Titans beat Dolphins as Mason Rudolph steps in for injured QB Will Levis

By ALANIS THAMES AP Sports Writer

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Mason Rudolph was happy to help lead the Tennessee Titans to their first win of the season on Monday night, even though he felt like he didn’t have to do much.

Nick Folk helped him with five field goals, and Rudolph led seven scoring drives after starter Will Levis left with a shoulder injury in the 31-12 victory over the Miami Dolphins.

“I didn’t do a whole lot, that’s for sure,” Rudolph said. “Tony (Pollard) and the O-line and Tyjae (Spears) just mauled them up front. Moved the ball, controlled the ball in the second half. We protected the ball there in the second half and got out with the win.”

Rudolph threw for 85 yards and completed 9 of 17 passes in relief of Levis, who attempted just four passes before injuring his right throwing shoulder on a scramble.

Brian Callahan, who got his first win as the Titans’ coach, said Levis tried to go back in but was in pain. Tennessee’s upcoming bye week factored into the decision to hold him out.

Folk made field goals of 53, 52, 47, 51 and 29 yards. Spears took a direct snap and ran it in for a 7-yard touchdown. Pollard had a 4-yard touchdown run to go with 88 yards on 22 carries. The Titans (1-3) rushed for 142 yards.

“I knew the style of game we needed to play to win this game,” Callahan said. “I knew that they were going to have some trouble offensively, and I knew that we were going to be able to run the ball effectively on them.”

Tyler Huntley, who signed with the Dolphins on Sept. 17 off of Baltimore’s practice squad, ran for a touchdown and had 96 yards passing. But the Dolphins’ offense continued to struggle without Tua Tagovailoa, who remains on injured reserve with a concussion.

Huntley was named starter on Saturday, as No. 2 quarterback Skylar Thompson nurses a rib injury.

“I felt pretty comfortable,” Huntley said. “Just now I got to dig in deeper and just know the ins and outs of the offense, and it will take our offense to another level.”

Huntley brought the Dolphins (1-3) within 10 when he scored on a 1-yard run with 3:40 left. He was intercepted on the two-point conversion attempt, and the Titans recovered the ensuing onside kick.

Huntley was called for intentional grounding in the end zone on Miami’s last effort at a comeback, adding two more points for the Titans.

Tyreek Hill was held under 50 yards receiving for the third straight game with 23 yards on four catches, as the Dolphins managed just 78 yards passing.

Titans receiver DeAndre Hopkins was also quiet with two catches for 31 yards.

Levis threw for 25 yards with an interception before the injury.

Linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah intercepted Levis and secured the ball between his knees to end a promising opening drive for the Titans.

The Dolphins gave it right back when Huntley threw a backward pass to Hill that went off the receiver’s finger tips. It was initially ruled an incomplete pass but after review, it was overturned to a fumble that Tennessee recovered.

That was the first takeaway of the season for the Titans, who entered the game with a minus-7 turnover differential.

It was also the first of numerous miscues for the Dolphins: two players in motion at the snap multiple times, uncharacteristic drops by playmakers and an overall inability to sustain drives.

A puzzling sequence happened just before halftime. Miami got the ball after forcing a punt with about a minute left in the second. Defensive tackle Calais Campbell got a hand on the ball as Ryan Stonehouse tried to boot it away. Linebacker Duke Riley then tried to grab the bouncing punt but appeared to lose it in a scrum.

After a lengthy review, officials ruled that Tennessee touched the ball first, giving the Dolphins possession.

They did nothing with it, instead handing it back to the Titans after Huntley couldn’t corral a bad snap.

Rudolph then moved the Tennessee offense into field goal territory and spiked it with one second left. Folk made his third field goal of the night.

It all led to loud boos coming from the crowd at Hard Rock Stadium as the Dolphins headed to halftime trailing 9-3 and were held without a touchdown for the eighth straight quarter.

The Dolphins have not led a game at all this season. Their only win came in the opener on a walk-off field goal by Jason Sanders. Sanders made kicks of 44 and 56 yards.

“There’s a tremendous disconnect between preparation and execution,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said. “There is a multitude of contributors I believe. The bottom line, it doesn’t matter what we’re doing behind the scenes. On the field that’s not even close to good enough.”

The Dolphins’ touchdown snapped a nine-quarter touchdown drought. Miami, which has scored a league-low 45 points, finished with 184 yards of offense.

“It’s definitely frustrating. We’re definitely better than we show on game day,” Dolphins receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “We have to be better than good when your starting quarterback’s out.”

On a couple of big play opportunities with Hill, Huntley mistimed passes after Hill had beaten his defender.

“You wished you had 1,000 reps to go through the playbook but it is what it is,” Huntley said. “I felt pretty comfortable but now I have to dig in deeper and know the ins and outs of the offense and take the offense to another level.”

With Huntley having joined the team two weeks ago, McDaniel acknowledged there were limitations and adjustment to the play-calling strategy.

“There are calculated decisions with what he was comfortable with from the previous game plan for Seattle and some stuff that he had done in his career,” McDaniel said. “It was abbreviated to the extent to all things he was comfortable with.

“There is nothing good about this situation right now in terms of where our team needs to be. We need to do enough to win a football game against any opponent. Right now, that’s not the case and we need to fix that fast.”

INJURIES

Titans: Nose tackle Keondre Coburn left with a knee injury in the first quarter and did not return.

Dolphins: Running back Jeff Wilson Jr. injured his knee during pregame warmups and did not play. … Linebacker Jaelan Phillips left in the third quarter with a knee injury and did not return. Phillips, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon last season, hit the turf several times when he went down and threw his helmet in frustration.

UP NEXT

The Titans have a bye on Sunday, then host the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 13.

The Dolphins play at the New England Patriots on Sunday.