The Miami Dolphins and Oakland Raiders have completed the first half of their International Series game in London today. The Dolphins opened the game slowly on the first possession, but turned it on after that.
The game opened with the Dolphins deferring the kick to the second half, only to allow the Raiders to march straight down the field. Gaining large chunks of yardage through the air, then supporting it with hard running from Darren McFadden, Oakland was able to move the ball 74 yards in 10 plays. The drive was capped with a three-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Derek Carr to tight end Brian Leonhardt.
Miami was able to respond on their own opening drive, moving 47 yards on eight plays. They had to settle for a field goal, however, as quarterback Ryan Tannehill hung a ball too high on third-down for receiver Brian Hartline, who made the catch but was carried out of bounds on the play. Caleb Sturgis connected on the 41-yard field goal attempt, bringing the score to 7-3.
Oakland moved the ball 20 yards on the next drive, but was forced to punt after the Dolphins defensive line and linebackers were able to hold up on a short 3rd-and-1 attempt.
The Dolphins got the ball back and started driving the field just before the end of the quarter. Tannehill took to the air before the first 15 minutes were complete, hitting Jarvis Landry for 18 yards, Brian Hartline for 35 yards, Lamar Miller for 1 yard, and Mike Wallace for 16 yards.
They were then able to pick it right back up in the second quarter, with Tannehill finding Landry for 3 yards before connecting on a short pass to Wallace on 2nd-and-7 from the Raiders' 13-yard line. Wallace fought his way through three tackles, carrying Raiders into the endzone for the score and a 10-7 lead.
Miami would hold the Raiders to a three-and-out on negative-two yards on the next possession.
The Dolphins would continue to carry the momentum on the next drive, with Tannehill completing passes to tight end Charles Clay and Hartline, as well as big runs from Daniel Thomas. The team would line up to go for it on 4th-and-inches from the Oakland eight-yard line, pitching the ball to Miller on a sweep. Miller would end up in the endzone, giving Miami a 17-7 lead.
Miami would again hold the Raiders to a three-and-out, only to have Landry fumble the ball during the return, with Oakland recovering. The defense would then hold for the third-straight three-and-out by Oakland, including a 17-yard loss when Jason Trusnik blew through the Raiders' protection on a first-down blitz, forcing an intentional grounding penalty.
Tannehill and the Miami offense once again came out firing, and once again ended up scoring. Tannehill ran the ball, threw the ball, and dissected the Raiders on the drive, gaining 18 yards on the ground and 69 yards through the air. Miller picked up the other three yards on the possession. The drive was capped with an 18-yard pass from Tannehill to tight end Dion Sims for the score and a Miami 24-7 lead.
Oakland would end their three-and-out streak with a six play drive on the next possession, but would only gain 16 yards before punting the ball back to Miami. The Dolphins simply kneeled the ball, ending the half.
The half ended with Tannehill having completed his last 14 passes, going 17-for-19 overall for 204 yards and two scores. Miller leads the game with 38 yards rushing on six carries (6.3 yards per attempt), with a score; Thomas added two carries for 25 yards. The team has gained 284 yards of offense, compared to Oakland's 132 through the first 30-minutes of play.
Miami gets the ball to start the second half.