Ryan Fitzpatrick leads Dolphins to wild win over Raiders after replacing Tua Tagovailoa

The Miami Dolphins needed a spark.

They turned to the old reliable not only for that spark, but to maintain control of the playoff race.

And Ryan Fitzpatrick produced FitzMagic once more.

Fitzpatrick, who last played Nov. 29 against the Jets, came off the bench in relief of an ineffective Tua Tagovailoa on Saturday night against the Las Vegas Raiders to lead a shocking 26-25 victory.

Jason Sanders kicked a 44-yard field goal with one second left for the winning points. It was set up when Fitzpatrick, in desperation mode, hit Mack Hollins for a 34-yard completion. On the play, the Raiders' Arden Key was called for roughing Fitzpatrick, yanking his helmet nearly off with a blatant facemask. That moved the ball to the Miami 26-yard line and clearing the way for the field goal.

Tagovailoa had completed 17-of-22 passes for just 94 yards, an average of just 5.5 yards per completion. With the offense stuck in neutral all night, coach Brian Flores turned to Fitzpatrick down 16-13 with 9:47 left. Fitzpatrick responded by going 9-of-13 for 182 yards and a TD.

Fitzpatrick promptly led Miami on a 13-play, 84-yard drive. But it was only for a 22-yard field goal by Jason Sanders because Hollins dropped a potential 3-yard touchdown pass from Fitzpatrick.

The fireworks were just starting, with Hollins playing a starring role.

Derek Carr launched a deep ball to Nelson Agholor, who was hand-fighting with Byron Jones and gained just enough separation to haul in the ball. Agholor then eluded Bobby McCain to complete an 85-yard touchdown for a 22-16 lead after the extra point failed, which would prove to be huge.

Thankfully for the Dolphins, Fitzpatrick was just warming up.

On the next series, he hit Myles Gaskin, who was returning from injuries and the COVID-19 list. Gaskin turned it upfield, getting blocks from Mike Gesicki and Hollins, to turn it into a 59-yard touchdown for a 23-22 lead with 2:55 left.

ut on the Raiders' ensuing series Byron Jones was penalized 49 yards for interfering with Agholor after his right hand made what appeared to be slight contact with Agholor's shoulder. That gave the Raiders a first down on Miami's 22. Later, on third-and-1, linebacker Kyle Van Noy made a costly neutral zone infraction, handing the Raiders a first down. The Raiders then milked the clock before kicking a 22-yard field goal for what appeared to be the winning points with 22 seconds left.

The Dolphins (10-5) finish the regular season next Sunday at Buffalo, where a win would guarantee them a playoff berth. Flores said after the game that Tagovailoa will still be the Dolphins' starter for the Week 17 matchup.