Tua Tagovailoa's TD pass to Jonnu Smith gives Dolphins 32-26 overtime win over Aaron Rodgers, Jets

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Tua Tagovailoa wouldn't want to repeat everything that was said in the Miami Dolphins' huddle Sunday when they trailed the New York Jets in the fourth quarter.

“Just know we were getting after everyone inside the huddle," Tagovailoa said, "to make sure you're blocking the way you need to block, you're running the routes the way you need to be — you need to be in the right spots."

Whatever was said helped keep Miami's slim playoff hopes alive as the Dolphins (6-7) overcame 8- and 3-point fourth-quarter deficits, as well as one of Aaron Rodgers' best games in years, to beat the Jets 32-26.

Tagovailoa sealed it with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jonnu Smith in overtime to help the Dolphins spoil Rodgers' first 300-yard passing game in nearly three years and beat the Jets for the ninth straight time in Miami.

After Jason Sanders tied it with 7 seconds left in regulation with a 42-yard field goal, Tagovailoa quickly moved the Dolphins down the field.

That came after Anders Carlson gave the struggling Jets (3-10) — who were eliminated from postseason contention for the 14th straight year — the lead with a 42-yarder with 52 seconds remaining. But Malik Washington put the Dolphins in great position to help set up Sanders' field goal with a 45-yard kickoff return to Miami's 46-yard line.

“It was one of those moments where you make a split (second)- decision and just take it and see what happens next," the rookie Washington said, "and be a football player.”

Tagovailoa was 33 of 47 for 331 yards and two TDs. He had just one incompletion on Miami's eight-play, 70-yard scoring drive that was capped by Smith's fourth touchdown of the season. Smith didn’t have a reception before catching three passes for 44 yards on the winning drive.

“A win means a lot,” said Tagovailoa, who has 300 yards passing in three straight games. “It means a lot because we have no room for error to lose another game."

Rodgers was 27 of 39 for 339 yards, ending a drought of 34 regular-season games without a 300-yard passing game — dating to Dec. 12, 2021, while with Green Bay — and had a TD pass to Davante Adams.

But Rodgers could only watch from the sideline in overtime as the Jets never got the ball after blowing a second straight second-half lead.

“A lot of different ways we’ve lost these games,” Rodgers said. “Everybody has some skin on that, but we had opportunities on offense. Whatever happens on defense doesn’t matter. We got to get to 30 (points). We didn’t do it.”

Rodgers and Adams connected for a 3-yard score in the third quarter, the pair's 79th touchdown in the regular and postseason. They passed Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown for the fourth-most by a quarterback-receiver duo in NFL history.

Adams finished with nine catches and 109 yards.

Down 8 at the start of the fourth, Tagovailoa found Tyreek Hill for a 4-yard touchdown, and Jaylen Waddle caught the two-point conversion to tie it at 23. Hill caught 10 passes for 115 yards, and Waddle added 99 yards on nine catches.

The Jets had taken a 20-15 lead in the third on Adams' touchdown that was set up by a 42-yard pickup by Garrett Wilson, who beat cornerback Jalen Ramsey on a double move to get open. A 40-yard field goal by Carlson later stretched New York's lead to 8 after the Dolphins went scoreless in the quarter.

“Actually, when we were down 23-15, when we were trotting back on the field, everybody knew what was at stake at that moment,” Hill said. “We know if we lose, it’s over. Our season is over.”

The matchup pitted the Jets' No. 2-ranked pass defense against Tagovailoa, the NFL's most accurate passer, and Miami's No. 9-ranked pass defense against the four-time MVP Rodgers who has had a subpar season.

Both quarterbacks were strong and the teams played rather evenly at first, with each scoring on their first three possessions. The first punt of the game was on Miami's first drive of the second half, and the Jets scored on their first five possessions.

Tagovailoa had just three incompletions in the first half and was 3 for 3 on Miami's final drive of the second quarter, moving the Dolphins into field goal range in 45 seconds to set up a 57-yarder by Sanders, which tied the kicker's career best.

Sanders also made kicks of 39 and 24 yards, and De'Von Achane had a 2-yard touchdown run on Miami's opening possession.

Rodgers moved the Jets inside Miami's 20 three times in the first half. Isaiah Davis ran for a 17-yard score, and Carlson made field goals of 28 and 30 yards.

Wilson caught seven passes for 114 yards.

Jets: RT Morgan Moses injured his wrist during pregame warmups. He started, but was replaced during the game by Max Mitchell. ... WR Irvin Charles left with a knee injury.

Dolphins: LT Terron Armstead left early after apparently tweaking the knee that sidelined him this week in practice. ... WR Dee Eskridge (knee) and LB Anthony Walker Jr (hamstring) were also injured.

Jets: At Jacksonville next Sunday.

Dolphins: At Houston next Sunday.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

New York Jets place kicker Anders Carlson (18) kicks a field goal during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

New York Jets cornerback Brandin Echols (26) goes after Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Dolphins linebacker Chop Robinson (44) tackles New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (5) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Dolphins running back De'Von Achane (28) scores a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

New York Jets wide receiver Davante Adams (17) scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) and New York Jets wide receiver Davante Adams (17) celebrate a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Jaylen Waddle (17) and wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) celebrate a touchdown and a two-point conversion during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Dolphins place kicker Jason Sanders (7) kicks a field goal to tie the game during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) aims a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) talk at the end of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) aims a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith (9) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in overtime during an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith (9) scores in overtime as New York Jets safety Tony Adams, back left, defends during an NFL football game in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald via AP)

Miami Dolphins tight end Jonnu Smith (9) celebrates a touchdown in overtime during an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

State Sen. Dan McKeon tearfully announced his resignation from the Nebraska Legislature on Tuesday ahead of scheduled debate to expel him from the body after accusations that he made a sexually charged comment to a legislative staffer and touched her inappropriately during a session-end party last year.

McKeon, a Republican from rural south-central Nebraska who had served only a year before his resignation, announced his resignation and apologized on the legislative floor just minutes before debate that would certainly have included harsh condemnation of McKeon.

“My words and actions were careless, regardless of the intent,” McKeon said. “I accept my responsibility for the impact of my words and my actions.”

“This past year has humbled me. It requires reflection, listening and learning. Accountability is not only acknowledging my mistake but committing to grow from it. I take that responsibility seriously,” McKeon said, his voice cracking.

His demeanor was a departure from what many of his fellow lawmakers found to be a defiant and flippant attitude toward the accusations leading up to his resignation. McKeon's exit came a day after the 10-member Executive Board, the body's governing board, voted unanimously to forward a motion to expel McKeon to the full Legislature for a vote.

The unprecedented move followed a complaint from the staffer who works for another lawmaker that McKeon approached her and another aide during a May 29 party and engaged in small talk about everyone's vacation plans. The woman said McKeon told her she should “get laid” on her vacation and patted her on her buttocks. McKeon has countered that he “made a bad pun," telling the woman she and her spouse should “go to Hawaii and enjoy a Hawaiian lei,” according to McKeon's attorney.

McKeon also countered that he patted the staffer on the back and may have accidentally brushed her rear end, but insists that if he did, it was unintentional.

McKeon's departure comes as more attention has focused on sexual harassment within state legislatures nationwide — including in Nebraska. The accusations against McKeon came about 15 months after the body was thrown in chaos when another Republican state lawmaker, former Sen. Steve Halloran, read a graphic account of rape from a bestselling memoir on the floor of the Legislature in which he repeatedly invoked the name of a fellow lawmaker, making it appear as if that lawmaker was the subject of the assault.

An outside investigation found that Halloran had violated the body’s workforce sexual harassment policy, and the Legislature's governing Executive Board issued him a letter of reprimand. But that action was met with strong criticism from several lawmakers who said Halloran should have faced a censure vote by the full body. Halloran left office in January 2025 due to term limits.

This time around, the Executive Board took a harder stance after a several lawmakers and another outside investigation found that McKeon had a history of making inappropriate comments and jokes during his time in the Legislature. The investigator also found that McKeon ignored a directive by the Executive Board's chairman not to attend events where staffers would be, showing up that same day at another party attended by the woman who filed the complaint against him.

The investigator also found that a text McKeon sent to another staffer who shares an office with the woman, in which he said she “seems to be difficult to work with,” could constitute retaliation against her.

The report determined that McKeon’s conduct did not rise to a level of sexual harassment or retaliation actionable under state or federal discrimination law, but that it did violate the Nebraska Legislature’s workplace harassment policy.

McKeon becomes at least the 57th state lawmaker in the nation to leave office via expulsion or resignation since 2017 following sexual misconduct allegations.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace after a Nebraska State Patrol investigation into his interaction with the staffer last May. McKeon has pleaded not guilty to that charge and is set to appear in court on Jan. 26.

State sen. Daniel McKeon sits during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

State Sen. Daniel McKeon takes notes during the first day of Nebraska's 2026 legislative session, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Neb. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)