Tennessee
Tennessee Titans’ stunner over Miami Dolphins was best ‘Vrabel special’ yet | Estes
MIAMI — Four rapid observations from the Tennessee Titans’ 28-27 shocking upset victory over the Miami Dolphins on “Monday Night Football” at Hard Rock Stadium.
The ‘Vrabel special’ isn’t extinct after all
In the end, it was so quiet in this stadium, with Dolphins fans seemingly wondering the same as everyone else:
How in the world did the Titans win this game?
First, they played well enough to give themselves a chance. Then they gave it away. Then, somehow, they rescued it late with quarterback Will Levis coming of age quickly on a huge stage, leading two touchdown drives (and converting a 2-point throw) to overcome a 27-13 deficit in the final 4:34.
It made for a stunning upset against a Dolphins team that’s contending for the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed.
And it felt like vintage Mike Vrabel for much of the evening, with the Titans muddying up a game when it was least expected. The Dolphins (9-4) were nearly two-touchdown favorites, and there was little reason to argue with that.
These Titans (5-8) had been woeful all season on the road. Their defense was without injured star Jeffery Simmons. They’d just fired special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman after last week’s serious injury to punter Ryan Stonehouse. And the offense, which has struggled all season to pass protect, had a rookie at quarterback against a formidable pass rush.
Levis made a key mistake early, throwing a pick-six. The special teams made a critical mistake late on Eric Garror’s botched punt return, and after another fumble handed Miami another late touchdown, it seemed over for the Titans.
Not so much.
Levis ended up throwing for 327 yards — 124 to DeAndre Hopkins — and leading a dramatic comeback with an offense that struggled to run with Derrick Henry and wisely started leaning on Hopkins, Tyjae Spears and others to catch passes. The special teams blocked a field goal. And considering the opponent, the defensive effort was remarkable without Simmons and cornerback Kristian Fulton.
It was barely enough.
In what has been a long season, this was a nice moment for them.
Will Levis’ toughness on display
Another key play in this crazy game: When the Titans’ 14-play, 86-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter was extended by the Dolphins’ Bradley Chubb picked up a foolish unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for slinging his helmet. That gave the Titans a first down instead of what would have been a fourth-and-5, forcing a field goal try.
It was a huge penalty, and it wouldn’t have happened had Levis not been able to scramble and shake off the on-rushing Chubb, leaving him frustrated for missing a sack. Levis ended the 5-yard run, too, by barreling into cornerback Jalen Ramsey. Levis then rumbled for 11 more yards on another physical run, nearly reaching the end zone.
These are impressive displays for a rookie quarterback. He is often dishing out contact as much or more than he’s taking it. And you respect his toughness. Nonetheless, no NFL franchise wants its quarterback to get into collisions like these.
Miami missed its star player
They chanted “M-V-P” at Hard Rock Stadium for star receiver Tyreek Hill. They chanted it when he was hurt in the first quarter, exiting with an ankle injury. They chanted it again when he ultimately returned to the game in the third quarter with the score tied at 10, and then even more in the fourth quarter after a 25-yard reception.
Without Hill, who entered Monday with 93 catches and a league-best 1,481 receiving yards, the Dolphins’ speedy, fearsome offense just wasn’t as threatening. They needed more than 35 minutes of game action to score their first offensive points.
Props to Titans’ defense anyway
Hill’s absence mattered. Nonetheless, credit the Titans’ defense for stepping up in a major way, holding its own against the No. 1 offense in the NFL — and doing so without its star player in Simmons.
It was a solid example of a bend-but-don’t-break defensive performance. The Titans allowed the Dolphins to drive at least 46 yards in four of their first five possessions, but Miami couldn’t score a touchdown. On their opening possession, the Dolphins were at the Titans’ 2-yard line when Jaleel Johnson slapped the ball out of Tua Tagovailoa’s hands and TK McLendon recovered the fumble.
Then in the third quarter, with the Titans protecting a 10-7 lead, the Dolphins again reached the Titans’ 2-yard line and ended up having to kick a 20-yard field goal to tie the score.
If this wasn’t the best performance this season for the Titans’ defense, it was surely the grittiest.
Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @Gentry_Estes.