Dolphins v. Raiders notes: Tua Tagovailoa throws three TDs as Dolphins beat Raiders 34-19

It wasn’t necessarily pretty.

The defense let Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers catch 13 balls for more than 120 yards. The secondary only snagged one interception from the turnover prone Gardner Minshew. And the Miami Dolphins’ vaunted rushing attack only mustered 82 yards on the day.

Still, the Miami Dolphins managed to pull out a 34-19 victory over the Raiders.

The good news: Jonnu Smith had a monster game, finishing with six balls for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Tua Tagovailoa also completed 78% of his passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. And the Dolphins limited the Raiders to under 100 rushing yards for the fourth straight game.

The bad news: the middling Raiders offense put up 19 points and Bowers set the rookie tight end reception record.

Miami has a lot to improve on if they want to make the playoffs. Luckily, they got a win today and that’s all that matters.

Not exactly a bounce back day

After finishing last week’s game against the Los Angeles Rams without a carry, Raheem Mostert only had three carries for -2 yards on Sunday.

Lucky number 500:

Today’s victory notched 500th win in Miami Dolphins franchise history.

Jason Sanders makes history:

With roughly four minutes left in the third quarter, kicker Jason Sanders knocked in his second extra point of the day, passing Pete Stoyanovich for the third-most extra points in franchise history.

Tyreek Hill near history:

Hill’s third quarter touchdown reception put him at 79 for his career. One more will make him just the 34th play in NFL history with at least 80 career touchdown grabs.

Jaylen Waddle’s down season continues:

Waddle caught just two of his three targets for 37 yards. On the season, Waddle has just 33 catches for 404 yards and a touchdown.

Jonnu Smith’s big game:

This was Smith’s first 100-yard game since Week 9 of 2023 season. It was also his first multi-touchdown game since Week 5 of the 2020 season.

Halftime Show:

As part of the NFL’s Salute to Service initiative, the Dolphins welcomed the United States Air Force Ceremonial Band to perform at halftime.

Each of the six military branches — Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy and Space Force — unfurled their flags across the field during the performance.

▪ The Dolphins are up 10-6.

▪ Brock Bowers (four catches, 50 yards) and Tyreek Hill (four catches, 29 yards) are each team’s leading receiver.

Tua Tagovailoa is once again as efficient as ever, completing roughly 74% of his passes for 114 yards and a touchdown.▪

Raheem Mostert back in:

Mostert sustained a hip injury in the first quarter.

After initially being listed as questionable, the running back returned in the second quarter.

Inactives:

Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead (knee) and left guard Robert Jones (knee) will play today. The Miami Dolphins, however, will be without starting fullback Alec Ingold and returner Dee Eskridge.

Other inactives include running back Jeff Wilson Jr., linebacker Mohamed Kamara, offensive lineman Andrew Meyer as well as cornerbacks Kendall Fuller and Ethan Bonner.

Brother on brother action:

Dolphins guard Liam Eichenberg faced his younger brother, Tommy, who plays linebacker for the Raiders

This will be the first matchup between the brothers.

The Raiders selected Tommy in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft.