Dolphins Make It Two in a Row at Foxborough

The Miami Dolphins moved to 2-0 on the season for the second consecutive year with their Sunday night victory at Gillette Stadium

There again were plenty of passing game fireworks for the Miami Dolphins in their Week 2 Sunday night game at Gillette Stadium, but the running game and the defense stepped up after a lackluster season opener.

And that was the difference in helping Miami to get to 2-0 on the season with a 24-17 victory against the New England Patriots — the second consecutive season the Dolphins have started 2-0 and the 22nd time in franchise history.

After giving up 233 rushing yards in the season-opening victory and failing to record a takeaways, the defense came up with some big plays and a late defensive stand for a second consecutive week.

Cornerback Xavien Howard s, (interception) and safety DeShon Elliott (fumble recovery) each came up with takeaways in Dolphins territory to stop scoring threats, the Dolphins finished with four sacks, one each by Bradley Chubb, David Long Jr., Christian Wilkins and Andrew Van Ginkel.

Chubb's sack came on the final drive of the game as New England was attempting to rally after Jason Sanders missed a 55-yard field goal attempt.

A WILD ENDING

For a second time in two games, it was the defense that sealed the victory, this time stoppping New England's final drive on downs.

The game ended in wild fashion with New England stopped short of the first down on a fourth-and-4 after Mac Jones completed a pass to Mike Gesicki and he lateraled to guard Cole Strange.

Officials initially awarded the Patriots the first down at the Miami 29, but the ruling was overturned upon review — plays are subject to automatic review in the final two minutes.

Van Ginkel's sack also was significant because it came right after quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw his only interception of the game and New England took possession down only seven points in the fourth quarter.

The sack led to New England having to punt from its 4-yard line and after Miami started its next possession at the Patriots 43, Raheem Mostert sprinted through a gaping hole up the middle created in large part by center Connor Williams right guard Robert Hunt to extend the Dolphins' lead to 24-10.

It was the second touchdown of the game for Mostert, who earlier had an 8-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that gave Miami a 10-0 lead.

The other Miami touchdown came on a 2-yard pass from Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill to cap a brilliant 75-yard two-minute drive that featured completions of 22 and 12 yards to River Cracraft and a nifty 18-yard throw to Braxton Berrios after Tua maneuvered in the pocket.

Tagovailoa had another strong outing despite the one interception. He finished 21-of-30 (70 percent) for 249 yards with one touchdown and the one pick for a 92.2 passer rating.

On the strength of his long touchdown run, Mostert finished with 121 yards rushing on only 14 carries.

Jaylen Waddle led all Miami receivers with 86 yards on four catches, the longest a 32-yard hook-up in the third quarter.

This was a game where the Dolphins led all the way, but the Patriots just kept hanging around.

After the Dolphins scored on their first drive to take a 3-0 lead, they made it 10-0 following Elliott's fumble recovery with a 73-yard touchdown drive highlighted by Waddle taking a swing pass and using his speed to race for a 28-yard gain to the 15-yard line.

New England cut the lead to 10-3 with a field goal right after the two-minute warning before Hill's touchdown made it 17-3 at halftime.

After the teams traded punts in the third quarter, the Dolphins put themselves in position to increase their lead, but Jason Sanders' 49-yard field goal attempt was blocked, giving New England the ball at the Miami 49.

Howard ended that scoring threat with the pick, but New England took advantage of great field position after getting a three-and-out to cut the Miami lead to 17-10 on a 6-yard touchdown pass from Mac Jones to tight end Hunter Henry.

After Mostert's second touchdown made it 24-10, New England came back with another 75-yard drive to close the gap to 24-17.

That set the stage for the wild finish.

And with that, the Dolphins got to 2-0 with the home opener against the Denver Broncos coming up next Sunday.