Tennessee Hands Miami Third Consecutive Loss

Now on their third quarterback and third loss in a row, the Miami Dolphins‘ season continues to spiral.

The Tennessee Titans handled Miami, 31-12, on Monday Night Football, dropping the Dolphins to 1-3 on the season.

FINAL: @Titans secure their first win of the season! #TENvsMIA pic.twitter.com/OJ8Xm57kWm

— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2024

Battle of the Backups

With starter Tua Tagavailoa still out and backup Skylar Thompson suffering a chest injury in Week 3, the Dolphins gave the start to former Raven Tyler Huntley on Monday night.

From Miami’s first drive, it was clear the offense would struggle.

Four plays into the drive, Huntley passed to Tyreek Hill behind the line of scrimmage with the pass being dropped and considered a fumble that was recovered by Tennessee.

Titans recover the dropped backwards pass 😱

📺: #TENvsMIA on ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/djDqtrAbbn

— NFL (@NFL) September 30, 2024

After Tennessee quarterback Will Levis went down with a shoulder injury, neither team could find any joy on offense.

Veteran Mason Rudolph took over for the Titans, leading his team to three field goals in the first half.

The Titans led 9-3 at halftime.

Tennessee Takeover

After the half, it was clear the game would be decided by whichever team could be better on the ground.

Tennessee running backs Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears received a huge workload, combining for 37 carries and 127 yards.

Each back added a touchdown to pad the lead for the Titans.

Tony Pollard ices the game with a last minute TD. #TENvsMIA pic.twitter.com/DXpINtz03y

— NFL (@NFL) October 1, 2024

Miami’s Jaylen Wright and De’Von Achane had nowhere near the same success, only combining for 19 carries and 37 yards.

In the end, the differences in running backs were the difference in the game.

At the final whistle, Tennessee claimed a 31-12 win, even with only 85 passing yards from Rudolph.

Up Next

Miami (1-3) goes back to the drawing board hoping for a better showing on offense Sunday against the New England Patriots (1-3).

Tennessee (1-3) hopes to build off of their first win of the season against the Indianapolis Colts (2-2) on Oct. 13.