MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Rookie Terry McLaurin caught two touchdown passes and the Washington Redskins stopped Miami’s two-point conversion attempt with six seconds left for a 17-16 victory Sunday in a matchup between winless teams.
Adrian Peterson more than doubled his season rushing total with 118 for Bill Callahan in his first game as interim coach. Washington intercepted Josh Rosen twice and sacked him five times before he was benched at the start of the fourth quarter with the Dolphins trailing 17-3.
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Rosen’s replacement, Ryan Fitzpatrick, sparked a rally and led two touchdown drives, including a 75-yard march that began with 2:02 left. But after Fitzpatrick hit DeVante Parker for an 11-yard score to cut the deficit to one point, rookie coach Brian Flores decided to go for two.
Running back Kenyan Drake dropped Fitzpatrick’s quick pass with several defenders between him and the goal line.
Washington (1-5) looked like a different team after firing coach Jay Gruden, but the caliber of the opposition had something to do with that. The Dolphins (0-5) remained winless under Flores but helped their chances of securing the No. 1 draft pick in April.
Although Miami’s defense had its best effort of the season, McLaurin slipped behind the secondary to catch scoring passes of 25 and 33 yards from Case Keenum, who returned after missing one game because of a foot injury.
McLaurin, a third-round draft pick who has been one of the Redskins’ few bright spots this year, totaled four receptions for 100 yards.
Callahan gave Peterson a significant workload as expected, and the four-time All-Pro running back carried 23 times to reach the 100-yard rushing mark for the 56th time.
Meanwhile, Miami’s offense generated few cheers from the half-empty stadium and remained on pace for the lowest-scoring 16-game season in NFL history.
The Dolphins used six offensive linemen at times and converted two fourth downs, one with special teams trickery. They attempted an onside kick, which was foiled by a penalty.
Nothing could reverse their fortunes. Rosen went 15 for 25 for only 85 yards. Fitzpatrick went 12 for 18 for 132, and helped the Dolphins score their first second-half points all year.
But they never led and have been ahead for only three minutes, 49 seconds this season.