The Sports Xchange
Oct 25, 2015
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. - Quarterback Ryan Tannehill tied a career high with four touchdown passes and the Miami Dolphins defeated the Houston Texans 44-26 on Sunday afternoon at Sun Life Stadium.
Two of Tannehill's touchdown passes went to wide receiver Jarvis Landry and one each went to wide receiver Rishard Matthews and running back Lamar Miller.
Those four plays totaled 167 yards, and 144 of those yards came after the catch.
The Dolphins improved to 3-3, including 2-0 under interim coach Dan Campbell, who replaced the fired Joe Philbin. Miami has been dominant under Campbell, beating the Tennessee Titans 38-10 in the former tight end coach's debut.
Houston (2-5), which trailed 41-0 at the half, got a pair of touchdowns from running back Arian Foster. He scored on a 2-yard run and a 7-yard pass from quarterback Brian Hoyer. Houston also got a pair of touchdown passes from Hoyer to wide receiver Nate Washington, covering 27 and 5 yards.
However, Foster left the game with 4:04 left in the fourth quarter, suffering a right Achilles tendon injury even though he was untouched on the play. The Texans fear the injury is seroius.
This was Miami's first win against the Texans. The Dolphins had been 0-7 against the Texans, who built their win streak from 2003 to 2012.
Miami scored on its first possession, driving 88 yards on six plays. The march culminated with a 53-yard slant pass to Matthews, who broke a tackle and was gone.
The Dolphins made it 14-0 on a spectacular 50-yard catch and run by Landry, who caught a quick out near the left sideline and nearly stepping out of bounds. Instead, he ran all the way across the field, making at least six defenders miss, getting 40 yards after the catch.
Miami made it 21-0 on a 10-yard TD pass to Landry, who dragged a defender into the end zone for the final 5 yards.
The second quarter was more of the same as Miami scored on a 54-yard screen pass to Miller and a 23-yard interception return by safety Reshad Jones.
On the play by Jones, Houston tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz dropped a pass and then tipped it up as he fell down, virtually gift-wrapping a pick-six for Jones, who punctuated his play with a wild sideways flip into the end zone.
Miller then scored on an 85-yard run as the Dolphins set the franchise record for most points in a half, breaking the previous mark set in 1967.
NOTES: There were two routs played at Sun Life Stadium this weekend. The other was a 58-0 win by Clemson over the Miami Hurricanes. ... Dolphins starting CB Brice McCain (knee) was inactive, replaced by Jamar Taylor. ... Texans RG Brandon Brooks (toe) was out and was replaced by Xavier Su'a Filo. ... Texas starting CB Kareem Jackson (ankle) was out, replaced by Kevin Johnson. ... Dolphins RB Lamar Miller's 85-yard TD run was the second-longest in franchise history. Miller also has the top spot with his 97-yarder last year against the New York Jets. ... S Reshad Jones became the first player in Dolphins history to score on interception returns in two straight games. ... DE Cameron Wake moved past Bill Stanfill for second place on the Dolphins career sack list. Wake has 68 sacks, two on Sunday.