Dolphins Week 1 Victory: The Five Biggest Plays

While it wasn't necessarily pretty, the Miami Dolphins pulled off a major victory when they were able to defeat the New England Patriots, 17-16, at Gillette Stadium in Week 1.

We rank the five biggest, most important, plays of the game:

1. Xavien Howard's fumble recovery

This actually should read Howard's fumble forced AND recovered because it was a solo effort by the All-Pro cornerback that created the biggest play of the game. It was bad enough that New England had put itself in position to take the lead after their one interception of the game, but they were threatening to bleed the clock in the process. That's what made Howard's play, when he stripped the ball from running back Damien Harris and fell on it at the 9-yard line, so gigantic.

2. Tua Tagovailoa's 13-yard completion to DeVante Parker late in the fourth quarter

Let's face it, the Dolphins' work was not done after Howard's big play because there was still 3:31 left in the fourth quarter and New England had all of its timeouts. And then that final drive began with a holding penalty on Liam Eichenberg that quickly put the Dolphins in a first-and-14 hole from their 5-yard line. But the Dolphins then made use of the quick slant that was so successful in this game, and Tua connected with Parker for a relatively easy 13-yard gain that produced a very manageable second-and-1. That set the stage for the clock-killing drive.

3. Mac Jones' incompletion on third-and-4 from the Miami 15 early in the fourth quarter

By all measures, the Patriots rookie quarterback played a solid game, but he had one misfire that ended up being very costly. The Dolphins were leading 17-13 with 10:42 left in the fourth quarter when Jones took the snap and appeared to have an easy completion to Jakobi Meyers in the right flat staring at him. But the ball sailed a bit on Jones and moved away from Meyers, who couldn't come up with the errant throw. That really should have been an easy completion for a first down and the Patriots would have had the ball a first-and-goal with a chance to take the lead. Instead, they never got that second touchdown.

4. Tagovailoa's 30-yard completion to Parker early in the third quarter

The Dolphins put together touchdown drives of 80 and 75 yards in this game, and the second one produced the winning score. But that second one also came close to being a three-and-out because the Dolphins faced a third-and-8 from their 27 after the second-half touchback. But Tua let it fly down the right sideline, Parker may or may not have given cornerback J.C. Jackson a gentle push in the back but he regardless was able to make the catch for a 30-yard gain to the New England 43. Six plays later, Jaylen Waddle scored his first NFL touchdown for a 17-10 lead that ended up sticking.

5. The Mac Jones fumble in the first quarter

Yes, it's easy to forget about Byron Jones' pressure helping prevent New England from getting points on the first drive of the game, but let's not forget this game was decided by one point. The Patriots were poised to take on an early lead after moving to the Miami 30 in just four plays, but that's when Byron Jones' blitz rattled Mac Jones, who in his attempt to avoid a sack threw the ball in the direction of a teammate. The only problem was that the teammate was behind him, turning the pass into a lateral. New England did recover the loose ball, but it created a 13-yard loss to the Miami 43 and eventually led to a punt.

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