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Titans-Dolphins Live Updates, Analysis

One of the hottest teams in the NFL and some cold weather are among the storylines for the Week 17 matchup at Nissan Stadium.
David Boclair|
George Walker IV / Tennessean.com / USA Today Network

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Miami DolphinsTennessee Titans

NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans welcome one of the NFL’s hottest teams to Nashville on a cold day.

The Miami Dolphins (8-7) have won seven in a row (Kansas City has won eight straight) and put themselves in position to secure a spot in the postseason by virtue of a tiebreaker over three other teams with the same record.

The Titans (10-5) will clinch a second straight AFC South title – and ensure themselves of a home playoff game – with a victory. Depending on what happens elsewhere in the NFL, they also could be No. 1 in the conference at the end of the day.

“We are all here to win,” Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel said Friday. “That is what the bottom line is. We all understand that we have to continue to make that our mindset, our culture. Knowing that you probably are not going to win every game, that is not what happens in this league. We are focused on trying to get our 11th win, our 11th win of the season.”

The weather will be part of the story as well. Temperature at kickoff is 36 degrees and there is a chance for light snow to start before the end of the contest.

On to the game.

FIRST QUARTER

The Titans won the coin toss and deferred their option until the second half. Miami will get the ball first.

(11:06) Miami’s first two official plays were a 20-yard reception by DeVante Parker and a 16-yard run by Duke Johnson – with a penalty for an ineligible man downfield in between – but the defense quickly settled down and forced a punt after Denico Autry sacked Tua Tagovailoa on third-and-10 from the Miami 48.

That is Autry’s ninth sack of the season, which ties his career-high set in 2018 with Indianapolis.

(10:55) Tennessee’s first possession will start at its own 30 after a 9-yard return by Chester Rogers.

(10:07) The Titans go three-and-out to start and have to punt. Dontrell Hilliard was stopped for no gain on first down, and Ryan Tannehill threw incomplete on second down (A.J. Brown) and third down (Nick Westbrook-Ikhine). 

(9:01) Two incompletions on either side of a 1-yard run mean a three-and-out for the Dolphins, who punt for the second time.

The Titans are winning field position early. They start this drive at their own 38.

(7:29) D’Onta Foreman is stopped for a 3-yard loss on third-and-1 from the 47. It’s another three-and-out followed by a punt. 

(6:12) On third-and-10, Bud Dupree narrowly misses a sack but forces Tagovailoa to scramble out of bounds for a 1-yard gain. Miami punts again.

(5:35) Chester Rogers’ 11-yard punt return sets up the offense at the Miami 46. Field position continues to move in Tennessee’s direction.

(5:30) Tannehill’s first completion comes on his fourth attempt. It is to A.J. Brown on a crossing route and it is a 25-yard gain for Tennesse’s first first down of the contest.

(2:52) The Titans go for it on fourth-and-1 from the Miami 17, and Tannehill sneaks for the first down. Anthony Firkser was stopped just short of a first down with a 4-yard reception on the previous play.

(1:27) Tennessee scores first with a 1-yard reception by tight end Geoff Swaim. A 14-yard run by D’Onta Foreman on the previous play set up the score. Scoring drive: 8 plays, 46 yards, 4:11. TENNESSEE 7, MIAMI 0

That’s Swaim’s third touchdown catch of the season. He had two in 53 NFL games prior to this season. 

(1:13) Tagovailoa loses his grip as he tries to throw and Elijah Molden recovers the fumble at the Miami 14. Officially credited as a team sack for a 5-yard loss.

Molden joins safeties Kevin Byard and Matthias Farley as the only Titans with at least one forced fumble and one fumble recovery this season.

(0:00) End of the quarter. The Titans will have it third-and-6 to start the second.

Tennessee outgained Miami 61-20 in the first quarter. Foreman has 22 yards on six rushes, and Brown has a team-high 25 receiving yards on one catch. Tannehill is 4-7 for 32 yards and a touchdown.

SECOND QUARTER

(14:18) The Titans elect to kick a field goal after Firkser once again is stopped just short of moving the chains on third down. Randy Bullock’s 23-yard field goal is good. Scoring drive: 4 plays, 9 yards, 1:50. TENNESSEE 10, MIAMI 0

The rain has started at Nissan Stadium. Expect conditions to deteriorate as the game continues.

(12:00) On third-and-1 from the Tennessee 41, Tagovailoa and Johnson botch the handoff. Johnson recovers.

(11:11) Miami goes for it on fourth down and converts with a 15-yard catch-and-run by tight end Durham Smythe. 

(9:47) The drive stalls and Miami has to settle for a 39-yard field goal. Jason Sanders’ kick is good. Scoring drive: 10 plays, 54 yards, 4:32. TENNESSEE 10, MIAMI 3

(6:13) Tight end MyCole Pruitt sustains a gruesome right leg injury on D’Onta Foreman’s second-down carry from the Miami 41 (the play lost a yard). Pruitt is put on the cart to be taken from the field, and players from both teams offer him well wishes. His leg is wrapped in an air cast.

(5:49) The drive continues when Miami cornerback Nik Needham is called for pass interference against Chester Rogers. That’s eight yards for the Titans and a first down at the Miami 34. 

(3:24) D’Onta Foreman runs over the right side and goes 21 yards for a touchdown. He now has 61 yards on 12 carries. Scoring drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 6:25. TENNESSEE 17, MIAMI 3

For the first time in his NFL career, Foreman has scored a rushing touchdown in consecutive games (he has three in the last four). 

Pruitt has been ruled out for the remainder of the game with an ankle injury.

(1:04) The Titans force a punt and get the ball back with two timeouts remaining. They get the ball to start the second half, and points here would be huge. After a fair catch, they will start at their own 14.

(0:00) Tennessee played it conservatively and ran the ball twice for nine yards. End of quarter.

The Titans have outgained the Dolphins 142-109 and have a 9-7 edge in first downs. Tannehill is 7-11 for just 58 yards and one touchdown. Foreman has 70 yards on 14 carries. Brown has two receptions for 41 yards. Amani Hooker and Zach Cunningham lead the defense with four tackles apiece.

Tagovailoa is just 6-16 passing for 71 yards. Duke Johnson has 49 rushing yards on seven carries.

THIRD QUARTER

(11:39) A throwback screen to Dontrell Hilliard on third-and-5 from the 45 goes for 54 yards, but Chester Rogers is called for an illegal blindside block well down the field. Instead of first-and-goal at the 1, it is first-and-10 at the Miami 42. Hilliard is credited with 28 yards on the reception, which is still Tennessee’s longest play of the day thus far. 

(10:16) Three plays after the penalty, Tannehill is sacked for the first time today. It’s a 10-yard loss and the Titans have to punt from the Miami 48.

(9:31) Tennessee downs the punt at the 2. The Dolphins have a long way to go on their first possession of the half. 

(7:35) On third-and-1 from the 22, Jacoby Brissett comes in at quarterback for Miami. His deep throw to Jaylen Waddle is incomplete, but Bud Dupree is called for roughing the passer. That’s 15 yards, and the drive continues.

(5:21) Harold Landry notches his 12th sack of the season. It was third-and-10 from the Tennessee 27, and the eight-yard loss means Miami has to attempt a 52-yard field goal.

(4:37) Sanders’ attempt – with the wind – hits the cross bar, bounces up and falls short. Every yard of that sack was meaningful.

(0:00) An ugly possession, which included a couple penalties (one negated a 20-yard Foreman run) and a fumbled exchange between Tannehill and Hilliard ends when Jeremy McNichols takes a screen 12 yards on third-and-21. Tennessee will punt to start the fourth quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

(14:51) Another Brett Kern punt downed inside the 10. This one at the Miami 7. 

(10:02) Miami threatens but fails to add any points when Tagovailoa throws incomplete to DeVante Parker on fourth-and-11 from the Tennessee 27. Parker wants a pass interference call and gets flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for his protest. The Titans get the ball at their own 42.

(9:16) Foreman tops 100 yards rushing with a 35-yard run to the Miami 14 off a direct snap (it was third-and-1). He has 129 yards on 21 carries, his third 100-yard game in the last four.

(7:46) Tannehill connects with Firsker for 15-yard touchdown pass. That’s two touchdown passes on the day, both to tight ends. Scoring drive: 5 plays, 58 yards, 2:38. TENNESSEE 24, MIAMI 3

(5:47) Tagovailoa and Parker fail connect on fourth down again. This time it was fourth-and-2 from their own 44.

All that stands between the Titans and a second straight AFC South title now is the time on the clock.

(2:58) The Titans add to their lead with Randy Bullock’s 44-yard field goal. They kept the ball and ran more time off the clock courtesy of a roughing-the-kicker call (Brett Kern got hit) on fourth-and-4. Scoring drive: 7 plays, 18 yards, 2:46. TENNESSEE 27, MIAMI 3

(2:49) On the first play after the kickoff, linebacker David Long comes up with an interception off a tipped pass.

Logan Woodside replaces Tannehill at quarterback to get offense to the end of the contest.

(2:00) On the first play after the two-minute warning, Hilliard gets loose for a 39-yard touchdown run. Scoring drive: 3 plays, 38 yards, 0:56. TENNESSEE 34, MIAMI 3

(0:00) End of game.

D’Onta Foreman finished with 132 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. A.J. Brown had a team-high 41 receiving yards on just two catches. Dalton Hilliard and Anthony Firkser had three receptions each. Zach Cunningham and Amani Hooker led the defense with six tackles apiece. Harold Landry and Denico Autry had sacks.

The Titans improve to 11-5 and clinch the AFC South for the second straight year. It is the first time since 1960-62 when they were in the AFL (and were known as the Houston Oilers) that they finished first in consecutive years.

Published
David Boclair
DAVID BOCLAIR

David Boclair has covered the Tennessee Titans for multiple news outlets since 1998. He is award-winning journalist who has covered a wide range of topics in Middle Tennessee as well as Dallas-Fort Worth, where he worked for three different newspapers from 1987-96. As a student journalist at Southern Methodist University he covered the NCAA's decision to impose the so-called death penalty on the school's football program.

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