Game 14 thoughts: Patriots at Dolphins

The Dolphins entered this game in full playoff mode, essentially needing to win their last 3 games. The Patriots came to Miami in an unfamiliar role, looking to play spoiler, and after a slow Dolphins start they almost succeeded. But fortunately, behind a road-grading ground game and bend-but-don’t-break defense, the Dolphins prevailed and lived to fight another day.

The game was scoreless late in the first quarter when, at the end of a beautiful 9-minute, 95-yard drive, Tua Tagovailoa threw an endzone INT. He got hit from behind as he threw. Terrible play – he has to feel that pressure coming. The INT led to a 6-minute Patriots’ FG drive to put them up 3-0.

The Dolphins then went three and out and the Pats followed by driving for a FG to go up 6-0. On that drive, Brandon Jones forced a fumble that appeared to be recovered by Xavien Howard and returned 86 yards for a TD. But the play was overturned when the replay showed that the ball was touched out of bounds before the recovery.

The ugly half ended with a Jason Sanders missed 52-yard FG attempt as time expired.

Playing without his top 3 receivers, Tua really struggled throwing the ball in the half, but the running game did some nice things.

The running game would explode in the second half, starting with the Dolphins’ opening drive. The 72-yard TD drive was punctuated by a one-yard run by Salvon Ahmed. Matt Breida showed some tough running on the drive, Lynn Bowden had a 9-yard run on a double reverse, Mack Hollins had a big catch and Tua took the ball to 1st and goal on an RPO run. Overall, it was an impressive drive that saw everyone contributing.

On the ensuing drive, Howard forced a fumble that was recovered by Elandon Roberts. Unfortunately, the Phins’ offense went backwards on their drive and then got penalized on what would have been a successful fake punt. The Patriots got the ball inside their own 10 and then marched downfield for a 35-yard FG to regain the lead, 9-7. The Dolphins had a penalty and gave up a 35-yard pass on that drive.

The Dolphins answered with a 90-yard TD drive culminating in a Tua TD run, and highlighted by an Ahmed 31-yard run and more tough running by Breida. The key play was a Patrick Laird 12-yard run on 3rd and 8, which featured some nice-decision-making by Tua on the RPO. The Phins got the 2-point conversion on a hook-and-ladder play with Isaiah Ford and Ahmed to take a 6-point lead in the 4th. LG Solomon Kindley got injured on the drive and was replaced by Michael Dieter. The drive was aided by a surprising 12-man penalty on NE coming back from the break at the end of the 3rd quarter. At this point, the Dolphins were riding a wave created by a dominant OL and running game, just using a dink-and-dunk short passing game to keep the defense honest.


The Miami D then proceeded to get shredded on the next Patriots drive, giving up a couple of big runs and a 25-yard pass on 3rd and long, plus another penalty, en route to another New England FG. The score was now 15-12 Miami, with just under 10 minutes to go.

Bend-don’t-break continues to be this defense’s mantra, and today they worked it to perfection. They gave up too many big plays today, but in the end they allowed zero TDs, and that’s all that matters.

The Dolphins responded with a playoff-caliber drive, led by a brutal, crushing rushing attack. Ahmed had more key runs, Breida ripped off 22 and 9-yard runs on consecutive attempts, and Tua capped the drive by scoring on a QB sneak, his second rushing TD of the day, sprung by a devastating Ted Karras block. Ahmed and Breida were in full-blown beast mode today...just unstoppable.

DE Emmanual Ogbah sealed the victory with a 4th down sack on the ensuing Patriot drive, and the Miami offense ended the day running out the clock!

One note on Tua: while he did not have a good statistical day throwing the ball, he did make some key throws and his decision-making on RPO plays was stellar. He did complete 20 of 26 passes, which is excellent, but it was all short throws. I think Tua took a huge step forward today, despite the modest passing numbers. He showed toughness and never folded, even after the INT. I think he learned how to manage an NFL game today, something it often takes young QBs a long time to learn.

The playoff hunt is still alive after this gut-check win. On a day when the Phins were decidedly short-handed, the entire team came together and played as one to get the W. This was a huge victory for the franchise, and the 9-5 record is a huge turnaround after last season’s 5-win effort. The fight continues with two consecutive road games. Let’s hope the Phins come out fired up and looking for blood against a tough Raiders team next week. If they can continue to run the ball the way they did today, the Phins could get on a roll here.


Hero of the Game: Salvon Ahmed (122 yards), Matt Breida (86 yards) and the entire offensive line share the honors this week, with a bone-crushing, soul-stealing rushing attack. The Phins gained an incredible 250 yards on the ground. Kudos to Lynn Bowden and Durham Smythe, who both made a bunch of clutch plays in the passing game.

Goat of the Game: After a huge victory like this, I’m not saying anything bad about anyone on this team! I do have to call out Coach Flores for not one but two brutal challenges, both of which he had zero chance of winning.

Beer of the Game: Once again, Montauk Cold Day IPAs were flowing!

YESSS!!! DIE YOU EVIL PATRIOTS DIE!!! MUAHAHAHAHA!!! BUT ONLY THE FOOTBALL TEAM!!! AND ONLY METAPHORICALLY!!!

What did I tell you guys going into last season's playoffs? The best way to defeat a Belichick D has always been to just hammer it right at them and run it down their throats. I also told you their reign of twisted terror and tyranny was finally done for good

The Raiders seem like poseurs to me, I think the Fins can take them.

Also, nice to see Jmp so fired up

Looking at the injury report prior to the game Miami had no chance of winning this game. This victory is a signal that Miami has changed from the team it has been for the last 2 decades. We are no longer smoke and mirrors to win. We can beat you when we are down. This team has changed its chemistry from a culture of losing to a culture of accountability and winning.

This is one game where Tua’s stats didn’t matter. This was never going to be a stat based victory from the passing game as there wasn’t a true threat in the receiving game. Tua got the only stat that mattered today, the W in the win column!

The Patriots are now out of playoff contention, right? PLEASE tell me they're out of playoff contention!

I still think this expanded playoffs nonsense was specifically designed to keep them always in the postseason forevermore. But that might just be me.

Yes, Pats are officially OUT!!!!!!

Phins' offense 7 of 12 on 3rd downs today! Wow!

By the way...

One of my favorite offensive plays from today was the Malcolm Perry first down. It was third and short, and pre-snap Perry went in motion across the formation from left to right, then came back left a couple of steps. While Tua was pretending to look to the sideline for the playcall, the ball was snapped directly to Perry and he ran for the first down. Brilliant call by Gailey.

But the reason I liked it so much? Alabama ran that exact same play last night! As I watched, I thought "it would be so cool to see the Phins do that play some time!" Sure enough, they pulled it out today! Love it!

JMP wrote:Yes, Pats are officially OUT!!!!!!  

Just found out that their streak of 19 straight winning seasons was snapped, meaning they don't even get to share the record of 20 straight with the '66-85 Cowboys. What a pity

Also, just found out the Jets actually...won??? So hopefully that kills any chance of them getting Lawrence. Leave it to the Jets to not even be able to tank properly I suppose after the Williams Incident they had to show the NFL they were at least trying to win one game for PR purposes.

I found the ball control football in this game refreshing.

You can do that when you have a really good defense.

And when Cam Newton is your opposing QB.

Tom Pelissero
@TomPelissero
#Dolphins RB Salvon Ahmed’s grandma, Dee Brown, is in the hospital, and he told people he’d get 100 yards for her today. No Miami player had done that in two years ... but Ahmed is up to 114 yards and a TD. Somewhere, Grandma -- who calls him The Real Cheetah -- is smiling.

Degarmo wrote:I found the ball control football in this game refreshing.

You can do that when you have a really good defense.

And when Cam Newton is your opposing QB.

I should've known you would start up with your outdated, antiquated, ball control and running game is important narrative

(Okay, in this case it actually was, I'll give you that.)

JMP wrote:
Tom Pelissero
@TomPelissero
#Dolphins RB Salvon Ahmed’s grandma, Dee Brown, is in the hospital, and he told people he’d get 100 yards for her today. No Miami player had done that in two years ... but Ahmed is up to 114 yards and a TD. Somewhere, Grandma -- who calls him The Real Cheetah -- is smiling.

I hope she doesn't have the virus...

Remember when a Fins RB getting 100 yards in a game was a Really Big Deal? I swear, back in the '80s/early 90s I actually used to write down when it happened because it was just that rare Now it literally almost goes unnoticed because the running game has been that far reduced in importance.

DolFan 316 wrote:

Degarmo wrote:I found the ball control football in this game refreshing.

You can do that when you have a really good defense.

And when Cam Newton is your opposing QB.

I should've known you would start up with your outdated, antiquated, ball control and running game is important narrative

(Okay, in this case it actually was, I'll give you that.)

It only works under a certain set of circumstances these days. It is antiquated, just like pass defense.

I'm excited to see Tua operate with more weapons.  Why not bring in Allen Robinson during free agency? Seems to have the size and skill set to operate in our offense, and has done well in Chicago with a very lackluster line of QBs to throw to him.  No way he drops that pass that Hollins failed to catch yesterday...

By the way, looking at the receivers yesterday vs our December run last year is an incredible exercise. Finishing 2019 - Parker, Hurns, A Wilson, Grant, Ford. Yesterday - Hollins, Bowden (R), Perry (R) for ten snaps and Ford elevated from practice squad. Wow, that's a really thin WR corps but it sounds like both Grant and Parker excellent chance to play against Raiders.

white1 wrote:I'm excited to see Tua operate with more weapons.  Why not bring in Allen Robinson during free agency? Seems to have the size and skill set to operate in our offense, and has done well in Chicago with a very lackluster line of QBs to throw to him.  No way he drops that pass that Hollins failed to catch yesterday...

By the way, looking at the receivers yesterday vs our December run last year is an incredible exercise. Finishing 2019 - Parker, Hurns, A Wilson, Grant, Ford. Yesterday - Hollins, Bowden (R), Perry (R) for ten snaps and Ford elevated from practice squad. Wow, that's a really thin WR corps but it sounds like both Grant and Parker excellent chance to play against Raiders.

With a normally limited running game we need receivers that can get YAC. It’s important that our slot receiver and RB can get some yards after the catch. So far this offense has been limited by the lack of YAC. I believe this is a symptom of limited ability with the receiving Corp.

After 14 games, the Dolphin defense is ranked #1 in points allowed, #1 in 3rd down %, and #1 in takeaways!!!!

Hard to believe how far this team has come since last season. Truly amazing.

JMP wrote:After 14 games, the Dolphin defense is ranked #1 in points allowed, #1 in 3rd down %, and #1 in takeaways!!!!      

Hard to believe how far this team has come since last season.  Truly amazing.

It truly hurts my soul that they were forced to begin this of all seasons VS the Pats and Bills right out of the gate If not for that damn 0-2 start in the division this might already be a playoff team.

DolFan 316 wrote:

JMP wrote:After 14 games, the Dolphin defense is ranked #1 in points allowed, #1 in 3rd down %, and #1 in takeaways!!!!      

Hard to believe how far this team has come since last season.  Truly amazing.

It truly hurts my soul that they were forced to begin this of all seasons VS the Pats and Bills right out of the gate If not for that damn 0-2 start in the division this might already be a playoff team.

Yep, very true. And if Byron Jones had played in those first few games the defensive stats would probably be even better.