaced by Davis Mills late in the third quarter.
▶ Seattle 20, (at) Tennessee 17: Geno Smith threw his second touchdown pass of the fourth quarter, a 5-yarder to Colby Parkinson with 57 seconds left, and Seattle beat Tennessee to remain in playoff contention.
The Seahawks (8-7) have won two straight but still need to win out and get some help to clinch their second playoff berth in three seasons. The Titans (5-10) lost consecutive games for the third time this season.
Smith, who missed the past two games with an injured groin, gave the Seahawks their first lead at 13-10 when he found DK Metcalf in the left corner for an 11-yard TD with 12:10 left.
Derrick Henry put Tennessee back up 17-13 with a 2-yard TD run with 3:21 left.
Smith responded by driving the Seahawks 75 yards over 14 plays for the decisive score.
▶ (At) Atlanta 29, Indianapolis 10: Taylor Heinicke provided turnover-free leadership at quarterback, passing for 229 yards and a touchdown to lead Atlanta past Indianapolis.
The Falcons (7-8) benched Desmond Ridder this week for the second time this season following two straight losses. Heinicke delivered, completing 23 of 33 passes, including a 24-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pitts. Tyler Allgeier added a 31-yard touchdown run. The Falcons set a season high in scoring.
The Colts (8-7), who had won five of six, struggled offensively after opening the game with a long drive capped by Jonathan Taylor’s 1-yard scoring run. Gardner Minshew for 201 yards and was intercepted by Jessie Bates in the fourth quarter.
Younghoe Koo kicked five field goals for Atlanta.
▶ Green Bay 33, (at) Carolina 30: Jordan Love threw for two touchdowns, ran for one and made two big completions to set up Anders Carlson’s 32-yard field goal with 19 seconds left, and Green Bay survived a fourth-quarter rally by Carolina.
Love threw touchdown passes of 21 yards to rookie Dontayvion Wicks and 5 yards to Romeo Dobbs and scored on a quarterback sneak as the Packers snapped a two-game losing streak. Aaron Jones became the first Packers player this season to exceed 100 yards rushing or receiving in a game, rushing for 127 yards on 21 carries.
The Packers (7-8) remain one game behind the Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in the NFC wild-card race.
Bryce Young threw for a career-high 312 yards with two touchdown passes to DJ Chark for the Panthers (2-13). Carolina trailed 30-16 in the fourth quarter before rallying to tie the game, but Love came through for Green Bay in the closing minutes.
▶ (At) N.Y. Jets 33, Washington 30: Greg Zuerlein kicked a 54-yard field goal with 5 seconds left, and New York beat Washington after blowing a 20-point, third-quarter lead.
Jacoby Brissett replaced the benched Sam Howell in the third quarter and led the Commanders on three straight touchdown drives, including Antonio Gibson’s 1-yard run that put Washington ahead 28-27 with 4:52 remaining.
The Jets (6-9) got the ball back with 1:41 remaining, and Trevor Siemian marched New York into range for Zuerlein's kick. It was the second win in eight games for the Jets.
Siemian finished 27 of 49 for 217 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception in his first start in place of the injured Zach Wilson. Breece Hall ran for 95 yards and two TDs and caught 12 passes for 96 yards.
Brissett was 10 of 13 for 100 yards and a touchdown in relief of Howell, who was benched for the second straight game. Howell was 6 of 22 for 56 yards and two interceptions with a 1.7 rating for the Commanders (4-11), who have dropped six straight.
▶ (At) Chicago 27, Arizona 16: Justin Fields threw for a touchdown and ran for a score, and Chicago beat Arizona.
Tight end Cole Kmet caught four passes for a career-high 107 yards despite missing the second half because of a knee injury.
Khalil Herbert ran for a season-high 112 yards and a touchdown, and the Bears (6-9) bounced back after a late collapse at Cleveland a week earlier.
Chicago scored touchdowns on three straight possessions in the first half to take a 21-0 lead and held on from there.
Kyler Murray threw for 230 yards and two touchdowns for the Cardinals (3-12).