Will Levis, Titans stun Dolphins in late comeback: How Tennessee rallied as Miami fell apart

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 11: Will Levis #8 of the Tennessee Titans looks to pass in the second half against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on December 11, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)
By Joe Rexrode and Mike Jones
Dec 12, 2023

The Tennessee Titans mounted an improbable comeback after multiple late-game mistakes to seal a 28-27 win over the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday.

Tennessee was down 27-13 with less than three minutes remaining but rallied in their final drives to nullify earlier errors. Derrick Henry scored on a 3-yard run with 1:49 to go — his second touchdown of the game — and the Titans took the lead after a Nick Folk kick for the extra point. The Titans’ defense then held firm, preventing Miami from scoring on its final possession as Harold Landry III sacked Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa for the third time to end the game.

Titans quarterback Will Levis starred in the win, connecting with DeAndre Hopkins on a 3-yard TD pass with 2:40 to go and finding Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for the two-point conversion to shrink Miami’s lead in the closing minutes.

The Titans (5-8) are the only team this century to overcome at least a 14-point deficit in the final three minutes of a game and win in regulation, according to TruMedia.

With the loss, the Dolphins missed an opportunity to keep pace with the Baltimore Ravens atop the AFC. Miami falls to 9-4 and remains in second place in the conference, but still maintains the best record in the AFC East.

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How Levis led the charge

This is why the Titans moved up to draft Levis in the second round despite having a good starting quarterback in Ryan Tannehill, and why they are going to build their future around him. Levis made a couple of key mistakes Monday, an interception for a touchdown on a screen and a high pitch that Henry couldn’t handle, setting the Dolphins up for what appeared to be the touchdown to put the game away. But no. He moved the Titans 75 yards in 1:54, completing 7 of 9 passes — the last of them a no-look, scoring flip to Hopkins. His two-point pass to Westbrook-Ikhine made it 27-21 Dolphins.

After a stop, Levis immediately charged the Titans down the field again for the go-ahead touchdown, 64 yards in 26 seconds — sparked by a 36-yard completion to Hopkins. That would stand, and Levis would end up 23-of-38 passing for 327 yards. He was fiery and physical when he ran the ball as well — at the expense of self-preservation, given a couple of decisions to try to truck defenders, doing so successfully at the expense of Jalen Ramsey. Levis got out of the game healthy and on a roll. — Joe Rexrode, Tennessee senior writer

Mistakes nearly sink Tennessee

The Titans’ special-teams horrors continue. Mike Vrabel fired special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman one week before the matchup with the Dolphins, and one day after the Indianapolis Colts blocked two Titans punts to win that game — injuring Titans standout punter Ryan Stonehouse in the process. Aukerman had run the kicking game for the entirety of Vrabel’s tenure, and the overall performance was middling. But this season saw the Colts debacle, a few weeks after Kyle Philips fielded a punt in London he had no business fielding — his coaches shouldn’t even have sent him back to field it — and muffed it to set up a Baltimore Ravens field goal before halftime.

In Tom Quinn’s first game as interim special teams coordinator, the Titans got a field-goal block from Denico Autry. But Eric Garror’s decision to field a punt in the fourth quarter set Miami up for what figured to be the winning touchdown. That it wasn’t, thanks in part to three Landry sacks, does not erase the issue. — Rexrode

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What this means for Dolphins’ playoff push

This loss creates greater pressure on coach Mike McDaniels’ Dolphins down the stretch of the season, which includes games against the New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills. That Week 17 game against Baltimore could decide the top seed in the conference, which translates into home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. And that season finale versus Buffalo will carry great implications as well. — Mike Jones, NFL staff writer

How Miami fell apart

This one will haunt the Dolphins for a while, especially given the way they blew a 14-point lead with less than three minutes left to go, and collapsed because of a host of self-inflicted wounds: an inability to get off the field on defense and an inability to sustain drives when they needed to put the game away.

Levis is an unproven player, yet well-respected defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s unit got picked apart by the rookie quarterback with the game on the line. Clock management also hurt the Dolphins offensively.

Tyreek Hill’s limited availability also hurt the Dolphins. The dynamic wide receiver was in and out of the medical examination tent, and played only sparingly while recording only four catches for 61 yards. His injury wasn’t immediately clear, but this usually potent offense wasn’t the same. The Dolphins need a healthy Hill if they hope to compete with the top teams in the conference, but he has little time to rest up. — Jones

Highlight of the game

Required reading

(Photo: Rich Storry / Getty Images)

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