Week 17 between the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots functioned as a playoff game with the AFC East rivals scratching and clawing for the AFC's final playoff spot in Foxborough. With the Patriots' 23-21 win, they have supplanted the Dolphins for control of the AFC's seventh seed and final wild card spot. New England needs to win at the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills in Week 18 to secure their playoff spot, but they're in the driver's seat entering the final week.
Tied at seven at the half, it appeared as though Sunday afternoon would be mostly uneventful. The second half proved that theory incorrect. The Dolphins took a 14-7 lead following quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's 2-yard touchdown pass, a flip to running back Raheem Mostert off a scramble. Bridgewater faked a shotgun handoff to Tyreek Hill and initially appeared like he was going to attempt to run for the score. However, he saw Mostert crossing over the middle.
Bridgewater, starting in place of Tua Tagovailoa, who is in concussion protocol, left the game on his 39-yard pick-six to Patriots safety Kyle Duggar with an injury to a finger on his right hand. The safety stiff-armed Bridgewater near the goal line as the quarterback made an awkward attempt to tackle the sprinting Duggar. He finished with a line of 161 passing yards, one touchdown and the pick-six on 12 of 19 passing. However, New England had to settle for a 16-14 lead after the defensive score since kicker Nick Folk clanged the extra point attempt off the right upright. With Duggar running back that pick-six, he now has an NFL-best three defensive touchdowns, two interception returns and one fumble return. Those are also the most in a season by a Patriots defender in the Bill Belichick era, since the start of the 21st Century in 2000.
Rookie third-string quarterback Skylar Thompson, a seventh-round pick, entered the game in place of Bridgewater, and his first drive went poorly. Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones took advantage of the rookie quarterback when Thompson threw just to the left of Hill, which led to Hill not being able to secure the grab and popping the ball up. Jones corralled the football in the air for the Patriots' second takeaway in a row. Thompson redeemed himself with a late touchdown on pass on the run for 4 yards to tight end Mike Gesicki, but his 104 yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 12 of 21 passing wasn't enough to overcome Bill Belichick's defense.
Patriots quarterback Mac Jones outclassed the Dolphins quarterback duo of Bridgewater and Thompson, throwing two touchdowns and no interceptions while totaling 203 passing yards on 20 of 33 passing. Thanks to the Patriots' defensive dominance, he didn't need to do too much in order for New England to come out on top. A bright spot offensively for Jones was his connection with rookie wide receiver Tyquan Thornton was as good as it's been all season. Thornton had a career-high 60 receiving yards on three catches, one of which was a 7-yard touchdown for the Patriots' first points of the game.
Why the Patriots won
Bill Belichick's defense won the day intercepting both of the injured Tua Tagovailoa's replacements, Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson, which flipped the game. Neither offense was stellar, but Kyle Duggar's pick-six gave New England the breathing room it needed. Mac Jones' growing connection with rookie Tyquan Thornton is something that the Patriots offense can build upon heading toward a crucial Week 18 game.
Why the Dolphins lost
Losing veteran Teddy Bridgewater to a finger injury on his throwing hand doomed the Dolphins offense. Skylar Thompson, the seventh-round rookie, looked out of his element for most of the day until the final drive when he threw a 4-yard touchdown to tight end Mike Gesicki. Thompson threw a checkdown on fourth-and-16 that was well short of the line to gain. Simply put, the Dolphins missed Tua Tagovailoa in a big way. However, it may not be in his long-term best interest to play again this season.
Turning point/Play of the game
Patriots safety Kyle Duggar's interception-return touchdown is both the game's turning point and the play of the game. His run back to the end zone after the interception was phenomenal as Duggar juked and stiff-armed his way to six points. However, this play is also the turning play because Duggar's final stiff arm was on Dolphins quarterback Teddy Bridgewater as he tried to bring down the safety short of the goal line. Bridgewater's attempt to tackle Duggar ended the quarterback's day with a finger injury, and the Dolphins offense wasn't the same the rest of the contest.
What's next
The Dolphins, losers of five in a row, face the Jets back home in South Florida with an outside shot at the playoffs. They'll need to win and hope for a Patriots loss in Buffalo against Josh Allen and the Bills in Week 18. Should the Patriots win, they will be in the playoffs.