FOXBOROUGH — The Dolphins came away from Gillette Stadium with a 17-16 win Sunday in Week 1 of the 2021 season, but they were able to overcome a bad Tua Tagovailoa mistake late in the game.
Leading 17-16 midway through the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa ran around in the pocket escaping pressure before throwing a ball up for grabs near the Patriots sideline.
After being batted around a few times, Jonathan Jones came away with the interception. Unfortunately for the Patriots, they could not capitalize as Damien Harris fumbled in the red zone, allowing Miami to escape with a win.
While Tagovailoa only had one interception, it felt like he could have had a few more as once his first read was covered, he typically just threw the ball up for grabs and hoped his receiver came down with it.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Patriots cornerback JC Jackson admitted it surprised him that the Patriots’ first interception came so late in the game.
“I mean we were in his face the whole game,” he said. “The front-seven was pressuring him the whole game. That’s what Tua [does]. If he doesn’t have his first read, he just is going to throw the ball up and that’s when we capitalize on defense when he makes mistakes like that. We have to capitalize on those plays.”
Tagovailoa finished 16-for-27 with 202 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The second-year player improved to 7-3 as a starter.
