Jaylen Waddle injury: Dolphins WR exits game vs. Texans after scary fall

Jaylen Waddle was injured during the second quarter of Miami’s Week 15 matchup against the Houston Texans on Sunday.

Waddle appeared to get his leg caught under a defender trying to make a play on the ball. The defender, Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o, was attempting to tackle Dolphins running back De’Von Achane. Waddle was in the wrong place at the wrong time and rolled his leg under the defender.

Waddle had to be helped to the sideline after the play. He was later ruled as questionable to return with a knee injury by the Dolphins before halftime.

Jaylen Waddle went down in a lot of pain after he got his leg caught up here. He's being further evaluated. pic.twitter.com/u9Zqqmm9IN

— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) December 15, 2024

Waddle had two targets on the day but did not record a catch before the injury forced him out in the second quarter.

Miami largely struggled in the passing game during the first half on Sunday. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovaila threw his first interception in over a month, and his second since September during the first half.

He completed 14 of 20 for 86 yards while Miami failed to reach the end zone. Achane has been the biggest contributor in the passing game, catching six passes for 25 yards out of the backfield. Miami’s leading receiver was Malik Washington, who caught three passes for 33 yards.

All-Pro wideout Tyreek Hill had no catches on three targets as well, meaning five of Tagovailoa’s six incompletions were targeted toward his two top receivers.

The interception from Tagovailoa was nearly a pick-six on Miami’s final drive of the second half. Texans safety Calen Bullock returned the pick 68 yards which set Houston up for a half-ending chip-shot field goal to give the Texans a seven-point lead heading into the break.

At 6-7 overall, Sunday’s matchup against Houston could be looked at as a must-win situation for Miami. Currently on the outside looking in if the regular season ended today, they’d be the second team out of the AFC since the Colts own the tiebreaker over Miami based on head-to-head win percentage.