The Miami Dolphins proved game predictions wrong and won against their rivals, the New England Patriots, on Saturday. They played at New England’s home Gillette Stadium with a 17-16 win. The Dolphins had Tua Tagovialoa at quarterback, with the Patriots playing rookie Mac Jones. This was something special because Mac and Tua were former college teammates at Alabama, and now they are facing each other in the NFL. 

Even though Miami came out with the win, this wasn’t a win to be so happy about. Tua Tagovialoa threw a foolish cross-body throw that led to an interception. This wasn’t what the team was looking for, and the error wasn’t helpful to Tua Tagovialoa’s passer rating. However, Tua did throw for over 200 yards and a win is a win.  

The Dolphins came out strong at the beginning of the game, scoring seven points on their first drive, but later had some issues scoring in the first half. Miami only managed to score three more points in the first half despite three more chances to score. However, Miami’s defense was not effective in the passing game, giving Mac Jones 281 yards. The Patriots scored most of their points by sharing the ball all over and penalizing the defense in crucial moments. There was one drive where the Pats marched down the field and scored a touchdown on the Dolphins, but that was the only touchdown Miami allowed in this game. 

The second half came, and Tua was proving doubters wrong with his deep completions to Jaylen Waddle and Devante Parker. When the Dolphins offense was near the red zone, Tua rolled out to his left and made a quick completion to his former Alabama teammate, Jaylen Waddle for the touchdown. This was awesome to see for Fins fans, because it felt like the two former teammates were reuniting after Waddle’s first NFL touchdown. The game after that was 17-10 in Miami’s favor. Later, the Patriots managed to get two fields to add on six more points. With little time left, the Patriots had the ball and chose an inside handoff. Xavien Howard, the Dolphins two-time pro-bowler cornerback, had a crucial fumble recovery after the Patriots running back, Damien Harris, fumbled. With minimal time left, the Dolphins just chewed the clock to seal their first NFL win for this new season.