In his sixth NFL start, Miami Dolphins quarterback Dua Takovilova recorded his first 300-yard passing game, hitting his first quick touchdown and throwing his first NFL interception to Kansas City chiefs 33-27 on Sunday.
The Dolphins captured the defensive Super Bowl champion with a declining depth chart in their skill levels, which declined as the game progressed. Running backs Miles Caskin, Matt Preeta and Salvan Ahmed – the first three Russians – did not dress for the game, wide receiver Duante Parker was out with an injury in the first half, Mike Kesiki was out with an injury in the second half and half and No. 2 wide receiver Jakeem Grant was about to leave before departure.
Lynn Botten, who had five receptions at 40 yards this season, was Miami’s leading receiver on Sunday, catching seven passes at 82 yards. Diandre Washington, who weighed 15 carats per 51 yards in 2020, led the Dolphins to a fast 35 carats at 13 carats.
“I am very confident with any of the people I play with,” Takovilova said. “I get a good amount of reps with a lot of guys. … I think those guys did a great job of making progress in this game because a lot of the guys were down, but it’s not a good feeling when you lose whoever is there.”
The former Alabama All-American completed 48 of 28 passes for 316 yards with two touchdowns and one interception and ran 24 yards and six times per touchdown.
Takovilova became the first Alabama alumnus to cross the 300 – yard line in the NFL game since November 4, 1990, when Jeff Routledge threw 363 yards in Washington Redskins’ 41-38 victory over the Detroit Lions.
“I thought he did a lot of plays for us, especially in the fourth quarter,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said about Takovilova. “Putting some shots into the tight windows and digging a little, set us up to get some points.
“But at the end of the day, I hope he’s not satisfied. None of us. We have to do a better job. Got to do more plays. They did more plays than us.”
Kesiki caught 1:35 remaining 7-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and the remaining 29-yard touchdown pass 12:03 in the fourth quarter. The first touchdown helped Miami to a 10-0 lead. The second started to come back from a 30-10 deficit. With Kansas City’s unanswered 30 points, Chief defender Chris Jones included a defense when Takovilova was eliminated from the final zone.
After a six-game, 80-yard drive that ended with Keziki’s second DT welcome, the Dolphins moved 75 yards in 14 games to reduce Kansas City’s lead to 30-24 with 4:14 remaining for Takovilova’s 1-yard touchdown sneak.
The Chiefs came back with a field goal with 68 seconds left. The Dolphins matched with 16 seconds left and recovered an onsite kick to secure the Kansas City victory.
In the fourth quarter, Takovilova completed 12 -16 passes for 150 yards without a touchdown and interruptions, and ran three times for 12 yards and a touchdown.
“We did not implement the way we were supposed to be,” Takovilova said. “I think – I don’t think so – I know the leadership will fall on me with them in the third quarter. You can’t do that. ”
In the second quarter, a long pass from Takovilova and the Chiefs’ defense were intercepted into the hands of Tyrone Mathieu. The turnover ended 153 passes without Takovilova’s interruption, the longest streak to start a career in NFL history.
While the Chiefs advanced 12-1, the New England Patriots, Las Vegas Riders and Buffalo Bills dropped the Dolphins to 8-5 in their regular season schedule.
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Mark Inabinet is a sports reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter AMarkG1.