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Stats, highlights and takeaways from Miami’s loss

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Stats, highlights and takeaways from Miami’s loss

A week ago, the Miami Dolphins pulled off some late-game heroics to force overtime and ultimately beat the New York Jets. They couldn’t recreate that effort in Week 15 against the Houston Texans.

The Texans forced four turnovers, including two interceptions by cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. in the fourth quarter, which eliminated any hopes of a comeback.

Miami’s defense turned in one of its best performances of the season, limiting the Texans to just 181 total offensive yards. But Tua Tagovailoa’s quartet of turnovers was too much to overcome and the Dolphins scored just one touchdown that day.

With the loss, Miami is now 6-8 on the year and would need a miracle to reach the playoffs. Here’s how Miami’s Week 15 loss played out:

The Dolphins defense bounced back from some poor performances with an impressive performance and it was Brooks who led the way. The linebacker led his team with eight tackles, recorded the Dolphins’ first takedown in three games by catching a fumble and created a sack of Zach Sieler by causing chaos on a blitz.

On a day when the Texans found no running room and struggled to put together sustained drives, it was Brooks who deserves the most credit for the Dolphins’ strong defensive outing.

Nico Collins may have snagged a few touchdowns, but he and the rest of the Texas offense weren’t the story of the day. The Dolphins’ inability to do much against Houston’s defense proved to be the biggest problem.

Instead, it was Stingley, who spent most of his day stifling Tyreek Hill, who proved to be the biggest thorn in the Dolphins’ side. Hill was held to just two receptions for 36 yards. The last two passes of the day that went his way were both caught by Stingley.

The Dolphins made the bold decision to nullify a successful Jason Sanders field goal after a Texans offsides penalty and go for it on fourth down. With Houston’s coverage not giving Tagovailoa many options, the quarterback worked his way through his left-to-right progressions and eventually threw to Smith in the back of the end zone.

The veteran tight end made a spectacular grab the Dolphins desperately needed, cutting the deficit from 14 to eight (Jason Sanders missed the extra point). Sadly, those were the final points of the day for the Dolphins.

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Dolphins had a more total offense than the Texans (224 yards to 181), but simply made more back-breaking errors. Houston turned Miami’s first turnover into a touchdown and the second into a field goal just before halftime. Even though the Dolphins’ third and fourth turnovers didn’t turn into points for the Texans, they erased any hope of a comeback.

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Dolphins return to Hard Rock Stadium one last time. They will play their final home game of the season against the San Francisco 49ers, with kickoff scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET.

On Thursday night, the 49ers fell to 6-8 on the year with a 12-6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.