Packers and Dolphins tied at 10 after first quarter
Q1
The Packers won the opening coin toss and deferred. With the opening kickoff, Mason Crosby officially played in his 256th consecutive regular-season game, breaking Brett Favre’s franchise record. That ties Crosby with London Fletcher for fourth-longest streak in NFL history.
Raheem Mostert carried the ball three times for 33 yards on the Dolphins’ opening drive, while Tyreek Hill added a 14-yard completion. Tua Tagovailoa tried to hit Hill deep on third-and-3 but Rasul Douglas stayed with him to force the incompletion. Jason Sanders made a 46-yard field goal to give Miami a 3-0 lead with 11 minutes, 10 seconds left in the first quarter.
Keisean Nixon returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to the Miami 9-yard line. That’s the longest Green Bay kickoff since Randall Cobb’s 108-yard touchdown against the New Orleans Saints on Sept. 8, 2011. Aaron Jones rushed for four yards on first down but Aaron Rodgers was sacked on a play-action rollout on the next play.
That was Nixon’s fourth kickoff return of 50 or more yards this season, that’s the most in the NFL since Andre Roberts had six for the New York Jets in 2018. Nixon is also the only Packers kickoff returner to have more kickoff returns of 50 or more yards since at least 2000.
After an incomplete pass on third down, Mason Crosby made a 36-yard field goal to tie the game at 3 with 9:26 left in the first quarter.
Miami pulled back ahead, though, with Jaylen Waddle taking his first reception of the afternoon for an 84-yard touchdown to put the Dolphins up 10-3 with 9:08 left in the first quarter. Instead of kicking to Nixon, the Dolphins tried a surprise onside kick that Josiah Deguara jumped on at the Green Bay 46.
The Packers opened their next series with an 11-yard pass to Allen Lazard and then moved into Miami’s red zone with a 20-yard completion to Christian Watson off a crossing pattern. Rodgers scrambled 12 yards on third-and-3 to set up first-and-goal at the Miami 3. Facing fourth-and-goal at the 1, Rodgers found a wide-open Marcedes Lewis for the touchdown in a package that saw all four tight ends on the field.
Green Bay forced Miami to punt after Connor Williams was called for a holding penalty and a bad snap led to a 7-yard loss on second-and-14. The first quarter ended with a 42-yard pass to Lazard.
