MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Tua Tagovailoa threw for 215 yards and a touchdown, Jason Sanders nailed five field goals, and the Miami Dolphins kept their playoff chances alive by beating the San Francisco 49ers 29-17 on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The 49ers\u00a0were eliminated\u00a0from the playoffs before the game because of wins by the\u00a0Los Angeles Rams\u00a0and\u00a0Washington Commanders\u00a0earlier Sunday. The loss ensured that last year\u2019s NFC champions will have a losing season for the first time since 2020.<\/p>\n
The Dolphins (7-8) helped their chances of making the playoffs for a third straight season, but will need to win their final two games and get help from losses by the Broncos, Chargers and Colts for that to happen.<\/p>\n
Trailing by nine early in the fourth, San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy found tight end Eric Saubert for a 2-yard score that cut the lead to 19-17, but the Niners couldn\u2019t get past self-inflicted wounds.<\/p>\n
After punting the ball back to Miami with 6:45 left, San Francisco was hit with consecutive penalties for illegal substitution, unnecessary roughness and offsides to give Miami 25 yards, helping set up Sanders\u2019 48-yard field goal that stretched the Dolphins\u2019 lead to five.<\/p>\n
The 49ers were penalized 11 times for 90 yards.<\/p>\n
Cornerback Kader Kohou then intercepted Purdy on the next drive, after the quarterback was pressured by defensive tackle Calais Campbell. Dolphins running back De\u2019Von Achane sealed it with a 50-yard touchdown run.<\/p>\n
Tagovailoa finished 22 of 34. Purdy was 26 of 40 for 313 yards and two touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Tyreek Hill\u2019s inconsistent season continued. He caught just 3 of 7 targets for 29 yards and a touchdown, with drops on the first two drives of the game and another on a potential touchdown in the third.<\/p>\n
Jonnu Smith caught six passes for 62 yards to set the Dolphins\u2019 single-season franchise record for receptions (76) and receiving yards (802) by a tight end.<\/p>\n
Sanders was 5 of 5, including a 54-yarder, which made him 11 of 13 on field goals of 50-plus yards this year. San Francisco\u2019s Jake Moody missed a 41-yarder in the third.<\/p>\n
Deebo Samuel caught his first touchdown since Week 6 on a 16-yard score in which he\u00a0muscled through\u00a0several defenders on his way into the end zone.<\/p>\n
Miami moved into 49ers territory three times in the first half but settled for field goals before Hill\u2019s 3-yard touchdown catch from Tagovailoa that put the Dolphins ahead with 3:20 left in the second.<\/p>\n
Purdy then drove San Francisco 67 yards down the field to set up Moody\u2019s 21-yard field goal to cut Miami\u2019s lead to 13-10 at halftime.<\/p>\n
49ers: LB Dre Greenlaw (right calf), LG Aaron banks (knee) and LT Jaylon Moore (quad) left with injuries. \u2026 DE Leonard Floyd played through a shoulder injury suffered in the first quarter.<\/p>\n
Dolphins: WR Jaylen Waddle did not play because of a knee injury suffered last week. \u2026 CB Kendall Fuller (knee) and LB Jordyn Brookes (quad\/knee) left in the second half.<\/p>\n
49ers: Host Detroit on Monday Dec. 30.<\/p>\n
Dolphins: At Cleveland next Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) \u2014 Tua Tagovailoa threw for 215 yards and a touchdown, Jason Sanders nailed five field goals, and the Miami Dolphins kept their playoff… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13423,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-news","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n