Week 2 isn’t over yet, but it’s already safe to say that the NFL comeback is back. During a week that has already seen three other teams (Arizona Cardinals, New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs) overcome deficits of at least 10 points to win with two games left be played, the Miami Dolphins’ 21-point comeback against the Ravens in Baltimore probably ranks as the most improbable.
Trailing by 21 points in the fourth quarter after falling behind by 20 at halftime, the Dolphins were able to rally behind four touchdown passes from quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in the final 15 minutes to notch an improbable 42-38 victory and improve to 2-0 on the season. With the win, the Dolphins became the first team to overcome a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter since the Eagles rallied to defeat the New York Giants in Week 15 of the 2010 season.
Tagovailoa, who was 13-of-17 for 199 yards with a 154.2 passer rating in the game’s final frame, set career highs in passing yards (469) and touchdown passes (six) in the win while wide receiver Tyreek Hill registered 11 receptions for 190 yards and two touchdowns and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle recorded 11 catches for 171 yards and two touchdowns in the comeback.
With the offensive outburst, Tagovailoa became the third-youngest NFL player ever with six touchdown passes in a single game, trailing only Patrick Mahomes and Mitch Trubisky. Hill and Waddle also became the first pair of teammates in NFL history to record at least 10 receptions, 150 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions in the same game.
“I’m always confident in what I can do,” Tagovailoa, who many have doubted over the course of his three-year NFL career, said following the win. “I think this shows the resiliency of our team. Brings all of our confidence up, our confidence in one another, confidence that if the offense has a turnover, the defense will get it back. For me, every game is a big game. I want to do good every time I’m out there.”
For the Ravens, Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson did everything in his power to overcome the historic effort from Tagovailoa, Hill and Waddle as he passed for 318 yards and three touchdowns, including a 75-yarder, for a 142.6 passer rating and added 119 rushing yards and a 79-yard rushing touchdown.
With the effort, Jackson became the first player in NFL history to record both a rushing touchdown and a touchdown pass of at least 75 yards in the same game. With 11 career games with at least 100 rushing yards, Jackson has now surpassed Michael Vick for the most such games by a quarterback in NFL history. The 25-year-old also has three career games with at least three touchdown passes and 100 rushing yards. No other player in league history has more than one.
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