Jordan Love threw for 274 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Jayden Reed and Quay Walker made a key goal-line stop in the fourth quarter to help the host Green Bay Packers defeat the Miami Dolphins 30-17 on Thursday.
Green Bay (9-3) won for the third time in 11 days to remain two games behind the NFC North-leading Detroit Lions and pull even with the Minnesota Vikings in the win column.
The Dolphins (5-7) saw a three-game winning streak snapped. Miami fell two games behind Denver for the final AFC playoff spot.
A 14-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa to De’Von Achane and a two-point conversion drew the Dolphins within 27-11 late in the third quarter. Miami trailed by the same score when it reached the Green Bay 1-yard line early in the fourth, but Walker sacked Tagovailoa on fourth down.
Green Bay responded with a 33-yard Brandon McManus field goal, his third make of the night, to seal the win with 5:02 to go.
Miami is 0-8 in games started by Tagovailoa in games in which the temperature is 40 degrees or colder.
Thursday’s cold, snowy weather impacted Miami’s initial opportunity to handle the ball. After the defense forced a Packers punt on the first possession of the game, Malik Washington mishandled the return. Green Bay’s Robert Rochell recovered at the Dolphins’ 9-yard line and the Packers scored three plays later on a 3-yard connection from Love to Reed.
Green Bay took a 24-3 lead into halftime.
Jacobs punctuated a 12-play, 76-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring run with 55 seconds left in the first quarter.
Miami responded with a 33-yard Jason Sanders field goal midway through the second quarter but yielded the next 10 points before intermission. Love hit Reed for a 12-yard TD pass with 1:36 to go in the second quarter, then added McManus’ 46-yarder following a Dolphins turnover on downs.
The Dolphins drew within the final margin on a 12-yard TD pass from Tagovailoa to Tyreek Hill with 3:04 left.
Tagovailoa passed for 365 yards and two touchdowns. Jonnu Smith had 10 receptions for 113 yards and Hill had six catches for 83 yards.
Tucker Kraft led the Packers with six catches for 78 yards. Jacobs ran for 43 yards and caught four passes for 74 yards.
Dolphins cornerback Cam Smith left the game with a shoulder injury.
–Field Level Media
