Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith (9) breaks free for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium. [Jim Rassol-Imagn Images]

Dolphins Keep Raiders Reeling

The Miami Dolphins sent the Las Vegas Raiders home with their sixth consecutive loss, 34-19, Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa helped the Dolphins (4-6) to their second consecutive win by completing 28 of 36 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

The Raiders (2-8) were playing their first game with interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner, who engineered four scoring drives. However, the Las Vegas defense had too many fails that contributed to the loss.

Dolphins Roll

Miami took a 10-6 lead at the half thanks to a 1-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to tight end Jonnu Smith and a 31-yard field goal by Jason Sanders.

Las Vegas kept it close on two field goals.

The Dolphins outscored the Raiders 24-13 in the second half for the win.

Miami coach Mike McDaniel praised the team’s performance over the past few games. He said it’s felt like a month of not being good enough.

“I don’t know about you guys, but winning feels a lot better than losing,” McDaniel said. “So I think we’re going to keep trying to do that.”

Raiders Woes

The Raiders also experienced numerous penalties. Starting with defensive end Maxx Crosby opened the game with an unnecessary roughness penalty. Later, linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson was called for defensive holding penalty in the Dolphins’ opening drive.

“We just have to keep executing and strain a little bit more,” Raiders coach Antonio Pierce said. “We had opportunities. Opportunities there for shots, but we didn’t get them down there again.”

Dolphin’s Injury List

The Dolphin’s were able to pull off the win with more than 10 of their players out with an injury: Braxton Berrios, Tyler Huntley, Bradley Chubb, Isaiah Wynn, Grant DuBose, Cameron Goode and Patrick McMorris.

Up Next

Miami hosts the New England Patriots (3-8) at 1 p.m. (CBS) Sunday, while Las Vegas will host the Denver Broncos (6-5) at 4:05 p.m. (CBS) Sunday.

About Samantha Vetere

Samantha Vetere is a Junior at the University of Florida majoring in journalism with a sports media concentration. This is her first year with ESPN WRUF.

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