Already playing without Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins lost his replacement at quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, on their first snap of the game against the New York Jets on Sunday.

That put rookie Skylar Thompson under center for the Dolphins, and Jets defensive end Carl Lawson made the quarterback’s NFL debut miserable as New York posted a 40-17 victory.

Lawson made two tackles, recorded one sack that resulted in a fumble and rang up the highest number of quarterback hits by an NFL player in a game this season with seven. Since the NFL began tracking quarterback hits in 1999, Lawson’s seven is two more than any other Jets player had had in one game.

Lawson missed the 2021 season with a torn Achilles tendon. Entering Sunday’s contest, Lawson had 1.5 sacks and seven quarterback hits in the first four games this season.

“I’m extremely blessed,” Lawson said after Sunday’s game. “All glory to God. I’m thankful just to be back out there. It’s been a really, really tough road. My body’s still coming back to me. I’m not 100 percent there, but when I finally do get there, it could be even better, so I just got to keep working.”

Lawson’s strip-sack of Thompson gave New York possession at the Miami 5-yard line, and the Jets scored a touchdown on the next play to take a 33-17 lead with 9:08 remaining.

The victory ended a 12-game losing streak to AFC East rivals for New York as the Jets improved to 3-2 in 2022.

“It’s extremely important,” Lawson said, “and it’s something we’ve been working for, and this is the fruits of our labor.”

Lawson was among the 20 former Auburn players who got on the field on the fifth Sunday of the NFL’s 103rd season.

Four other former Auburn players were involved in the Miami-New York game:

· Dolphins defensive lineman Big Kat Bryant is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Dolphins cornerback Noah Igbinoghene (Hewitt-Trussville) made one tackle.

· Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood played but did not record any stats.

· Jets tight end C.J. Uzomah caught two passes for 12 yards.

In the other Sunday games:

New York Giants 27, Green Bay Packers 22

· Packers safety Rudy Ford (New Hope) made one tackle on special teams.

· Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton had six receptions for 79 yards. Slayton entered the game with one reception for 11 yards in the 2022 season.

Buffalo Bills 38, Pittsburgh Steelers 3

· Steelers defensive tackle Montravius Adams played but did not record any stats.

Los Angeles Chargers 30, Cleveland Browns 28

· Chargers long snapper Josh Harris handled the snaps for three field goals, three extra points and one punt.

· Browns wide receiver Anthony Schwartz was targeted once but did not have a reception.

Houston Texans 13, Jacksonville Jaguars 6

· Jaguars safety Daniel Thomas (Lee-Montgomery) made one tackle on special teams

· Jaguars wide receiver Seth Williams (Paul Bryant) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Minnesota Vikings 29, Chicago Bears 22

· Bears defensive tackle Angelo Blackson made one tackle.

New England Patriots 29, Detroit Lions 0

· Jonathan Jones started at cornerback for the Patriots. Jones made four tackles as New England shut out the team that had scored the most points in the NFL through the first four weeks of the season.

New Orleans Saints 39, Seattle Seahawks 32

· Saints safety Smoke Monday is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21, Atlanta Falcons 15

· Buccaneers inside linebacker K.J. Britt (Oxford) made one tackle on special teams.

· Falcons defensive lineman Marlon Davidson (Greenville) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Carlton Davis started at cornerback for the Buccaneers. Davis made four tackles and broke up a pass.

· Jamel Dean started at cornerback for the Buccaneers. Dean made four tackles.

Tennessee Titans 21, Washington Commanders 17

· Roger McCreary (Williamson) started at cornerback for the Titans. McCreary made two tackles.

· Malik Willis dressed for the game but did not play.

San Francisco 49ers 37, Carolina Panthers 15

· Derrick Brown started at defensive tackle for the Panthers. Brown made five tackles, recorded a tackle for loss and broke up two passes.

Philadelphia Eagles 20, Arizona Cardinals 17

· Jack Driscoll started at left offensive tackle for the Eagles. Driscoll made his first start at that position in his NFL career. His other starts had come at right guard and right tackle.

· Eagles punter Arryn Siposs averaged 47.0 yards on four punts, with a net average of 44.5. Siposs had a 45-yard punt for a fair catch at the Arizona 12-yard line, a 55-yarder returned 10 yards to the Arizona 43, a 45-yarder downed at the Arizona 7 and a 39-yarder downed at the Arizona 10.

· Cardinals linebacker Chandler Wooten is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

Baltimore Ravens 19, Cincinnati Bengals 17

· Josh Bynes started at middle linebacker for the Ravens. Bynes made six tackles, recorded one sack and registered one tackle for loss. In his 12th NFL season, Bynes now has 8.5 sacks.

Week 5 started on Thursday night, when the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Denver Broncos 12-9 in overtime.

Week 5 concludes on Monday, when the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs square off at 7:15 p.m. CDT at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. ESPN and ESPN Deportes will televise the game.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AmarkG1.