Dolphins-Titans Week 14: The Five Biggest Plays

Breaking down the five plays that most decided the outcome in the Miami Dolphins' 28-27 loss against the Tennessee Titans at Hard Rock Stadium

The Miami Dolphins dropped to 9-4 on the season with their 28-27 loss against the Tennessee Titans on Monday night.

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

1. The Two-Point Conversion

In a one-point game, the deciding factor became Mike Vrabel's decision to go for two after the touchdown that made it 27-19 and the Titans converting. And maybe most disconcerting of all for the Dolphins and their fans was how easy it was after Kader Kohou and Xavien Howard both followed DeAndre Hopkins toward the middle of the field and left Nick Westbrook-Ikhine all alone as he ran toward the corner of the end zone.

2. The Swing Pass to Achane

While the final offensive play for the Dolphins is the one that clinched their fate on this night, the play before that put them in a really tough position regardless. This was the pass to De'Von Achane that gained only 1 yard and, worse, kept the clock moving because Achane failed to get out of bounds before he was tackle. By the time the ball was snapped on fourth-and-2, the clock already was down to 26 seconds and the Dolphins were in a bad spot even had they converted that fourth down from their 45 with no timeouts left.

3. The 21-Yard Screen Pass

There really was no reason to think a Tennessee comeback was in the process midway through their first fourth-quarter touchdown drive, particularly after a false-start penalty put them in a second-and-15 situation from their 45. But everything changed when Will Levis threw a simple screen pass to rookie running back Tyjae Spears and he used his speed to gain 21 to the Miami 34. Two plays later, the Titans were in the end zone.

4. The Failed Third Down

It wasn't only on the final drive that the Dolphins offense failed because Miami could have slammed the door with one first down or two after Tennessee made it 27-21 but instead went three-and-out. After two runs gained 4 yards, the Dolphins faced a third-and-6 from their 29, but pressure got to Tua pretty quickly and he scrambled out of the pocket. After a nice juke got him past one defender, he was tackled from behind after a 4-yard gain. It wouldn't have mattered had his run been longer, though, because Liam Eichenberg, at center in place of the injured Connor Williams, was flagged for holding on the play — the Titans obviously declined the penalty.

5. The 36-Yard Pass to Hopkins

The final drive from a defensive standpoint obviously was bad since the Dolphins allowed Tennessee to score, but the easy with which they did was brutal. Think about it: Up six, you allow your opponent to drive 64 yards in four plays and 26 seconds. Yes, 26 seconds! The nightmare started right away when DeAndre Hopkins was allowed to run free on a crosser for an easy pitch-and-catch that gained 36 yards and moved the Titans from their 36 to the Dolphins 28 just like that. Considering how far off Jalen Ramsey was to Hopkins throughout the route, one has to think somebody else was supposed to pick him up as he was running across the middle. Head coach Mike McDaniel said after the game there were some communication issues in the back end in the fourth quarter.

Dolphins Shocked on Monday Night