National Football League
Jacksonville 17, Miami 7
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, December 23, 2018
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Temperature: 73°
Head Official: Clay Martin
Attendance: 65798

Linebacker Telvin Smith intercepted a Ryan Tannehill pass and rumbled 33 yards for a crucial touchdown as the Jacksonville Jaguars eliminated the host Miami Dolphins from playoff contention with a 17-7 win on Sunday afternoon.

Miami (7-8) lost its second straight game.

Jacksonville (5-10) went to former starting quarterback Blake Bortles with 42 seconds left in the third quarter, and he led the Jaguars to a go-ahead field goal and finished the game. He completed 5-of-6 passes for 39 yards and also ran four times for 25 yards.

Jaguars quarterback Cody Kessler started the game but injured his right shoulder when he was hit by Dolphins defensive end Robert Quinn.

Smith's interception came with 9:43 left in the fourth quarter, giving the Jaguars a 17-7 lead on a day in which there was very little offense. It was Smith's ninth interception in his five-year NFL career, and it was his third pick-six.

Miami was without outside linebacker Kiko Alonso, who hadn't missed a snap all season but was on the sidelines because of knee and hamstring injuries. Alonso entered the game with 120 combined tackles, which put him fifth in the NFL.

The Dolphins also were without cornerback Xavien Howard (knee injury), whose seven interceptions were tied for the NFL lead entering play Sunday, and starting safety T.J. McDonald (ankle injury).

Each team scored on its first drive, starting with Miami's eight-play, 78-yard march. Tannehill converted a third-and-6 play by completing a 20-yard pass to Danny Amendola. Tannehill then tossed a 4-yard shovel pass to Brandon Bolden for a 7-0 lead.

Jacksonville answered with a 1-yard TD run by Leonard Fournette. On that 13-play, 75-yard march, Jacksonville converted three times on third down, including once on a roughing-the-passer penalty on Quinn when it appeared the Jaguars would be held to a field-goal try.

After that, both offenses were blanked until Jacksonville took a 10-7 lead on Kai Forbath's 26-yard field goal with 10:56 left in the fourth. That ended a scoring drought for both teams that lasted 36 minutes of game action.

On the Dolphins' next possession, Tannehill threw his fateful interception while Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell - a former Miami Hurricanes star -- had a hold of his legs.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
Rushing
Jacksonville   Miami
Carlos Hyde Player Kenyan Drake
8 Attempts 6
47 Yards 23
5.9 Avg Yards 3.8
0 Touchdowns 0
19 Long 9
Receiving
Jacksonville   Miami
Dede Westbrook Player Danny Amendola
7 Receptions 3
45 Yards 40
6.4 Avg Yards 13.3
0 Touchdowns 0
22 Long 20
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
Jacksonville 244 126 118 2 1 1 3.0 1
Miami 183 62 121 1 0 0 5.0 1
Upcoming Games
  • Miami will play their next game on the road against Buffalo. The Dolphins have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .429 after a loss.
  • Jacksonville will play their next game on the road against Houston. The Jaguars have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .300 after a loss.