Dolphins-Raiders 2024 Week 11: The Five Biggest Plays

Breaking down the five plays that most decided the outcome in the Miami Dolphins' 34-19 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium.

Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith (9) breaks free for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Miami Dolphins made it two victories in a row when they defeated the Las Vegas Raiders, 34-19, at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

We rank and analyze the game's five biggest, most important plays.

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1) TUA'S TD PASS TO TYREEK

The Dolphins never let Las Vegas have the ball within one score in the second half after their first drive, and that was because of Tua Tagovailoa's touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill in the corner of the end zone on third-and-goal from the 8. It came one play after Tua missed a chance at a TD pass to Hill with a throw that was late and had too much air. On the touchdown, though, Tagovailoa showed off what he's been doing regularly lately, creating something off-schedule by extending the play with his scrambling.

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2) THE THIRD-AND-8 COMPLETION

This was more like what we've seen from Tua and Tyreek in recent seasons, the play to convert a key third-and-8 after the Raiders made it 17-12. From the 42-yard line, Hill ran deep in, and Tagovailoa hit him before the Las Vegas defense could make a play.

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3) THE LONG SMITH TOUCHDOWN

The Dolphins already got a big first down on the drive after Las Vegas made it 24-19 on a third-down defensive pass interference (DPI) call on a pass intended for Jaylen Waddle. Still, they applied the final blow when they threw the ball on second-and-11, and the Raiders forgot to cover Jonnu Smith as he ran down the middle of the field. Smith was so open that he could wait for a pass that took a while to get there, stopped to catch the ball, and then turned around and ran to the end zone for a 57-yard touchdown that was his second of the game. The game was over at that point.

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4) THE HOLDING PENALTY

The Dolphins played with the lead the entire game after scoring on their opening drive. They were able to get a touchdown instead of a field goal thanks to Raiders DE K'Lavon Chaisson holding Jonnu Smith near the line of scrimmage on a third-and-20 screen pass. The defensive holding penalty gave the Dolphins a first down, and they went on to finish the drive with Tagovailoa's fourth-down touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith.

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5) THE CAMPBELL SACK

This win was mostly about the offense for the Dolphins, but the defense came up with a stop at the start of the second half when the Raiders got the kickoff with a chance to take the lead. The big stop came on second-and-5 from the Las Vegas 46 when Calais Campbell threw aside a block attempt after Gardner Minshew faked a handoff, rolled out, and brought down the quarterback for a 6-yard loss. The Raiders never got the ball again, trailing by fewer than two scores.