Dolphins’ winning streak ends with 33-17 loss to 49ers in McDaniel’s return to San Francisco
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Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel and 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan spent over a decade together, including five straight seasons in San Francisco, building innovative offenses.
But at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday, the two longtime collaborators’ first meeting as coaches, the mentor got the better of the mentee.
The Dolphins lost to the 49ers, 33-17, ending a five-game winning streak for Miami. Entering Sunday, the Dolphins (8-4) had not lost since quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s return from a concussion in Week 7.
Trailing 23-17 with 6:03 remaining, Tagovailoa’s fourth-down pass to tight end Mike Gesicki, initially ruled a completion, was overturned after Shanahan’s challenge. The call gave the 49ers the ball with six minutes remaining and they burned over three minutes on a drive that ended with a 48-yard field goal by kicker Robbie Gould, putting the Dolphins behind by two scores with two minutes remaining.
On the next play, defensive end Nick Bosa stripped-sack Tagovailoa and the 49ers returned it for a touchdown, ending any comeback hopes. Against an offensive line missing left tackle Terron Armstead (pectoral) and right tackle Austin Jackson (ankle), Bosa sacked Tagovailoa three times. Tagovailoa was later taken out of the game because of an ankle injury and replaced by rookie Sylar Thompson, who throw an interception on his only pass attempt.
After a career-long 75-yard touchdown pass from Tagovailoa to wide receiver Trent Sherfield, a former 49er, on the first play of the game gave the Dolphins an early 7-0, the third-year quarterback struggled for much of the afternoon.
He completed 18 of 33 passes for 295 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of third-quarter interceptions, his first since Week 4. He threw his first interception since Week 4 when he was targeting running back Jeff Wilson Jr., who fell down, and safety Jimmie Ward picked him off. He had gone 193 straight passes without throwing an interception, a franchise record.
One play after a 49ers field goal that put the Dolphins behind 20-10, Tagovailoa was intercepted again, this time by cornerback Deommodore Lenoir, on a short pass that was behind wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
The Dolphins trailed 23-10 at the beginning of the fourth quarter but Tagovailoa found Hill for a 45-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Dolphins’ deficit to six with 14 minutes remaining.
After the Dolphins’ defense forced a punt with 11 minutes remaining, a third-down completion to Sherfield was overturned, setting up fourth-and-1 from their own 19-yard line with 10 minutes left. McDaniel kept his offense on the field and Tagovailoa converted the play with a short completion to Hill. But Shanahan’s second challenge of the drive took the ball away from the Dolphins on the potential go-ahead drive.
49ers quarterback Jimmy Garropolo left the game and was later ruled out after injuring his foot on the team’s first drive. But rookie Brocky Purdy steadied San Francisco, completing 25 of 37 passes for 210 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
This story will be updated.
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