QUARTERBACK

It was arguably Ryan Tannehill’s finest day of the season. His 123.3 quarterback rating was the highest of the year. And aside from his 220 passing yards, he added 52 rushing yards that loosened up the Jacksonville defense. There was also the fact he didn’t throw any interceptions, which is things coaches most worry about. If there are nits to be picked it is that Tannehill misfired on a seam pass to Rishard Matthews which would have been a touchdown had it led the receiver instead of being behind him. He made up for that with great recognition, which included throwing both TD passes to his second reads in the pattern. GRADE: A-

RUNNING BACKS

Reggie Bush made it quite clear after the game he would rather get 20-22 carries per game than the 12-15 he’s been averaging throughout the season. He proved his comfort level with the greater amount of work by posting his first 100-yard performance since Sept. 16. That, coincidently, is the last Bush had 20 carries or more this season. Daniel Thomas got one carry and left the game with a right knee injury. Durability issues? Lamar Miller got the most carries (6) he has had in a game since September but couldn’t turn into significant yardage. Indeed, Miami’s second best rusher was Tannehill, several times on spread option keepers. GRADE: B-plus

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

Receivers/tight ends: Anthony Fasano took the targets that usually go to Davone Bess and came away with six catches and a TD. It was one of his finer games this season. Brian Hartline was quiet most of the day but he came away with five catches for a team-high 77 yards, putting him 1,002 for the season. Hartline did drop a short TD pass. Marlon Moore and Rishard Matthews did their part. Charles Clay had two catches before leaving the game with a knee injury. GRADE: C-plus

OFFENSIVE LINE

The most troubling moment for this group came when two of them had an opportunity to fall on a fumble before any Jacksonville player could and both whiffed. That moment happened when Richie Incognito’s man sacked Tannehill as he stepped up and Jason Babin forced the fumble while rallying to the quarterback from behind. Rookie Jonathan Martin otherwise had no major issues against Babin and the interior of the Miami line at no time was overmatched by former first-round pick Tyson Alualu. Nate Garner had a false start penalty, otherwise it was a day of few mental errors for the Miami linemen GRADE: B

DEFENSIVE LINE

The Jaguars tried three fourth-down plays needing less than 2 yards and failed on all three. All three! Jared Odrick had one sack and was in Chad Henne’s face several other times, including the Jacksonville touchdown that was nullified when a lineman failed to report as eligible. Cameron Wake was shut out in the sack department but, yes, that was him tackling Justin Blackmon 38 yards downfield in the first half. GRADE: B-plus

LINEBACKERS

Kevin Burnett had a fine day, including eight tackles, a sack, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry. Karlos Dansby wasn’t quite so spectacular but he had six tackles and a pass defensed. Jason Trusnik, playing for the injured Koa Misi, was not a weak link at all in the defense or among the linebackers. GRADE: B-plus

SECONDARY

The officials were calling it tight, which is perhaps the reason Sean Smith was flagged for a pass interference. Chris Clemons was very active, leading the team with 10 tackles while also fighting off a neck injury that forced him to leave the game temporarily. GRADE: B

SPECIAL TEAMS

Marcus Thigpen had three fair catches, which was two more than the number he had all season before Sunday. The reason is Thigpen had to field punts back in his territory as well as the ones out beyond the 20 yard line. Normally, Davone Bess fields the ones closer to the goal line. Um, on that fake field goal: No. No. No. Bad looking play, bad execution, bad idea. GRADE: C

COACHING

Why try that fake field goal against the Jaguars when a field goal would have put Miami up by a seemingly insurmountable 10 points? Anyway, no harm. At least the staff had the team ready to play against an inferior opponent and they didn’t play down to the opposition. GRADE: C-plus

OVERALL

The Dolphins did exactly what they were expected to do. If they did that every week, they’d be great. GRADE: B