Despite out-gaining Las Vegas 388-156 through three quarters of Sunday's game at Hard Rock Stadium, the Dolphins only held a 20-13 lead entering the final period. In a contest where points were hard to come by for the offense, it was Miami's defense that came through in the fourth quarter with two fourth-down stops and two interceptions to seal the victory and move to 7-3 on the season.
The first interception came with just over three minutes to play on fourth-and-6 from the Miami 24-yard line as pressure from defensive tackle Christian Wilkins on Raiders quarterback Aidan O'Connell led to linebacker Jaelan Phillips' first career pick. Then with under 30 seconds left in the game, cornerback Jalen Ramsey secured his second interception of the day on a leaping grab in the end zone to end the Raiders' comeback hopes.
The Dolphins defense held Las Vegas to 36 rushing yards on 16 carries (2.3 avg.). It was the Raiders' lowest rushing total in a game since a 24-yard performance against Denver on Oct. 1, 2017.
Entering Week 11, the Raiders defense was giving up just 198.7 passing yards per game - the eighth-best mark in the league - and had not allowed a 300-yard passer all season. Sunday afternoon, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone and finished with 325 yards passing for the game.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill tallied 10 receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown while running back Raheem Mostert was the game's leading rusher with 86 yards on 22 carries (3.9 avg.).
The Dolphins appeared to take an early lead on a 40-yard fumble return for a touchdown, but the score was called back after replay review. Minutes later, Las Vegas forced a takeaway that was upheld - a fumble by Tagovailoa - and turned it into a 34-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
The two teams then traded touchdowns.
First, Tagovailoa found Hill for a 38-yard score before O'Connell completed a 46-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Davante Adams to take a 10-7 lead just before the end of the first quarter.
The Dolphins then pushed the ball all the way down to the Raiders' three-yard line, but could not convert a fourth-and-one screen attempt and turned the ball over on downs.
A quick three-and-out by Las Vegas gave the ball back to Tagovailoa and he immediately connected with wide receiver Jaylen Waddle on three of the drive's first four plays for a combined 36 yards.
Five plays later, Tagovailoa found running back Salvon Ahmed on a nifty screen pass. A perfectly timed block from offensive lineman Connor Williams opened up a wide open lane through the middle of the field for Ahmed, who ran into the end zone untouched for a 14-10 lead.
Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson hit a 47-yard field goal to cut the lead to one just before halftime.
Tagovailoa posted just the third 200-yard passing performance in the first half of a game against the Raiders since the start of the 2021 season.
In the second half, the Dolphins continued to move the ball down the field but failed to reach the end zone. The defense, though, made sure that wasn't an issue.
After Tagovailoa was intercepted on the first play of the third quarter on a deep pass intended for Waddle, the defense forced a three-and-out to maintain the one-point lead.
On the first play following a missed 50-yard field goal, Ramsey picked off O'Connell. Kicker Jason Sanders knocked through a 41-yard field goal just minutes later to extend the Dolphins lead to 17-13.
Another three-and-out by the Raiders led to another field goal by Sanders to give Miami a 20-13 lead with 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Dolphins defense shut down the Raiders rushing attack and picked off O'Connell twice in the final 3+ minutes of action to close out the victory.
Raiders running back Josh Jacobs entered Week 11 first in the NFL in total carries (186) and third in rushing yards (622) but managed just 39 yards on 14 attempts (2.8 avg.) in the game.
Tagovailoa has now recorded at least 300 passing yards in half the Dolphins games this season while Hill eclipsed 100 receiving yards for the sixth time this season.
Phillips added two sacks to go along with his interception.
The Dolphins are back in action on Friday, Nov. 24th to take on the New York Jets in the NFL's first ever Black Friday game. Kickoff at MetLife Stadium is set for 3:00 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
