The Dolphins put on a master class in defensive football and dominant special teams to put away the Rams, 28-17. Miami's third straight win pushed the team to 4-3 and over .500, a significant achievement and a real sign of positive progress for coach Brian Flores.
Somehow, the 'Fins won convincingly despite Los Angeles having 23 more first downs and dominating in yardage and time of possession, forcing Miami to play 88 plays on defense. Flores & Co. won't be able to count on defensive and special teams scores every week, so let's hope that the offense can get things figured out in the next crucial stretch.
Offense
Defense
Special Teams
Momentum Plays
Offense
- It must be said that Miami had eight (8) first downs and 145 offensive yards in this game.
- Well, Tua Tagovailoa played. That might be the best we can say of this performance. He didn't break 100 yards passing, barely reached 50% completions, and had a key fumble deep in his own territory. On the plus side, he had a couple of nice balls, looked mobile on sprintouts, and took a few big hits and got up. To be fair, his receivers also didn't help him with a number of drops. It was not a full measure of what we can expect because the game got out of hand so quickly, but let's just say it was a rocky first start.
- Per usual, Myles Gaskin got a lot of work. He had 18 carries (for just 47 yards) and added a team-leading three receptions. He scored a touchdown, but that was offset by a fumble deep in Miami territory and a damaging drop on a third-down play. Matt Breida continued to be sparsely used and Jordan Howard remained inactive, yielding to Malcolm Perry, who had a couple of Wildcat looks. Perry was dropped by Aaron Donald for a 5-yard loss, but he did add a 10-yard grab later.
- The offensive line held up fine against a formidable Rams defensive front. However, Miami did resort to a very conservative game plan and a variety of rollouts to offset pressure. In addition, there were almost no running lanes for the Dolphins backs.
- The team's top two receiving threats, DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki, combined for two catches for 11 yards (Parker made a great grab on Tua's first career touchdown pass). Preston Williams was targeted a lot by Tua, but he had some very costly drops and continued to run iffy routes. Isaiah Ford had an important third-down conversion late in the game, but overall, Miami's offensive game plan mostly consisted of trying to run out the last 35 or so minutes.
- Jakeem Grant was the difference in this one. He had a 15-yard catch to set up a touchdown and then added a 44-yard kickoff return to set up Miami with great position on another drive. He largely salted the game away with his scintillating 88-yard punt return for a score.
Defense
- Miami forced Jared Goff to throw 61 passes, which is a victory in and of itself. The arc of the game was vital to the Dolphins because the Rams were having their way in the running game. The 'Fins confused Goff all day long and were able to hit him eight times.
- Up front, Emmanuel Ogbah is, frankly, playing at a Pro Bowl level. He had a sack that forced a fumble-recovery touchdown, but he was also in Goff's face on seemingly every play. On the other side, bookend Shaq Lawson also had a sack and two quarterback hits. Zach Sieler was active on the interior, posting three QB hits, and Christian Wilkins notched five tackles and an interception when he fooled Goff by dropping into coverage.
- Andrew Van Ginkel had three tackles and a tipped pass that would have resulted in an interception if he hadn't dropped it. Of course, he also had a fumble recovery that he returned 78 yards for a touchdown. His intensity and sneaky athleticism were on display all day long.
- Jerome Baker led the linebacking corps with 13 tackles, a pass breakup, and a quarterback hit. He was joined by Elandon Roberts, who played his most physical game, marked by two absolutely massive hits to go with his four overall tackles and two stops for losses. Kyle Van Noy continued his strong play with nine tackles, two pass breakups, and a fumble recovery that he nearly returned for a touchdowns.
- The Dolphins trusted Xavien Howard and Byron Jones to handle single coverage to support some exotic blitz schemes, and the duo held up. Uncharacteristically, Howard dropped two interception chances that he usually comes down with. Nik Needham quietly registered 10 tackles on a day when Miami needed every defensive back.
- Do-everything Eric Rowe is really coming on, and he put together maybe his best performance in a Dolphins uniform. In addition to seven tackles, he knocked away five (5) passes and secured an interception. Amazingly, he also dropped two other picks, including one that would have been a sure-thing pick-6.
Special Teams
- As mentioned, Grant was the story here. He was much more decisive, and that paid off with two tremendous returns that played a huge role in the outcome of the game.
- Matt Haack pinned the Rams inside the 20 on five different occasions. His net 63-yarder flipped the field in a big way, but he did have a couple of iffy boots in the mix.
- Jason Sanders had a quiet day, with no field goal attempts and hitting all four of his extra-point tries. For some reason, Miami had him try to place his kickoffs inside the 10 instead of relying on his customary touchbacks.
Momentum Plays
- On Tua's second play, he got lost in the pocket, had the ball jarred loose by Donald, and then got absolutely body-slammed by Michael Brockers. The Rams ran three straight times for a touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.
- Haack's 63-yard punt flipped field position, leading to a Wilkins interception and a short Miami drive for the tying score.
- After Gaskin's fumble gave the Rams the ball at the Miami 7-yard line, the defensive responded with a huge Roberts hit followed by a fumble forced by an unblocked Ogbah and housed by Van Ginkel for a lead that the 'Fins would never relinquish.
- After an unsuccessful ensuing drive by Los Angeles, Grant's lightning-fast, franchise-record-setting punt return broke the game open at 21-7.
- Rowe's pick -- caused by a Baker hit on Goff -- stymied a promising Rams drive, and after two Preston Williams drops ended the following Miami drive, Lawson's sack led to a fumble that Van Noy returned to the one-yard line. Gaskin punched it in for a 28-7 lead for the Dolphins.
- The Dolphins frantically tried to run out the entire second-half clock. After an uneventual third quarter, the Rams finally found a formula that worked, mixing inside runs with quick hitters to defeat pressure before miscommunication in the secondary led to a wide-open score for Robert Woods to make it 28-17, Miami.
- On the next Los Angeles possession, Goff pushed his streak to nine straight completions, but a key Rams drop led to a 48-yard field goal attempt that turned into a woeful knuckleball that flew wide left into the camera bay.
- Gaskin ran it six times in a row to set up a Haack punt that was fair-caught at the 5-yard line to effectively end the game for the Dolphins.
Miami 28, Los Angeles Rams 17 (4-3)
No comments:
Post a Comment