The Dolphins battled back from a 13-point deficit to put the Chargers on the ropes. But the Bolts found one more play, a 42-yard catch-and-run from wide receiver Ladd McConkey, to snatch the win away from Miami. The loss dropped the Dolphins to 1-5.
- Fourth quarter fight
Trailing 26-13 with 12:47 to play in Sunday's game, hope seemed loss for the Dolphins. The Chargers dictated the terms out of the halftime break, turning a 13-9 deficit into a two-score lead over the course of three possessions. However, Miami took back control over the next 28 plays to seize a one-point lead with 46 seconds remaining.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 14 of his 15 passes on those two drives for 99 yards and the go-ahead touchdown to tight end Darren Waller.
"I think just settling down with the guys, kind of finding the flow," Tagovailoa said. "Get a completion, run the ball, stay ahead of the chains, third-and-manageable, convert on our third downs, and then continue to play normal football."
Part of the late-game success was the ball distribution. Tagovailoa found eight different receivers during those two drives, which were sandwiched around complementary football from the defense. The Chargers lone drive during that sequence was a four-play possession that resulted in a punt.
- Achane, again and again
One of Tagovailoa's targets on that drive was running back De'Von Achane, who scored two more touchdowns and tallied 150 yards from scrimmage. Entering Monday Night Football, Achane's 558 yards from scrimmage are fifth-most in the NFL and his six touchdowns are tied for second.
Achane surpassed 2,000 career rushing yards (2,097) becoming the fifth Dolphins player to reach that mark in his first three seasons, joining Lamar Miller, Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Andra Franklin and Ronnie Brown.
His 49-yard touchdown run got the scoring started for Miami. It was his ninth rush of at least 40 yards since he entered the league in 2023, tied with Baltimore's Derrick Henry for the most 40-yard rushes over that span.
- Finishing games
The Dolphins ultimately came up short as the Chargers got into range for kicker Cameron Dicker to score the game-winning field goal. It was the fourth time this season that Miami's fate was sealed in the final moments of the game.
"Generally, it comes down to a lot of things," Head Coach Mike McDaniel said. "They fought back. I was proud of that, but it's not what we're looking for. There is zero victory that would be considered moral; however, I think it's reasonable to have expectation that we have our best performance at the end of games as we continue to work as a team. Otherwise, we'll be forced to deal with the same result, and I know no one is on board in the locker room for that. So, we will be very focused on finishing football games, particularly ones that we have in our grasp."
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