The Packers are still alive.
The Dolphins are melting down.
Green Bay picked up three interceptions off of Tua Tagovailoa and shut out the Dolphins in the second half to come away with a 26-20 victory on Christmas Day in Miami.
The Packers kicked a field goal with 2:02 left in the contest to go up by six points, giving the Dolphins a chance to win the game with a two-minute drive.
But Tagovailoa and the Miami offense were not up to the task. He threw his third interception of the second half on the second play of the drive. Tagovailoa was apparently targeting Mike Gesicki with the pass to the right sideline, but the ball was not close to reaching the tight end. Cornerback Rasul Douglas easily camped under the pass to seal Green Bay’s victory.
Tagovailoa was 9-of-12 passing for 229 yards with a touchdown at halftime. He finished 16-of-25 for 310 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions.
Though they had 376 total yards, Miami was just 2-of-7 on third down. Jaylen Waddle had five catches for 143 yards, including an 84-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Tyreek Hill had four catches for 103 yards, including a 52-yard catch in the second quarter that set up a Jeff Wilson 1-yard touchdown.
But in the fourth quarter, Tagovailoa overthrew Hill and was intercepted by cornerback Jaire Alexander. That play came right after Aaron Rodgers tossed his 11th interception of the year.
Then after the Packers took a 23-20 lead, Tagovailoa was intercepted by linebacker De’Vondre Campbell to end a promising drive. Tagobvailoa was looking for Raheem Mostert over the middle, but Mostert wasn’t ready for the football and Campbell stepped in to cut the ball off and catch it.
Rodgers finished the contest 24-of-38 for 238 yards with a touchdown and a pick. Rodgers completed passes to 10 different players, with Allen Lazard leading the way with five catches for 61 yards. Christian Watson had to exit the game with a hip injury, but had six receptions for 49 yards. Even veteran tight end Marcedes Lewis came up huge, catching a pair of passes for 32 yards, with a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
With the victory, the Packers are now 7-8 and remain alive in the NFC playoff race. The club is currently No. 10, but is just a half-game back from No. 7 Washington. The Packers host the Vikings and Lions in the last two weeks of the season.
The Dolphins were 8-3 but have now lost four in a row to fall to 8-7. They play at New England next week and host the Jets in Week 18.
