Miami Dolphins keep playoff hopes alive with 29-17 win over San Francisco 49ers, who were eliminated just before the game

The Miami Dolphins weren’t ready for their season to be over, even after a disappointing loss to Houston last week that dimmed their dim playoff hopes.

“All year long, even when things weren’t going our way, I always knew we had a playoff team,” cornerback Kader Kohou said. “So there’s no thoughts in our minds about going to Cancun or anything like that. We’re still thinking about playoffs and we’re just trying to win every game.”

Kohou helped keep those playoff chances alive when he intercepted 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy late Sunday in Miami’s 29-17 win over San Francisco.

Tua Tagovailoa threw for 215 yards and a touchdown, and Jason Sanders kicked five field goals. The Dolphins (7-8) will need to win their final two games and get help from the losses to the Broncos and Chargers to make the postseason.

The 49ers (6-9) were eliminated of the postseason for the game due to wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Commanders earlier Sunday. The loss left last year’s NFC champions facing a losing season for the first time since 2020.

Coach Kyle Shanahan said he found out after the game that his team was eliminated, but “we kind of had that atmosphere last week. I know it wasn’t official, but we understand the numbers, so we knew that last week .”

Trailing by nine early in the fourth, Purdy found Eric Saubert narrowly for a two-yard score that cut the lead to 19-17, but the Niners couldn’t get past the self-inflicted wounds.

After kicking the ball back to Miami with 6:45 to go, San Francisco was hit with consecutive penalties for illegal substitution, unnecessary roughness and offside to give Miami 25 yards, which helped set up Sanders’ 48 field goal yard that increased the Dolphins’ lead. to five. The 49ers were penalized a total of eleven times for 90 yards.

Kohou then intercepted Purdy on the next drive after the quarterback was pressured by defensive tackle Calais Campbell. Dolphins running back De’Von Achane sealed it with a 50-yard touchdown run.

“We still have a lot of fight left in us,” Campbell said. “If we have a chance, we will fight for it.

“I was proud of my boys. We kept believing and fighting. As long as we’re still alive, we’ll act like we’re still alive.”

Tagovailoa finished 22 of 34. Purdy was 26 of 40 for 313 yards and two touchdowns.

Tyreek Hill’s 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 possible touchdown in the third.

After the match, Hill took responsibility for the poor performance.

“I totally blame myself for not putting my head around it (on the first drop) and not seeing the ball,” Hill said, “because when I see the ball, we’re talking about a cross-court touchdown of 70 meters.”

Jonnu Smith caught six passes for 62 yards, setting the Dolphins’ single-season franchise record for receptions (76) and receiving yards (802) by a tight end.

Sanders was 5 of 5, including a 54-yarder, making him 11 of 13 on field goals of more than 50 yards this year. San Francisco’s Jake Moody missed a 41-yarder in the third.

Deebo Samuel caught his first touchdown since Week 6 on a 16-yard score, working through several defenders on his way to the end zone.

Miami moved into 49ers territory three times in the first half, but settled for field goals before Hill’s 3-yard touchdown catch from Tagovailoa put the Dolphins ahead with 3:20 to go in the second.

Purdy then drove San Francisco 67 yards downfield to set up Moody’s 21-yard field goal and cut Miami’s lead to 13-10 at halftime.

“That was something we had to see together as a team,” Tagovailoa said of the win. “You could see in all three phases that we were able to play the complementary football that we said we wanted to play.”

Injuries

• 49ers: LB Dre Greenlaw (right calf), LG Aaron Banks (knee) and LT Jaylon Moore (quad) left with injuries. … DE Leonard Floyd played through a shoulder injury suffered in the first quarter.
• Dolphins: WR Jaylen Waddle did not play due to a knee injury he suffered last week. …CB Kendall Fuller (knee) and LB Jordyn Brookes (quad/knee) left in the second half.

Next

• 49ers: Host Detroit on Monday, December 30.
• Dolphins: Next Sunday at Cleveland.