Dolphins close out dominant defensive outing vs. Jets with a bit of Tua Time
There will be an appropriate time to nitpick about how the Dolphins’ offense played Sunday.
But to do so off the top would be a disservice to their defense.
Dominant. Opportunistic. Fast. Fun.
Choose your own adjective.
They all applied in the Dolphins’ defensive effort in their 24-0 blowout victory over the Jets — Miami’s first shutout in six years.
“We got contributions from a lot of different guys,” Dolphins coach Brian Flores said. “They played for 60 minutes. I’m proud of that effort.”
Added defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah, who has emerged as a destructive force the last few weeks: “We had to get used to working together. It took us a little time. But we’re on the right path.”
Could that path lead them to the postseason?
It was crazy to even mention that after Miami’s 1-3 start. But thanks to back-to-back wins, the Dolphins roll into their bye as the AFC’s ninth seed, ahead of even the New England Patriots.
Let’s pause here to make note of some history: Rookie quarterback and No. 5 pick Tua Tagovailoa made his NFL debut with 2 minutes, 27 seconds left in Sunday’s game.
He completed both of his two passes for 9 yards — and had the Dolphins’ only third-down conversion on the game’s second-to-last play.
OK, now that we’ve taken care of that, back to the plays that actually determined the game’s outcome:
The Dolphins weren’t great on offense. There were times they weren’t even particularly good.
But they were good enough to beat the worst team in football handily.
Ryan Fitzpatrick threw three touchdowns and Myles Gaskin had 126 all-purpose yards, including 91 on the ground.
But those numbers were a bit misleading. The Dolphins (3-3) should have won by 44 points, not 24. They left all kinds of points on the field.
Yet they did what was needed, and then some, for their third blowout win of the season.
And if the Dolphins do make a playoff push — which, given the softness of the middle part of their schedule, is a realistic possibility — it’s because their defense has figured things out.
The Dolphins held the Jets (0-6) to 263 yards, allowed New York to convert just 2 of 17 third downs and sacked Joe Flacco three times. Xavien Howard chipped in with his NFL-leading fourth interception.
“The ball finds me, man,” Howard said.
The Dolphins’ pass rush helps direct it to him.
Beyond their three sacks — including two by Emmanuel Ogbah — Dolphins defenders hit Flacco 10 times.
Miami had seven tackles for loss and nine pass breakups.
The last of those nine? By Bobby McCain in the end zone on fourth-and-goal, which preserved Miami’s first defensive shutout since Nov. 2, 2014.
What little offense the Dolphins needed, they got before halftime.
Touchdown passes to the flat to tight ends, Jets punts and Gaskin: That’s really all you need to know about a first half that was all Dolphins, even though they didn’t play particularly well.
So how did Miami lead 21-zip at the break? The Jets looked like a NAIA squad, and a bad one at that.
The Jets’ offense in the first half? Five first downs, 93 yards (2.9 per play) and 0 of 8 on third down — but even that does not do justice to how bad they were.
This does, though:
New York’s best drive reached Miami’s 24 before being derailed by offensive pass interference and a botched snap. Making bad things worse? Braden Mann’s punt went into the end zone, plus the Jets capped the ineptitude off with a personal foul penalty — and the Dolphins actually took over on their own 35.
Fitzpatrick converted the field position into one of his three first-half touchdown passes. Fitzpatrick did throw an interception in each half, and was quick to admit he needs to be better than he was Sunday.
“I would say we’re still a work in progress, but we’re definitely heading in the right direction,” said Fitzpatrick, who completed 18 of 27 passes for 191 yards. “We’ve brought in a lot of new guys this offseason and I think we’ve brought in the right kind of guys, and everybody has really meshed well. Even a couple weeks ago sitting at 1-3 not really feeling sorry for ourselves but continuing to work, and now to get a couple in a row and sitting at 3-3 going into the bye, it’s a good feeling for us, and I think we’re coming together as a team.”
This story was originally published October 18, 2020 at 7:09 PM.
