Jaylen Waddle’s best game comes at perfect time to keep short-handed Dolphins on course
Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said he saw signs this offseason that Jaylen Waddle could have a huge year.
Injuries, however, have hampered Waddle in his third NFL campaign.
But over the past three weeks, McDaniel said Sunday he’s seen some of the same flashes, making him believe a breakout game from Waddle may have been on tap.
It came at the perfect time Sunday afternoon with Tyreek Hill unavailable as Waddle delivered a clutch performance that helped the Dolphins shut out the Jets 30-0.
“Jaylen had the best or right up there with the top three offseasons of anyone on the team,” McDaniel said. “He came into training camp with a lot of momentum then had random injuries he was dealing with. One of the coolest parts about this season has been watching him progress through those injuries.”
Waddle matched a season high eight catches on nine targets, finishing with a season-high 142 yards and a touchdown in the victory.
The highlight was a 60-yard touchdown catch on a deep route with 7:42 left in the second quarter that put Miami ahead 17-0.
It was Waddle’s longest reception of the season and his fourth touchdown catch this year.
“I feel like when a guy like Tyreek is out, it’s not just one player that needs to step up,” Waddle said. “When you have a Hall of Fame player like Cheetah out, you miss him. I think we did a good job.”
It was Waddle’s fifth consecutive game of 50 or more receiving yards. Waddle has also caught five or more passes in eight of his past 10 games.
But that consistency hasn’t come without adversity to overcome.
Waddle has dealt with knee and back injuries and sustained a concussion earlier in the season.
Even on Sunday, Waddle had an injury scare before his big game had barely begun when he made a leaping grab over the middle and landed hard on the ground suffering what was believed to be a chest injury.
Waddle returned in the first half and said postgame that he “got the wind knocked out of him and just had to catch his breath.”
“He’s been battling and he feels like he’s not bringing enough to the table,” running back Raheem Mostert said. “But for him to do what he did, that shows the type of character we have on this offense.”
McDaniel said the connectivity he and quarterback Tua Tagovailoa showed throughout the week of practice leading up to Sunday’s game led to the big play in the second quarter.
Waddle beat Jets cornerback D.J. Reed by a step and left him on the ground as he sped under the throw from Tagovailoa and to the end zone on a play reminiscent of several touchdown catches made by Hill this season.
“It was a simple double move and Tua put it on the money and we made a play,” Waddle said.
Waddle also made a key pickup on fourth-and-5 from Jets’ 45 with 11:34 left in the third quarter when he caught a pass from Tagovailoa on a crossing route and sped 20 yards for a first down.
Tagovailoa was able to find Waddle on such short routes he turned into longer gains. Tagovailoa said after the game it helped the Dolphins figure out how the Jets’ defensive approach against them with Hill out and how much pressure they might bring.
“I think in that regard, [McDaniel] was just trying to get the ball out as quickly as possible because it also does help our guys up front,” Tagovailoa said. “It throws off the timing of the D-linemen with where the spot is for the quarterback. I think that that was something that Mike had done really well in the game plan for today.”
McDaniel said he had been waiting about three weeks for Waddle, who also caught eight passes in the Dolphins’ first win against the Jets this season on Nov. 24, to have a game like this. McDaniel felt Waddle had his best route-running game of the season last Monday night against the Titans and that he simply carried that over in practice this week.
“Not many people are capable of going vertical (like he did), and he did a left-right move and still found an exit angle,” McDaniel said. “We really liked the player, the matchup and the way those two [Waddle and Tagovailoa] connected all week. It was a pretty easy call.”
