The Miami Dolphins continuously battled from behind and eventually tied the game at 17-17 on a pick-six with just over four minutes to play in the third quarter, but could not complete the second-half comeback, ultimately falling on the road 31-17 to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday Night Football.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa finished 23-of-32 for 216 yards, one touchdown and one interception while wide receivers Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle combined for 17 of Miami's 23 receptions and 151 receiving yards.
Miami's defense held Philadelphia to a field goal on their opening possession and forced a fumble on their second.
On third-and-eight, a group of Dolphins defenders collapsed the pocket and converged on Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. As Hurts tried to step up in the pocket, linebacker Bradley Chubb knocked the ball loose and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins fell on the ball to give the Dolphins offense first-and-10 at the Eagles 23-yard line.
A touchdown pass to Hill was called back on a holding penalty and Miami eventually had to settle for a 40-yard field goal from Jason Sanders.
The Eagles then scored consecutive touchdowns, first a 19-yard pass from Hurts to tight end Dallas Goedert and then a one-yard run from Hurts to take a 17-3 lead with 3:10 to play in the first half.
That's when the Dolphins offense found a bit of rhythm. On third-and-18 from his own 20-yard line, Tagovailoa hung in the pocket and found wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr., who kept both feet in bounds for a 29-yard gain and a key first down.
Following the two-minute warning, Tagovailoa completed three straight passes to three different receivers, the longest going for 15 yards to Hill. Then, facing third-and-eight on the eighth play of the drive, Tagovailoa found Hill in the back-left corner of the endzone for a 27-yard touchdown to bring Miami back within 7, 17-10 before halftime.
Tagovailoa was six-of-six on the drive for 77 yards.
Still down seven later in the third quarter, the Dolphins offense failed to convert on fourth down in Eagles territory but the defense responded in a big way with its second takeaway of the game.
On first down, cornerback Kader Kohou timed his jump perfectly, tipping Hurts' pass in the air and into the hands of linebacker Jerome Baker, who returned the interception 22 yards for his second career pick-six. It tied the game at 17-17 with 4:02 to play.
The tie was short-lived, however, as the Eagles came back with an eight-play, 75-yard scoring drive and retook the lead as Hurts found wide receiver A.J. Brown for a 14-yard touchdown pass.
The Dolphins had the ball in the fourth quarter with a chance to tie the game again, but Eagles cornerback Darius Slay cut in front of a deep pass from Tagovailoa to stall the drive.
The Eagles then marched 83 yards down the field - aided by two quarterback sneaks on fourth-and-one - in 6:35 of game time and stretched the lead to 31-17 with 4:46 remaining on a three-yard run from running back Kenneth Gainwell.
Hurts threw for 279 yards and recorded three total touchdowns while Brown finished with a game-high 137 receiving yards.
Baker led all players with 11 tackles and added a tackle for loss and one pass defensed to go along with his interception. Chubb finished with seven tackles, 2.0 sacks and a forced fumble.
Miami (5-2) returns home to Hard Rock Stadium for its second meeting with the New England Patriots (2-5) on Sunday, Oct. 29. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.
