Tua Tagovailoa delivered a four-touchdown performance as the Miami Dolphins picked up their third consecutive win with a 34-15 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Miami (5-6) never trailed in the AFC East matchup, and led by as many as 31 in the second half.
Three touchdown passes from Tagovailoa in the second quarter — the first to tight end Jonnu Smith, and two more to running back De’Von Achane — contributed to Miami’s 24-0 lead at the break. Tagovailoa added another touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle — who had a season-high 144 receiving yards — late in the third to extend the lead to 31-0.
Tagovailoa’s 317 passing yards and four touchdowns were both season-bests.
Miami’s defense — which collected four sacks and a pair of turnovers — held New England (3-9) scoreless until early in the fourth, when Drake Maye’s 38-yard touchdown pass to Austin Hooper on fourth-and-15 ended the shutout.
The Patriots added another score on a 63-yard fumble recovery from Christian Gonzalez.
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— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) November 24, 2024
Tagovailoa helps Miami’s playoff hopes
The Dolphins head into a big Thanksgiving game in Green Bay on a roll and with the playoffs suddenly in sights again after Tagovailoa’s return has helped them win three straight games.
Their 1-3 stretch without their starting quarterback set back their postseason aspirations, but suddenly the Dolphins are surging at the right time. A win Thursday night would level them at .500 and keep their wild card hopes in tact.
This run has come on the heels of a great return for Tagovailoa. After missing four games due to his latest concussion, Tagovailoa has been on a tear with none better than Sunday’s outing against the Patriots. He completed 29 of 40 passes for 317 yards, four touchdowns, and didn’t turn the ball over. (And that was all produced even while being pulled early in the fourth quarter of a blowout.)
In his five games since returning, Tagovailoa has thrown 11 touchdown passes and completed more than 70 percent of his passes in each of those five contests.
He’s now a dominating 7-0 in his career against the Patriots. — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer
Achane has another TD!
📺: #NEvsMIA on CBS/Paramount+
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/H6ASnKUABz— NFL (@NFL) November 24, 2024
Patriots defense struggles in loss
Where to start with the Patriots? How about the defense, which had no answer for an explosive Dolphins offense. The Patriots were totally overwhelmed and another dud from them highlighted just how big of an issue that side of the ball is as the rebuild nears offseason No. 2.
Everyone knows the Patriots need offensive reinforcements this offseason, but the scary part in their outlook is that reinforcements are badly needed on defense, too.
The secondary struggled all afternoon with cornerback Marcus Jones and safety Kyle Dugger being especially bad. The defensive line wasn’t any better and never flustered Tagovailoa.
A performance like this is going to raise questions about defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington. So far, Jerod Mayo has been pretty hands off as a head coach, preferring a CEO-type role. But if the defense keeps playing like this, Mayo is going to have to intervene. — Graff
New England offense can’t find rhythm
Not that the Patriots needed yet another reminder, but Sunday’s game was such a glaring example of the holes on this offense.
Their offensive line was totally overwhelmed with none worse than left tackle Vederian Lowe, who committed four penalties in the first half alone. Maye was under constant pressure.
Meanwhile, the receivers struggled to get open and Maye was never in a rhythm leading to his worst game in the NFL. There wasn’t just one culprit for this disaster, though. Everyone and every unit had something to do with just how bad that performance was from Mayo on down.
The Patriots thought they were building toward something and improving as the season continued. Now there are all sorts of questions for Mayo and his team after such a terrible game. — Graff
Required reading
- NFL Week 12 live updates and scores: Playoff projections, schedule, predictions, news, inactives, odds
- What Drake Maye is doing to elevate the Patriots offense, exceed expectations
- Drake Maye behind the numbers: 11 stats that tell the story of the Patriots QB’s hot start
- Jayden Daniels rises in the NFL trading card world, but who else can climb?
(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)
