Dolphins Week 3 Loss: The Five Biggest Plays

The Miami Dolphins' Week 3 game at Las Vegas featured a lot of wild momentum swings, but ended with the Raiders winning 31-28 in overtime on a last-season field goal by Daniel Carlson.
We rank the five biggest, most important, plays of the game:
1. Derek Carr's 34-yard pass to Bryan Edwards in overtime
The Raiders drive after the Dolphins tied the game in overtime began with a false start penalty, which caused an early first-and-15. But then Carr dropped a gorgeous pass to Edwards, who got past Brandon Jones and Sam Eguavoen deep down the middle. The gain immediately put the Raiders in Dolphins territory.
2. Jason Sanders' field goal in overtime
Sure, this might sound strange, but the Dolphins took the safe approach when they had Sanders kick a 50-yard field goal with 2:49 left because at that point the best they could hope for realistically was to leave Las Vegas with a tie. The Dolphins already were 3-for-4 on fourth down in this game, and the argument absolutely can be made they should have been more daring in this spot and gone for the first down in the hopes of eventually driving for a game-winning touchdown.
3. Jacoby Brissett's end-zone incompletion to Will Fuller V
This actually maybe belongs higher on the list because instant replay on that Brissett pass in overtime certainly seemed to show that pass interference should have been called on defensive back Johnathan Abram, who clearly appeared to make early contact with Fuller in the end zone. That would have (should have) given the Dolphins the ball at the 1-yard line with a chance to win with a touchdown.
4. Peyton Barber's 27-yard run in overtime
After Edwards put the Raiders in Dolphins territory, Barber got Las Vegas easy into field goal range on the very next play. In two plays, Las Vegas had moved from its 20 to the Miami 19.
5. The Raiders safety in the first quarter
The Dolphins had all the momentum early in the game and led 14-0 when they made the regrettable decision to throw wide to Jaylen Waddle on first down from their 1-yard line. Even stranger, there was nowhere close enough to block for Waddle, who quickly was tackled for a safety that gave the Raiders some life. Who knows, maybe the game plays out differently without that highly dubious play call.

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.
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