The New England Patriots took control of the remaining wild-card position in the AFC playoffs by beating the Miami Dolphins 23-21 on Sunday.

A loss to Miami would have ended New England’s playoff chances. By defeating the Dolphins, the Patriots moved into a win-and-in scenario for the final Sunday of the NFL’s 2022 regular season. The team that New England will need to beat on the road on Jan. 8 to reach the postseason is the Buffalo Bills, who are the AFC East champions and defeated the Patriots 24-10 on Dec. 1.

“Had to get the win, and we found a way to do it,” New England quarterback Mac Jones said. “That’s what the NFL’s all about. …

“Just got to flip the page and get ready for a really good team next week.”

The Patriots opened Sunday’s game like they meant business, moving 81 yards on 10 plays, with Jones’ 7-yard pass to wide receiver Tyquan Thornton providing the first points of the game with 7:15 left in the first quarter.

The former Alabama All-American completed 4-of-6 passes for 50 yards on the touchdown drive, with the scoring toss coming on third down. But on the other two third-down snaps in the series, Miami picked up penalties on incomplete passes to keep New England moving.

After a third-quarter field goal broke a string of four straight punt possessions, the Patriots got a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown by safety Kyle Dugger to take a 16-14 lead with 2:51 left in the third quarter.

The New England offense expanded that lead with an 11-play, 89-yard touchdown drive to take a 23-14 lead with 4:37 to play. The touchdown again came on a third-down throw, going 1-yard to wide receiver Jakobi Meyers, who was initially uncovered when New England came to the line.

“It’s a one-on-one play,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. “If (Jones) likes the matchup, then he can go out there, and that just trumps the other part of the play.”

Jones completed 5-of-7 passes for 51 yards on the second touchdown series, including a 25-yard hookup with Meyers on third-and-5 from the New England 32, and ran once for a first down, too. The Patriots also got 22 yards on a defensive pass interference penalty.

The nine-point margin allowed New England to withstand a Miami touchdown with 64 seconds to play. Tight end Hunter Henry recovered the Dolphins’ onside kick to wrap up the win.

“I think it was a great day here just fighting through a lot of different things on offense,” Jones said. “I didn’t play very well in the middle of the game, but I thought our guys just kept fighting. We made some big plays in some big moments, and that’s what the NFL is all about.

“Obviously, the defense did a great job putting us in a good spot, and at the end of the game special teams came up huge with Hunter getting that onside kick. It takes everybody.”

Miami played without No. 1 QB Tua Tagovailoa. The former Alabama All-American entered the NFL concussion protocol on Monday. Backup Teddy Bridgewater sustained a hand injury in the third quarter, and rookie Skylar Thompson finished the game under center, guiding the Dolphins to a touchdown on their final possession.

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Jones completed 22-of-30 passes for 203 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions on Sunday to win for the first time in four career starts against Miami.

“We were a little inconsistent offensively, so there were some good things,” Belichick said. “… They did a good job of mixing it up, but we were able to convert enough to – combined with Kyle’s score – to convert enough to win.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.