Jones celebrates in Cristiano Ronaldo style as Dolphins beat Commanders 16-13 in overtime in Spain

MADRID (AP) — Jack Jones had a fitting celebration after his overtime interception in the first NFL regular-season game in Spain.

The Miami Dolphins cornerback ran toward the sideline and stretched his arms wide after a twisting jump in front of his teammates. Jones was imitating Cristiano Ronaldo, the soccer great who used to celebrate like that at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium when he played for Real Madrid.

“I had to bring that out," he said. “I was talking to my friend and I'm like, ‘When I make a play, be ready for that celebration.'”

Jones intercepted Marcus Mariota on the first offensive play of overtime and Riley Patterson kicked a 29-yard field goal to give the Dolphins a 16-13 victory over the Washington Commanders.

Jones cut in front of Commanders tight end Zach Ertz and came away with the ball.

“They covered our first couple of options well,” Mariota said. “I tried to get back side to Zach. Guy undercut it and made a play. Unfortunate there, and give credit to him. He made a good play.”

Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks said Jones told him moments earlier that he was going to come up with the interception, making “that moment a lot cooler.”

“His exact words: Y’all stop the run. He’s going to throw me the ball, because he can’t throw,” Brooks said.

The Commanders (3-8) had a chance to win and end a five-game losing streak with 15 seconds left in regulation, but Matt Gay's 56-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. Gay, who said ahead of the game he was thrilled to have the chance to play at the Bernabeu, missed two of his four field goal attempts.

“It’s tough,” Commanders coach Dan Quinn said. “This one stings. Guys are definitely hurting, and I thought in a lot of spaces they battled, and we had our opportunity to go win it. We didn’t get that done.”

The Dolphins (4-7) were twice stopped on fourth-and-goal, including inside the final two minutes after recovering the ball on an earlier muffed punt return by the Commanders. The muff came after the Commanders were stopped on fourth-and-goal the other way.

It was the seventh — and final — international game this season, the most in one year for the NFL as it continues to expand globally.

The game in Madrid saw Puerto Rican superstar Daddy Yankee and Argentine producer Bizarrap perform at halftime in front of a crowd of 78,610 at the Bernabeu.

The Commanders, still without injured quarterback Jayden Daniels, have lost six straight, including 44-22 to the Detroit Lions at home last week, while the Dolphins were coming off a commanding 30-13 victory over the Bills.

“They fought for belief, and now they’ve been awarded real belief based on performance and results,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said “So, I think we’ll be excited to play our next game. We need the time off. We definitely wish we could play, our locker room would probably want to play tomorrow even though they’re a little beat up.”

Miami's Tua Tagovailoa went 14 for 20 for 171 yards passing without any touchdowns or interceptions.

“Great team victory,” Tagovailoa said. “All wins are good and we are going to carry this momentum along throughout the bye week and hopefully take it into our next game.”

Mariota went 20 for 30 for 213 yards with a touchdown and the interception in overtime. He also had 49 yards rushing, including 44 on a run not long after he was taken to the blue tent to be evaluated for a concussion.

Chris Rodríguez rushed for 49 yards for the Commanders, and Deebo Samuel had 74 yards receiving.

De’Von Achane had another big game for the Dolphins with 120 yards on 21 carries, plus 45 yards on five receptions. Brooks led the Dolphins with 20 total tackles.

After both teams exchanged a pair of field goals in the first half, the Commanders put together a strong drive to begin the third quarter. Washington scored the first touchdown of the game on a 20-yard reception by Samuel, who took advantage of some good blocking up front after a screen pass by Mariota.

The Dolphins tried to respond quickly and drove to the Commanders 2-yard line, but failed to score after an incomplete pass by Tagovailoa to Jaylen Waddle on fourth down.

After the Commanders were held, Miami put together another strong possession and Ollie Gordon scored on a 1-yard run.

Mariota led the Commanders to the 1 after temporarily leaving the game and clearing concussion protocol, helped by a 44-yard run on which he sped through the right side with seven Dolphins trying to catch him. But the Commanders quarterback couldn’t close out the drive with a score, throwing an incomplete pass after Ertz tripped near the end of his route on fourth-and-goal.

The Dolphins were held on the next drive, but Mike Sainristil muffed the punt and Ethan Bonner recovered for Miami at the Commanders 42 with about four minutes left. After Achane couldn’t get in from the 1 on third down, McDaniel went for it on fourth down but the Commanders made another big stop as Gordon also failed to get in.

Washington took over with 1:41 left in the game at the 3 and Mariota led the team into field goal range, but Gay couldn't convert what would have likely been a game-winner.

Dolphins: DB JuJu Brents left with an ankle injury. ... Achane injured his back in the fourth quarter, but returned. ... S Jordan Colbert was sidelined in the first half with a concussion.

Commanders: G Sam Cosmi was injured in the fourth quarter, but returned. ... WR Jaylin Lane was listed as questionable in the third quarter.

Dolphins: Bye week before hosting New Orleans on Nov. 30.

Commanders: Bye week before hosting Denver on Nov. 30.

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Miami Dolphins wide receiver Malik Washington (6), top right, is tackled by Washington Commanders safety Darnell Savage (25) during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

A shaft of sunlight streams into the stadium before an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Washington Commanders safety Darnell Savage (25) tries to block a pass from Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Miami Dolphins kicker Riley Patterson is congratulated after kicking the winning field goal in overtime of an NFL football game against the Washington Commanders in Madrid, Spain, on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Doug Benc/AP Content Services for the NFL)

Miami Dolphins cornerback Jack Jones (23) celebrates after making an interception during overtime of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Miami Dolphins running back Ollie Gordon II (31), center, scores a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Washington Commanders, left, and Miami Dolphins players stand on the field during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa (1) is tackled by Washington Commanders linebacker Von Miller (24) during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) goes to ground after scrambling for a first down during the second half of an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Miami Dolphins players celebrate with place kicker Riley Patterson (47) after his kicked a field goal during overtime to win an NFL football game between the Washington Commanders and the Miami Dolphins in Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — Authorities in northeastern Congo banned funeral wakes and gatherings of more 50 people Friday in an effort to curb a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak in a region where medical workers have struggled with a lack of resources and pushback from angry residents.

The World Health Organization said that the outbreak now poses a “very high" risk for Congo — up from a previous categorization of “high” — but that the risk of the disease spreading globally remains low.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 82 cases and seven deaths have been confirmed in Congo, but that the outbreak is believed to be “much larger."

There is no available vaccine for the Bundibugyo virus, which spread undetected for weeks in Congo's Ituri Province following the first known death while authorities tested for another, more common, Ebola virus and came up negative. There are now 750 suspected cases and 177 suspected deaths, though more are expected as surveillance expands.

“We are trying to catch up,” Congo Foreign Minister Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner told the AP. “It is a race against the clock."

Supplies were being rushed to Ituri in the northeastern corner of the country, where nearly a million people have been displaced by armed conflicts over mineral resources. Ramping up contact tracing is a priority, Kayikwamba Wagner said.

In the provincial capital of Bunia, AP reporters saw empty emergency treatment centers, and doctors in the nearby town of Bambu using expired medical masks while tending to suspected Ebola patients.

The provincial government said Friday it was temporarily banning wakes and gatherings of more than 50 people. It said funerals must be conducted in strict compliance with health protocols. The authorities also required journalists to obtain a permit to report on the outbreak, impeding their work.

The illness also has been reported in two Congolese provinces to the south of Ituri — North Kivu and South Kivu, where the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group controls many key cities, including Goma and Bukavu, where the rebels reported two cases.

The group said Friday it was creating a crisis team to fight the outbreak.

Kayikwamba Wagner said having the illness in rebel-held areas was alarming because “M23 is, despite whatever ambitions they may have, thoroughly ill equipped" to fight the disease.

She said the Congo government and rebels were not communicating on the outbreak.

The efforts of health officials and aid groups have met with pushback from communities due to misinformation or situations where medical policy has clashed with local customs such as burial rites.

On Thursday, an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara was set on fire by youths who were angered when they were blocked from retrieving the body of a friend who apparently had died of Ebola, according to witnesses and police.

The dangerous work of burying suspected victims is being managed wherever possible by authorities, because the bodies can be highly contagious and lead to further spread when they are prepared for burial or when people gather for funerals.

Julienne Lusenge, president of Women’s Solidarity for Inclusive Peace and Development, a local aid group, said the population’s anger is mostly due to misinformation. “We have lived through years and years of conflict and hardship so rumors spread easily,” she said.

She said some churches have told their congregations the outbreak is fake and that divine protection makes medical care unnecessary.

In the Ituri province mining town of Mongbwalu where the outbreak is believed to have originated, Lokana Moro Faustin lost his 16-year-old daughter to the disease and bemoaned the fact that he was not able to give her a proper goodbye because of Ebola restrictions.

“At first, we thought it was malaria. But then came vomiting, a high fever, nosebleeds, and bloody diarrhea,” he said, grief-stricken.

The teenager died on May 15 and her body was taken from the hospital by specialized teams and taken directly to the cemetery for a secure burial. Faustin was not able to say goodbye because he was in self-isolation, and it pained him to have his daughter buried by people who were not family.

The United Nations said Friday it released $60 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund to accelerate the response in Congo and in the region.

The U.S. has pledged $23 million in funding to bolster the response in Congo and Uganda, and said it would also fund the establishment of up to 50 Ebola treatment clinics in the affected regions.

Lusenge said her group’s small hospital near in Bunia lacks basic protective equipment, exposing nurses and doctors to possible infection, she said. “We only have hand sanitizer and a few masks for the nurses, but we need much more than that," Lusenge said.

Both the WHO and Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe the outbreak is larger than the cases reported so far.

The region’s already-weak health infrastructure and surveillance capacity has been further weakened by international aid cuts, experts say. The International Rescue Committee said it had to stop its surveillance activities in three out of five areas in Ituri over the last year because of funding cuts.

Armed conflict in the region further complicates efforts to handle the crisis. To get from Bunia to Mongbwalu, aid groups have to brace for potential attacks from armed groups.

“The outbreak can still be contained but the window for action is narrow,” Gabriela Arenas from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Friday.

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Pronczuk reported from Dakar, Senegal. Associated Press writers Jamey Keaten in Geneva; Constant Same Bagalwa in Bunia, Congo; Jean Yves Kamale in Kinshasa, Congo; Mark Banchereau and Wilson McMakin in Dakar, Senegal contributed to this report.

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The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Charred hospital beds stand in smoldering Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026, after it was set fire by people angry at being stopped from retrieving a body, according to a witness and police. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)

Flames and smoke rise from an Ebola treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Dirole Lotsima Dieudonne)

Medical staff carry an Ebola patient to a treatment center in Rwampara, Congo, Thursday, May 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A person is wearing a protective face mask in front of the WHO logo, during the media regarding the epidemic of Ebola disease, during a press conference at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Friday, May 22, 2026. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)