Quick reaction and insight: Dolphins deliver best performance of the season, beat Eagles
This was the Dolphins best game of the season. Period.
They started terribly, with an interception on the first play of the game. They trailed by two touchdowns with 11:50 to play in the third quarter.
And then things got bonkers!
Ryan Fitzpatrick went crazy, throwing for 365 yards. The defense withstood Eagles rallies time and again. And coach Brian Flores tempted fate with an onside kick, multiple fourth-down attempts and the craziest touchdown of the season -- a scoring pass from punter Matt Haack to kicker Jason Sanders off an unorthodox field goal formation.
Dolphins 37.
Eagles 31.
It was a great game, and I would encourage you to come back to this space in a couple of hours after I go to the locker room for Flores and player reaction. Meanwhile some quickie analysis:
--The Dolphins biggest star of the game was receiver DeVante Parker, who continues his most productive season since he was drafted in 2015.
Parker caught two touchdown passes among his seven receptions for 159 yards. He clearly overmatched Eagles cornerbacks in that he was not faster but simply bigger. And so he turned two 50-50 balls into catches and touchdowns.
It really was impressive in that this game sealed the fact Parker is better than he’s ever been for the Dolphins. He now has 62 catches for 853 yards. So Parker has a legitimate chance at his first career 1,000-yard season if he continues to play at this level the final four games of the season.
The beauty of this is that Parker is showing an aggressiveness we’ve not been used to previously. The light bulb is definitely on for him. And so is the confidence.
--Another recent Dolphins draft pick that is rising from possible bust status is tight end Mike Gesicki.
You have to understand he was never expected to be a physical presence in that he has never been a good blocker. And that’s fine if he wins in the secondary either against smaller corners and safeties or slower linebackers.
Well, Gesicki wasn’t winning those matchups until the past month or so. And now he’s on fire.
He scored a touchdown on Sunday, marking the second consecutive game he accomplishes that feat. Gesicki’s 14-yard score in the third quarter brought the Dolphins withing 28-26.
Gesicki finished with five catches for 79 yards and the score.
--All this was a result of excellent quarterback play by Ryan Fitzpatrick.
He threw an interception on his first pass, the first play of the game.
And then he simply went off ...
Fitzpatrick completed 27 of his next 38 passes for 365 yards and three touchdown passes. He finished the day with a 113.7 quarterback rating.
With Fitzpatrick avoiding the rush and finding open receivers, the Dolphins scored on six consecutive possessions starting in the second quarter and into the fourth quarter, not counting a kneel down at before halftime.
The Dolphins trailed 28-14 and scored 23 consecutive points to take a 37-28 lead.
This story was originally published December 1, 2019 at 4:29 PM.
