MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Jakeem Grant scored on a tiebreaking 102-yard kickoff return with 14 minutes to go, and the Miami Dolphins overcame two weather delays to win the longest game since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, beating the Tennessee Titans 27-20 Sunday.

Delays for lightning lasted a total of 3 hours, 59 minutes, and the game took 7 hours, 10 minutes to play. The previous longest game since 1970 was a Bears overtime victory against the Ravens in 2013 that took 5 hours, 16 minutes.

Grant’s touchdown triggered a late flurry of big plays in a season opener that was lackluster for the first six hours. Titans starting quarterback Marcus Mariota threw two interceptions in the third quarter and then came out of the game because of an elbow injury. Tight end Delanie Walker was carted off the field later in the quarter because of a right leg injury, and tackle Taylor Lewan suffered a concussion, all of which meant a miserable start for Mike Vrabel in his head coaching debut.

Miami led 7-3 when the game was suspended for nearly two hours late in the first half. The teams went to the locker room during the delay and stayed on the field for halftime, which was shortened to 3 minutes.

Lightning forced a halt again midway through the third quarter, and the second stoppage lasted just over two hours. Perhaps 10,000 fans remained at the finish.

NO LONGER welcome on an NFL sideline, Colin Kaepernick turned to social media to make his point on the NFL’s opening Sunday.In a tweet, Kaepernick gave a shout-out to “my brothers,” Dolphins teammates Kenny Stills and Albert Watson, who were the only two players in the league to take a knee during the national anthem before Sunday’s games.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.