Titans Stage Dramatic Late Comeback On the Road, Stun Dolphins 28-27
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — No one had this on their bingo card.
The Tennessee Titans hadn't won a road game in more than a year, and after two horrific turnovers in the fourth quarter, they were down two scores with less than three minutes to go.
But all they did — behind a rookie quarterback, no less — was score two touchdowns in the final two-plus minutes to stun the Miami Dolphins Monday night, winning 28-27 at Hard Rock Stadium.
It was the first time ever that an NFL team had come back from 14 points down in the final three minutes and win in regulation. The record now is 1-767 in that scenario. That's stunning enough in itself, but this was the Titans, of course. They don't win games on the road, and they definitely don't win as 13.5-point underdogs.
But they did Monday night. That's the largest upset of the entire NFL season.
"We never give up,'' said Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who had seven catches for 124 yards and a touchdown. "It was glorious (in the locker room), beating a team like this. A lot of people thought they knew what was going to happen tonight. I saw the predictions. It's all good.''
The Dolphins came into the game hoping to stay the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Instead, they lost to a team that's struggled away from home all year.
The Titans defense did a great job of keeping Miami out of the end zone, but two plays late in the fourth quarter looked like they were going to cost the Titans big-time. Eric Garror fumbled a one-hop punt return and Miami took over at the 7-yard line, scoring two players later to go up 20-13.
Then, on the very next play, Titans quarterback Will Levis botched a pitch to running back Derrick Henry for a fumble — ''that was a nightmare,'' Levis said — and Miami recovered at the 12. They scored again three plays later and had a 14-point lead at 27-13.
The fun, though, was just getting started.
"Nobody wavered. I'm sure there were some shocked faces after those turnovers, but we knew we could still get the job done,'' Levis said. "This is the biggest stage I've ever been on, so yeah, it's definitely the biggest win I've ever been a part of.''
They did it in dramatic fashion, first going 75 yards in nine plays, and scoring with 2:40 to go when Levis hit Hopkins in the middle of the end zone for a 3-yard score. They went for two, and going it on an out route from Levis to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine to make it 27-21.
The Tennessee defense forced a three-and-out and the Titans got the ball at their own 36 with 2:14 to go. They scored in just four plays, covering 64 yards in just 26 seconds. Nick Folk made the extra point and the Titans had the lead at 28-27.
Then the defense ended it with a Tua Tagovailoa sack, and they had a most unexpected win.
"You've got to give our defense a lot of credit. They won this game for us,'' Levis said. "They kept them out of the end zone, and they got us the ball back when we needed it. That was a great team win, no doubt about it. Props to them.''
Miami's high-powered offense marched up and down the field for much of the first half, but the Tennessee defense refused to yield a single point. The Dolphins gained 175 yards, but shot themselves in the foot a few times.
On their first drive, they got all the way to the Titans' 2-yard line when Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa fumbled and Titans defensive lineman TK McClendon recovered.
It was a huge break, but it was short-lived. Three plays later, Levis threw a bad pass intended for running back Tyjae Spears, and it was picked off by Dolphins defensive tackle Zach Sieler for a touchdown and the Dolphins took an early 7-0 lead.
The Titans put together an impressive 14-play, 86-yard drive early in the second quarter, and tied the game on Derrick Henry 1-yard run. Rookie quarterback Will Levis was 4-for-6 passing on the drive, and also had two big runs for 16 yards, both of which ended with big hits.
The Dolphins got into field goal range just after the two-minute warning, but Jason Sanders' kick from 44 yards out was blocked by Denico Autry. After an exchange of punts, the Titans then went 69 yards in just 28 seconds, scoring with no time on the clock with a Nick Folk 28-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead into the locker room.
Miami took the second-half kickoff and went right down the field again, going 77 yards in 11 plays, but they got stymied at 2-yard line again when Tennessee cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting broke up a pass in the end zone intended for Cedrick Wilson Jr. They had a settle for a 20-yard Sanders field goal to tie the game at 10-10 with 9:35 left in the third.
The Titans put together another nice drive to take the lead, but it could have been more. On third down from the 5-yard line, Levis found Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in the end zone. It was ruled a touchdown on the field, but after review it was overturned because of a bobble. Tennessee had to settle for a 23-yard field goal from Folk with 12 seconds left in the third quarter, giving the Titans a 13-10 lead.
Tyreek Hill, who left the game with an ankle injury in the first half, came back in and played a big role in Miami's fourth-quarter scoring drive. He had catches of 25 and 23 yards, but once again, the Dolphins had to settle for field goal despite getting to the 3-yard line. Sanders tied the game with a 23-yard field goal with 12:41 to go.
"We did a lot of things that were going to cost us, obviously, but we did more positive things late,'' Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. "The defense kept giving us a chance, and when the offense needed to come through, they came through.''
Levis has the biggest game of his career, completing 23-of-38 passes for 327 yards. He never flinched when they were behind, firing away to open receivers. He was sacked only once all night, and getting time to throw made a big difference.
"We were really efficient on those two two-minute drives, so I was pumped all around,'' Levis said. "I just trusted what I was seeing, trusting my guys to be in the right spots and throwing it to the open guy. I didn't need to be forcing anything and luckily the stuff we were dialing up was working. Sometimes it's as simple as that. Our guys held up up front and I didn't feel any pressure for the most part.
"When you have time and dudes are in the right spots, it's a beautiful thing. We're going to have a fun ride home. This is a big confidence booster for us for sure. ''
The 5-8 Titans are back at home the next two weekends. They play the Houston Texans this Sunday, and then the Seattle Seahawks come to town on Dec. 24.
