Dolphins-Patriots Week 15 Highlights and Lowlights

Breaking down the big plays and big moments in the Dolphins' Week 15 22-12 victory against the New England Patriots

A look at the highlights and lowlights for the Miami Dolphins in their 22-12 victory against the New England Patriots at Hard Rock Stadium.

HIGHLIGHTS

FIRST HALF

-- The Dolphins defense produced a three-and-out on the first series of the game, forcing two negative plays after an incompletion.

-- The Dolphins perfectly played the first option run by the Patriots, forcing Cam Newton to pitch it before dropping Sony Michel for a 1-yard loss.

-- Emmanuel Ogbah sniffed out a wide receiver screen and forced it inside before Kyle Van Noy completed the third-down tackle for a 1-yard loss.

-- The Dolphins played another screen to perfection on third down on the Patriots' second possession and that forced Newton to throw the ball into the ground.

-- Salvon Ahmed had a strong run up the middle, helped by linemen pushing the pile, for a big 6-yard run on a drive that started at the Miami 2-yard line.

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-- Tight end Adam Shaheen showed some great open-field moves when he turned a short pass into a 15-yard gain.

-- Matt Breida showed a great burst to the outside on a 7-yard run.

-- Eric Rowe and Emmanuel Ogbah teamed to drop James White for a 1-yard loss on a 2-and-2 from the Dolphins 26 and that ultimately forced New England to settle for a field goal.

-- The Dolphins did a good job of maintaining discipline and not jumping offside when the Patriots pretended to go for the first down on fourth-and-3 from the Miami 27.

-- Tagovailoa had a nice 14-yard completion up the middle to Lynn Bowden Jr. to convert a third down on the drive after New England went up 6-0.

-- Rookie Malcolm Perry converted a third-and-1 when he went in motion, then abruptly lined up behind center, took a direct snap and pushed forward for 4 yards.

-- Tagovailoa did a nice job of evading pressure and completed a 9-yard pass to Patrick Laird to give Jason Sanders the chance to try a 52-yard field goal attempt on the last play of the half.

SECOND HALF

-- The Dolphins got an early bonus with a 15-yard facemask penalty that moved them into New England territory on their first drive of the second half.

-- Lynn Bowden Jr. gained 9 yards while zigzagging across the field after taking the ball on a double reverse, again showing off his open-field ability.

-- Breida again showed his burst to the outside on a 14-yard run.

-- Tagovailoa converted a third-and-1 from the Patriots 6-yard line with a QB keeper to the 1, which set up Salvon Ahmed's touchdown run.

-- Xavien Howard punched the ball away from wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and Elandon Roberts recovered the fumble at the Patriots 48-yard line.

-- Ahmed bounced a run outside and sprinted downfield for a 31-yard gain, the longest running play of the season for the Dolphins.

-- Patrick Laird gained 12 yards through a big hole up the middle on a draw play on third-and-9 late in the third quarter.

-- Tagovailoa did on a third-and-goal from the 3 in the fourth quarter what he should have done in the first quarter, which was take off from the pocket when he couldn't find an open receiver. He took off and dove into the end zone for a touchdown.

-- The Dolphins came up with a really creative play on their two-point conversion with Tagovailoa throwing a short pass in the left flat to Isaiah Ford, who then lateralled to Ahmed.

-- The Dolphins got three sacks in the fourth quarter, one by Zach Sieler, another by Jerome Baker and the game-ender by Emmanuel Ogbah.

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-- After New England got a field goal to make it 15-12, the Dolphins responded with a great drive that began with a 13-yard burst by Ahmed.

-- Breida then showed off his speed again with a 24-yard run up the middle.

LOWLIGHTS

FIRST HALF

-- The Dolphins also went three-and-out on their first series when Patrick Laird was tackled short after catching a swing pass.

-- The Dolphins lost a first-half timeout when they challenged the spot, even though replay showed the ball was short of the marker when Laird's knee hit the ground.

-- New England created a big hole on the left side of the line and Sony Michel sprinted through for a 16-yard gain.

-- The Dolphins' brilliant drive starting from their 2 ended in disaster when Tua Tagovailoa was picked off near the goal line by J.C. Jackson. Tagovailoa made the mistake of moving up in the pocket and trying to throw while surrounded by players and he was hit as he was releasing the ball.

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-- The Dolphins let Sony Michel get outside after he took a pitch and he sprinted for a 17-yard gain from the 8 to the 25.

-- Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel gave the Patriots a free 5 yards when he went into the neutral zone.

-- Emmanuel Ogbah missed a chance to tackle Newton in the backfield, and the quarterback was able to scramble for 3 yards and a first down.

-- Cornerback Xavien Howard was flagged for a defensive holding on a second-and-10.

-- Ahmed failed to slow down blitzing safety Adrian Phillips, leading to a sack of Tagovailoa on first down.

-- After the sack, Robert Hunt was flagged for a false start to make it second-and-24.

-- The Dolphins' failure to get pressure on Newton allowed him to time for running back James White to work himself open for a 21-yard gain on a pass over the middle.

-- Xavien Howard looked like he had himself a long fumble return for a touchdown until it was overturned with a ruling that the ball that Brandon Jones knocked away from Newton hit Christian Wilkins while he was out of bounds. It certainly was disappointing, though it was the correct ruling.

-- Tagovailoa appeared to roll his left ankle while trying to avoid a sack and that caused him to fall shortly after dodging the hit.

-- Sanders pushed his 52-yard attempt wide left, his second miss in the past two weeks.

SECOND HALF

-- Wide receiver Isaiah Ford helped derail a second-half drive when he was called for holding on a running play.

-- The Dolphins appear to pull off a fake punt when Matt Haack threw a 14-yard pass to linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill, but the play instead turned into a penalty because Grugier-Hill failed to report as an eligible receiver. It was the second time in three weeks when the Dolphins had a trick play on special teams nullified for that same penalty.

-- Nik Needham was beaten cleanly at the line of scrimmage in man coverage against Meyers and the result was a 35-yard completion.

-- Ogbah was face to face with Newton in the backfield, but Newton juked him with an inside fake and went on to gain 11 yards.

-- Rookie Noah Igbinoghene made the dubious decision of returning a kickoff from just inside the goal line and his 11-yard return made the Dolphins start a drive at their 10-yard line.

-- Rookie guard Solomon Kindley left the game late in the third quarter with an apparent leg injury and needed help to walk to the sideline.

-- The Dolphins had New England in a third-and-15 hole when they gave up a 23-yard completion from Newton to Damiere Byrd, and that was followed by Nik Needham getting called for illegal contact.