Miami Dolphins vs Los Angeles Chargers Match Player Stats On Sep 17, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Sep 17, 2017

CARSON, Calif. -- Cody Parkey's fourth field goal from 54 yards with 65 seconds remaining lifted the Miami Dolphins over the Los Angeles Chargers, 19-17, on Sunday at the StubHub Center.

Rookie Younghoe Koo's 44-yard field goal with five seconds left was off the mark. It was the second straight game Koo had a chance to win or tie the game in the closing seconds, and he failed on both occasions.

While the Chargers fell to 0-2, it was the Dolphins' first game as their season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was postponed because of Hurricane Irma.

Parkey was true on his final attempt as the Chargers lost yet another close game.

Jay Cutler, who came out of retirement when Ryan Tannehill suffered a season-ending knee injury, looked sharp. He completed 24 of 33 passes 230 yards and a touchdown.

Cutler was able to lean on a sturdy running game led by Jay Ajayi. He paced all rushers with 122 yards on 28 carries.

Philip Rivers was 31 of 39 for 282 yards with a touchdown.

Parkey's third field goal, this one from 35 yards, pulled the Dolphins to within 17-16.

Parkey's second field goal, a 28-yarder, sliced Miami's third-quarter deficit to 17-13.

Antonio Gates broke his tie with Tony Gonzalez in the third quarter for most career touchdowns by a tight end, leaping to snag Rivers' 7-yard pass over the outstretched arms of Nate Allen. That gave Gates No. 112 in his career and pushed the Chargers back ahead, 17-10, as the team mobbed Gates in a dog pile in the back of the end zone.

Kenny Stills hauled in Cutler's 29-yard scoring pass to tie the score at 10-10. Stills took advantage of having linebacker Jatavis Brown covering him on the third-quarter reception.

The Chargers seized their first lead of the season when Melvin Gordon followed Spencer Pulley's block on a 1-yard scoring run in the second quarter. Los Angeles took advantage of decent field position after a bad punt by Matt Haack, going 70 yards in seven plays.

Koo, whose last-minute attempt to tie the game was blocked before the Chargers fell to Denver on Monday, split the uprights on a 41-yard field goal. That pulled the Chargers even at 3.

The Dolphins struck first on Parkey's 30-yard field goal.

NOTES: Dolphins LB Lawrence Timmons wasn't with the team because of an undisclosed issue. ... Miami players wore a "One Florida" helmet sticker to honor the state's resilience after Hurricane Irma. ... Chargers CB Jason Verrett, who is trying to come back from last year's knee surgery, was inactive. RT Joe Barksdale left the game with a leg injury. ... Former Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson, a club executive who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer, was honored at halftime and received his Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence.