The Dolphins’ defense proves playoffs worthy, carries Tua to win in ragged first NFL start
The Miami Dolphins won again Sunday, but it wasn’t because of Tua Tagovailoa and their offense.
Rather, for long stretches, it was in spite of them.
The Dolphins turned four first-half turnovers into 21 points and Jakeem Grant returned a punt for a touchdown to key Miami’s 28-17 victory over the Los Angeles Rams.
Hats off to the defense and the special teams.
They were playoff caliber.
They got timely plays from everyone.
As for the offense?
Yikes.
They had 145 yards on 48 plays, eight first downs and converted just 3 of 12 third downs. Miami controlled the ball for less than 24 minutes Sunday.
To put it bluntly, it’s not clear that Chan Gailey has a great idea how to use Tagovailoa, who went 12 of 22 for 93 yards and a touchdown, against a relentless Rams defensive front.
There was a weird obsession with Wildcat plays.
Tagovailoa had few throws beyond 10 yards.
The running game — 55 yards on 25 carries — didn’t help. There were few limited running lanes opened up by the offensive line.
And the receivers did the rookie quarterback no favors. The Dolphins had a ton of dropped passes — including two by Preston Williams in three plays.
“I don’t think I played to the standard of what this offense is capable of,” Tagovailoa said. “Thank god we have a good defense.”
Do they ever.
One of the five best scoring defenses in the league.
Big plays at big moments were the difference.
And the Dolphins’ pass rush made Jared Goff forget how to play football.
Goff turned the ball over on four of Los Angeles’ 10 first-half possessions. The Dolphins turned three of them into three touchdowns, including a 78-yard scoop and score by Andrew Van Ginkel.
“Through the week, we caught wind, ‘Rams defense this, Rams defense that,’” Rowe said. “We’re like, they need to worry about our defense. That was one of our focus of mind. People keep sleeping on our defense, and that’s fine, but we’re going to show up every week.”
Added defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah: “The key to the game was just to attack Jared Goff. ... We know if we could get back there as fast as we can, we can affect him.”
Affected, Goff was. It was the day after Halloween, but Goff was still seeing ghosts.
It was reminiscent of Super Bowl 53, when Brian Flores crafted a game plan to shut down Goff and Sean McVay’s offense.
Speed, deception and opportunism.
The Dolphins hit Goff eight times. They broke up an incredible 13 passes.
Turnovers gave the Dolphins short field. Miami’s two touchdown drives were a combined 34 yards.
The Dolphins had just two possessions Sunday of over 20 yards. They were out-gained by a staggering 326 yards.
They crossed the 50 just three times after the first quarter. Tagovailoa fumbled on his first dropback, putting the Dolphins in an early hole.
But Miami’s offensive woes didn’t matter on this day. Not with Jakeem Grant returning a punt 88 yards for a score. Not with two sacks, two interceptions and two fumble recoveries by the defense.
Tagovailoa threw his first career touchdown pass — a three-yard dart to DeVante Parker — on the last play of the first quarter. He was on the field for just five more snaps the rest of the half. The Dolphins scored 28 first-half points on just 54 yards.
It was all they would need.
The Dolphins improved to 4-3 on the year. The Rams dropped to 5-3.
And Miami will reach the season’s midway point firmly in the hunt.
While the Bills (6-2) maintained their game and a half lead over the Dolphins in the AFC East by surviving a late rally by the Patriots, there is real cause for concern for Buffalo in the season’s second half.
The Bills’ point differential is minus-1; the Dolphins’ is plus-58.
The Bills have the fourth-hardest remaining strength of schedule; the Dolphins have the 13th-easiest.
And the Dolphins are peaking, at least on offense and special teams.
The Bills have regressed significantly since the first month of the season.
We have a good idea of Josh Allen’s ceiling.
Tagovailoa didn’t come close to reaching his Sunday.
“We won,” Flores said. “We won the game. It’s a team football game. I can’t stress that enough. I think [Tagovailoa] made enough plays for us to win the ballgame. I think collectively, if we don’t play well in one phase, we need to play well in other phases. We have a lot of confidence in him.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 4:26 PM.
