A debut to remember for Jalen Ramsey as his Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots 31-17 on Sunday at the Hard Rock Stadium.
The star cornerback was barely targeted in the first half by Patriots QB Mac Jones, but with two minutes left in the second quarter, Jones attempted a pass to Kendrick Bourne but a wily Ramsey jumped the route and picked it off, returning it for 49 yards to the Patriots’ own 40-yard line.
The Miami Dolphins started the game off slowly as an interception by Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa let the Patriots jump to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter with a 24-yard touchdown by Mac Jones to Kendrick Bourne.
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But the Dolphins quickly answered after Tua hit Tyreek Hill with a 42-yard touchdown for his 8th touchdown of the season, making him the league’s leader in touchdown receptions.
The Dolphins went to the second quarter with a bit more fire in their bellies as they forced New England to a short possession after Ramsey forced a fumble on Ezekiel Elliott and it led to a punt.
The Dolphins went on long drive of 53 yards to score a 1-yard receiving touchdown from Jeff Wilson, Jr. to take the lead to 14-7.
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Jason Sanders would score a 30-yard field goal to close out the second quarter and make it 17-7 for the first half.
The second half got underway with the Patriots kicking off to the Dolphins.
The ‘Phins’ went run for the first play, but a simple handoff to Raheem Mostert ended up on the ground and was recovered by New England.
The Patriots would manage to go three-and-out once again but managed to get on the board with a 38-yard Chad Ryland field goal.
The Dolphins responded with a 77-yard drive that included a 22 yard pass to Tyreek Hill and a 27-yarder to Jaylen Waddle on a third-and-9. Chase Claypool nabbed a 15-yard pass to set up the Dolphins in the Patriots’ red zone and score on a 1-yard run by Mostert to make it 24-10.
In the fourth quarter, the Patriots hit a 81-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Jones to JuJu Smith-Schuster to bring the score to 24-17.
The ‘Phins’ went back to work and quickly countered with a 31-yard touchdown from Tua to Waddle after 10 plays on a 75-yard drive to put the Dolphins 31-17.
A late interception by Brandon Jones led to a scary moment on the field as the safety was slow to get up after a hard tackle and earned a Smith-Schuster a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct after standing over him as he laid injured.
