Dolphins-Jaguars: The Five Biggest Plays

Breaking down the five plays that most decided the outcome in the Miami Dolphins 20-17 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium.

Miami Dolphins safety Jevon Holland (8) punches the ball away from Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. (1) causing a fumble that was recovered by the Dolphins in the end zone during the third quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

On Sunday, the Miami Dolphins kicked off their 2024 season with a last-second 20-17 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Hard Rock Stadium.

We rank the five biggest, most important plays of the game:

1) HOLLAND'S TRIP

There were a lot of key plays after this one, to be sure, but they likely wouldn't have mattered if not for safety Jevon Holland's brilliant punch-out at the 4-yard line when Travis Etienne appeared headed for the end zone and a 24-7 Jacksonville lead. Holland did a good Charles "Peanut" Tillman impersonation with a perfectly timed, perfectly placed punch. And props also to Kader Kohou for racing to get the ball before a Jaguars player could get to it.

2) THE TUA-TO-TYREEK BOMB

The Holland play became even bigger when Tyreek Hill worked his magic on the very next play. Hill got himself open for a solid gain but then used his ridiculous speed to get around two defenders and sprint down the left sideline to an 80-yard touchdown that made the score 17-14 a mere 11 seconds after the Jaguars saw their hopes of going up 24-7 dashed. Talk about a massive turnaround.

3) SANDERS' CLUTCH KICK

After badly missing on a 42-yard field goal attempt earlier, Sanders continued to provide clutch kicking for the Dolphins with his 52-yarder to win the game. Mike McDaniel's confidence that Sanders would make the kick was evident with the conservative play-calling once the Dolphins got into field goal position. Then again, Sanders has been money in game-winning situations the past couple of years, no matter the distance.

4) THE PHILLIPS AND OGBAH SACKS

To be fair to both Jaelan Phillips and Emmanuel Ogbah, we can't really separate their two sacks on back-to-back plays to force a punt on Jacksonville's final drive, giving the Dolphins the ball back for their game-winning drive. The drive had to be incredibly satisfying for both, considering Ogbah was released early in the offseason before he was brought back, and for Phillips because of his comeback from his Achilles injury.

5) THE THIRD-DOWN STOP EARLY IN THE FOURTH QUARTER

The Dolphins faced another dicey situation when they trailed 17-14. An 11-yard run by Travis Etienne moved the ball near midfield, and the drive came down to a third-and-5 from the Miami 47. Trevor Lawrence threw to Christian Kirk near the sideline, but the throw was a bit off the mark. Kirk mistimed his jump and failed to come up with the catch. That forced a punt, and the Dolphins then drove for the game-tying field goal.