Game thoughts: Week 18, Jets at Dolphins

by **JMP** Sun Jan 08, 2023 6:04 pm

Today’s game featured two teams coming off 5-game losing streaks, each starting their 3rd string QB and missing a bunch of key players. And, it looked exactly as you might expect: an ugly, sloppy, mistake-filled game with both teams looking embarrassingly bad more often than not. Accordingly, the score at halftime was 3-3. It didn’t get any better than that, and the game was every bit as bad as the final score of 11-6 score would indicate.

But in the end, the Dolphins clawed their way to victory and clinched their first playoff berth since 2016. It wasn’t pretty – at all – but the win is all that matters.

The Dolphins played arguably their sloppiest game of the year, with multiple false starts and offsides, bad miscommunication, missed blocks, missed tackles, an absolutely pointless challenge by Mike McDaniel, and on and on.

With rookie QB Skylar Thompson struggling to do anything positive, the Dolphins relied on the running game. Having awful field position all day certainly didn’t help, but the passing game was all but non-existent. Fortunately the run game was mostly great. Raheem Mostert was outstanding before leaving with a thumb injury. Jeff Wilson also had a big game on the ground, and even Salvon Ahmed had a key run. The RBs combined for 150 rushing yards, and were really the reason the offense even got to 9 points. The OL was solid in run blocking, but mostly awful in pass protection. Thompson does have a tendency to hold the ball too long, but he was under constant pressure when he dropped back. Tyreek Hill was in and out of the game with an ankle injury, as he and Jaylen Waddle were held in check by the stifling Jets pass defense. Mike Gesicki and Durham Smythe contributed a few clutch catches.

The defense was outstanding overall, but they could not get any turnovers or sacks against a 38 year old Joe Flacco playing behind a depleted OL. The D also allowed their weekly long 4th quarter drive, this time a 14-play, 58 yard drive lasting for almost 8:30 and ending in a game-tying FG. Rookie WR Garrett Wilson absolutely destroyed the Dolphins, gaining 89 yards on 9 catches. But other than that, the Phins D dominated. No other Jets receiver had more than 17 yards, and Jets RBs combined for just 38 yards on 20 carries. It was very frustrating watching Jae Phillips get to the QB over and over with nothing to show for it, but at the end of the day the Jets scored 6 points and managed just 187 total yards. That is a dominant performance by any measure.

And then there is the hero of the day: the much-maligned Jason Sanders. Sanders was a one-man scoring machine, making all 3 of his FG attempts including the game-winning 50-yard FG with under 30 seconds left. Sanders has been shaky at times this season, but today he was money.

So there you have it: a hard-fought but ugly win – and most importantly, a trip to the postseason. Next week, the Phins travel to Buffalo to take on the Bills. We’ll see what happens, but for now I am going to celebrate this win and the trip to the playoffs.

GO PHINS!!!

Hero of the Game: As already mentioned, Jason Sanders gets the nod for an excellent day. Sanders nailed a 50 yarder to win the game and put his team in the playoffs.

Goat of the Game: I am not going to say anything negative about anyone. Ugly as it was, this team showed heart and resilience today, and they got the job done.

by DolFan 316 Sun Jan 08, 2023 6:11 pm

JMP wrote:The D also allowed their weekly long 4th quarter drive, this time a 14-play, 58 yard drive lasting for almost 8:30 and ending in a game-tying FG.

For the game, the Fins had the ball nearly 11 more minutes. So yeah, this is definitely not a "D being gassed" thing. At this point it's a Boyer thing and 8 days from now he needs to be gone.

And then there is the hero of the day: the much-maligned Jason Sanders. Sanders was a one-man scoring machine, making all 3 of his FG attempts including the game-winning 50-yard FG with under 30 seconds left. Sanders has been shaky at times this season, but today he was money.

I never really did hate Sanders like everybody else seemed to. Was he underperforming for a while? Yes. Was Grier stupid for signing him (or any kicker) to a long term deal? Absolutely. But Sanders was never as much of a problem as the road D, or the backup QB situation, or McDaniels' refusal to run, or the injury prone players being injured, or Tua forgetting to play QB in December before getting hurt.

by mercury22nathan Sun Jan 08, 2023 7:55 pm

I don’t know if he’s hurt, lost a step or just wasn’t trying, X Howard is the goat of the game. He was awful. He was getting abused in coverage- and luckily Flacco made some inaccurate throws or it would’ve been much worse. Howard made a few “business decisions” and pulled up from making the tackle.

Congrats to Ekuzanma (sp?) for finally getting on the field and making a 3 yard catch.

Phins could’ve/should’ve put this game away in the first half but self inflicted injuries (false start and 23 yard loss on a bad snap) killed ‘em.

Iggy again a healthy scratch despite a thin secondary.

But hey, in the end Sanders’ leg and a maybe horse collar penalty dragged this faltering team into the playoffs- finally. Put everything behind ‘em, it’s a one game season now. Let’s go DOLPHINS!!

by DolFan 316 Sun Jan 08, 2023 7:57 pm

I won't say anything negative in this thread.

That'll be reserved for other threads. (Rim shot.)

by **JMP** Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:22 pm

One note on McDaniel: I know he is hated now and everyone wants him gone, but he made an absolutely brilliant move today when he brought Sanders out for a 59 yard FG while the Jets were in punt coverage. That forced the Jets to use a timeout, and not having that timeout late was pretty important. Great chess move by McDaniel.

by **JMP** Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:23 pm

mercury22nathan wrote:I don’t know if he’s hurt, lost a step or just wasn’t trying, X Howard is the goat of the game. He was awful. He was getting abused in coverage- and luckily Flacco made some inaccurate throws or it would’ve been much worse. Howard made a few “business decisions” and pulled up from making the tackle.

X got toasted multiple times by Wilson, absolutely toasted. He did make a couple of key plays late, but yeah that was ugly.

by DolFan 316 Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:24 pm

JMP wrote:One note on McDaniel: I know he is hated now and everyone wants him gone, but he made an absolutely brilliant move today when he brought Sanders out for a 59 yard FG while the Jets were in punt coverage. That forced the Jets to use a timeout, and not having that timeout late was pretty important. Great chess move by McDaniel.

Nah, that was just the Jets being stupid enough to think Sanders would actually be allowed to kick a 59-yard FG. Really makes me wonder what the hell coaches are really doing during the 100 or so hours a week they claim to be working their asses off.

I don't "hate" McDaniel BTW, I just think he's Gase with more people skills and less insane luck.

by **JMP** Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:31 pm

Nah, Gase's offenses were among the league's worst year after year, with both the Dolphins and Jets. He was an absolute fraud. McDaniel isn't a fraud...he actually brought us a real offense, one that was scoring 30 points a game at one point and was top 10 in scoring heading into week 18. If anything, McDaniel is the anti-Gase.

by finskev Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:14 pm

Well It was Bowling Shoe Ugly but will Take it, Sanders Kick was the Second Most Important Play of this Up and Down Crazy Ass Season, Thinking should I keep Y’all in Suspense about the #1 Play or make You Wait for it. Hmm Hmm Hmm, Okay I Will Tell Y’all it was Iggy’s Interception against Steelers to Win the Game and get us the Tie Breaker.

by DolFan 316 Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:18 pm

finskev wrote:Well It was Bowling Shoe Ugly but will Take it, Sanders Kick was the Second Most Important Play of this Up and Down Crazy Ass Season, Thinking should I keep Y’all in Suspense about the #1 Play or make You Wait for it. Hmm Hmm Hmm, Okay I Will Tell Y’all it was Iggy’s Interception against Steelers to Win the Game and get us the Tie Breaker.

Game thoughts: Week 18, Jets at Dolphins 3f2

by **JMP** Sun Jan 08, 2023 9:18 pm

Great point, Kev - I didn't even think about that win over the Steelers, but yes, that Iggy INT was HUGE for getting us in!!!

It's a beautiful day - the Dolphins are in the playoffs, and the Patriots, Jets and Brian Flores aren't! Twisted Evil

by CarsonChris Mon Jan 09, 2023 8:28 am

I don't want McDaniel gone. I want Grier and Boyer gone. I want the scouting department gone.

McDaniel has the team playing hard.

by **JMP** Mon Jan 09, 2023 8:49 am

CarsonChris wrote:I don't want McDaniel gone. I want Grier and Boyer gone. I want the scouting department gone.

McDaniel has the team playing hard.

Yeah, this team is fighting and clawing till the end, despite the insane number of injuries. They have definitely bought into McDaniel.

Boyer is gone - no doubt about it. Let's hope STs coach Danny Crossman follows him out the door.

But Grier? No way he's going anywhere - not after 3 consecutive winning seasons and a playoff berth.

by DolFan 316 Mon Jan 09, 2023 9:30 am

The worst part about this playoff appearance is that Grier will be staying on, even though it was his constant signing of injury-prone players that almost ruined it and the previous two Fins teams were actually better IMO.

There's not even any guarantee that Boyer or Crossman will be gone. That's McDaniel's call, and he strikes me as the sort who hates to change anything. Had this team missed the postseason with a 6-game losing streak, there would've been enough outrage for *some* significant change, but now things will just say the same. With how Grier's backed this team into a corner cap-wise and with no real draft capital, it kinda has to.

by **JMP** Mon Jan 09, 2023 9:51 am

DolFan 316 wrote:the previous two Fins teams were actually better IMO.

Huh? Really?? Our offense was garbage the past two seasons. This year we finished #7 overall in offensive TDs - 2020 we were #14 and 2021 we were #15. And our starting QB had the best passer rating in the entire league. The defense was obviously worse, but the big jump in offense more than makes up for it.

by DolFan 316 Mon Jan 09, 2023 10:02 am

JMP wrote:
DolFan 316 wrote:the previous two Fins teams were actually better IMO.

Huh? Really?? Our offense was garbage the past two seasons. This year we finished #7 overall in offensive TDs - 2020 we were #14 and 2021 we were #15. And our starting QB had the best passer rating in the entire league. The defense was obviously worse, but the big jump in offense more than makes up for it.

The 2020 team averaged two more points per game than this one without Waddle and Hill. Don't get hung up on the fact that team was only 15th in scoring, the league scoring average that season was nearly three more points per game higher than this one. Besides, is being 11th really *that* much better than being 15th? Also, the '20 team had the best point differential for any Fins team in 18 years and won 10 games.

Last year's team won 8 of 9 down the stretch--a hell of a lot better than this team performed--and NOBODY wanted to face them in the playoffs. The last two teams IMO could've even won a playoff game had they gotten in. It's certainly not insane to say that even with Hill and Waddle and Pre-December Tua, this team still wasn't as good as those two overall. But sometimes that's just how things work. There have even been multiple repeat Super Bow champs whose second team was clearly worse than the first.

by **JMP** Mon Jan 09, 2023 10:16 am

I was talking about offensive TDs - not points scored. Anyway, this team is the best of the 3 IMHO. If you disagree, that's fine. No need to worry about it either way. It doesn't matter in the end, because this team is in the playoffs, and the others weren't.

by HalCHorn Mon Jan 09, 2023 10:20 am

Ugly, ugly win but I'll take it. We've been on the wrong side of things often enough for sure.

Now? I just want to see progress. Progress would be not getting our asses kicked. 27-0, 20-3, 27-9 and 30-10 were the scores of the Dolphin playoff games over the last 23 years since our last win (which was pretty ugly too, The Feed did his best to give it away but Lamar Smith wouldn't let him). We can compete with this team. Just go up there and make this game compelling. Win or lose, really doesn't matter. Just show up.

by DolFan 316 Mon Jan 09, 2023 10:28 am

HalCHorn wrote:Ugly, ugly win but I'll take it. We've been on the wrong side of things often enough for sure.

Now? I just want to see progress. Progress would be not getting our asses kicked. 27-0, 20-3, 27-9 and 30-10 were the scores of the Dolphin playoff games over the last 23 years since our last win (which was pretty ugly too, The Feed did his best to give it away but Lamar Smith wouldn't let him). We can compete with this team. Just go up there and make this game compelling. Win or lose, really doesn't matter. Just show up.

The precedent I keep thinking of is when the 2014 Cards were forced to enter the playoffs with third year 6th rounder Ryan Lindley as their starter. They put up a far better fight than anybody expected and actually led in the 2nd quarter 14-10 before the awful offense (8 first downs, 78 total yards, 3 turnovers) finally caught up with them. Even then the loss was by a respectable 27-16. Lindley BTW played just one more NFL season--as a backup for the Colts.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/201501030car.htm

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/L/LindRy00.htm

The main differences were that the 2014 Cards were a clearly better team and were playing a far worse opponent in the Panthers who won the NFC South at 8-8.

by **JMP** Mon Jan 09, 2023 10:56 am

HalCHorn wrote:Ugly, ugly win but I'll take it. We've been on the wrong side of things often enough for sure.

Now? I just want to see progress. Progress would be not getting our asses kicked. 27-0, 20-3, 27-9 and 30-10 were the scores of the Dolphin playoff games over the last 23 years since our last win (which was pretty ugly too, The Feed did his best to give it away but Lamar Smith wouldn't let him). We can compete with this team. Just go up there and make this game compelling. Win or lose, really doesn't matter. Just show up.

Yep, I agree. Let's see this team continue to fight till death - that in itself would be a win regardless of the final score, given our usual playoff ugliness.

One thing in our favor is that we have no pressure. All the pressure is on the Bills - they are the media darlings, they are the team everyone predicted to win the AFC, they are expected to win. No one expects anything from the Dolphins, so we're playing with house money. Hopefully McDaniel can get this team to play fast and loose, and just go out there and compete like they are capable of.

by **JMP** Mon Jan 09, 2023 11:04 am

Shout out to Alec Ingold, who absolutely kicked ass as a blocker yesterday. He's quietly been one of the unsung heroes on this team all season, doing a lot of the dirty work in the run game.

And speaking of the run game, Mostert finished the season with over 1000 all-purpose yards. He had almost 900 yards rushing at 4.9 yards a carry. A massive improvement over last year's disastrous run game!

Both players were excellent FA pickups. Hopefully we can re-sign Mostert.

by mercury22nathan Mon Jan 09, 2023 11:27 am

No matter how they made it to the post season, the fact is, they made it.

Is this team a powerhouse that appears poised to stomp its way to the Super Bowl? No. How could they be? Forced to start a rookie 3rd string QB (not named Purdy) with a O-line on 3rd string tackles and the fastest WR duo seemingly limping through games – and I haven’t even mentioned a defense with an injury depleted secondary, an almost got ‘em pass rush and a penchant to give up just enough yardage to allow the opposition to convert any 3rd down. If you had asked the question when they were 8-3 (and Josh Allen was suffering games with multiple turnovers), it could’ve been argued they had as legitimate shot as any other real AFC contender. Remember when Chris Colinsworth uttered those words placing Miami and Super Bowl in the same sentence in the Chargers pre-game comments. Even with the 49ers loss in the review mirror, no one thought him crazy. Fast forward to 8-8 and this team didn’t look like it had a shot to enter the postseason. And let’s be honest, even with Tua instead of Skylar it looked like the offense had been figured out. No, no one in their right mind would give this team a shot at a championship, much less a victory this coming Sunday.

But the fact is, they are here. A victory might not be likely, but I’m gonna enjoy a playoff appearance for the first time in too many years (and hope they don’t embarrass themselves) and worry about the offseason and next year – well, in the offseason and next year. This season is not the end goal – its hopefully the first building block.

by DolFan 316 Mon Jan 09, 2023 11:34 am

mercury22nathan wrote:No matter how they made it to the post season, the fact is, they made it.

Is this team a powerhouse that appears poised to stomp its way to the Super Bowl? No. How could they be? Forced to start a rookie 3rd string QB (not named Purdy) with a O-line on 3rd string tackles and the fastest WR duo seemingly limping through games – and I haven’t even mentioned a defense with an injury depleted secondary, an almost got ‘em pass rush and a penchant to give up just enough yardage to allow the opposition to convert any 3rd down. If you had asked the question when they were 8-3 (and Josh Allen was suffering games with multiple turnovers), it could’ve been argued they had as legitimate shot as any other real AFC contender. Remember when Chris Colinsworth uttered those words placing Miami and Super Bowl in the same sentence in the Chargers pre-game comments. Even with the 49ers loss in the review mirror, no one thought him crazy. Fast forward to 8-8 and this team didn’t look like it had a shot to enter the postseason. And let’s be honest, even with Tua instead of Skylar it looked like the offense had been figured out. No, no one in their right mind would give this team a shot at a championship, much less a victory this coming Sunday.

But the fact is, they are here. A victory might not be likely, but I’m gonna enjoy a playoff appearance for the first time in too many years (and hope they don’t embarrass themselves) and worry about the offseason and next year – well, in the offseason and next year. This season is not the end goal – its hopefully the first building block.

You, sir, officially win the thread cheers

That's as well done a summary of the season and situation as anybody could've managed.

by **JMP** Mon Jan 09, 2023 11:42 am

mercury22nathan wrote:No matter how they made it to the post season, the fact is, they made it.

Is this team a powerhouse that appears poised to stomp its way to the Super Bowl? No. How could they be? Forced to start a rookie 3rd string QB (not named Purdy) with a O-line on 3rd string tackles and the fastest WR duo seemingly limping through games – and I haven’t even mentioned a defense with an injury depleted secondary, an almost got ‘em pass rush and a penchant to give up just enough yardage to allow the opposition to convert any 3rd down. If you had asked the question when they were 8-3 (and Josh Allen was suffering games with multiple turnovers), it could’ve been argued they had as legitimate shot as any other real AFC contender. Remember when Chris Colinsworth uttered those words placing Miami and Super Bowl in the same sentence in the Chargers pre-game comments. Even with the 49ers loss in the review mirror, no one thought him crazy. Fast forward to 8-8 and this team didn’t look like it had a shot to enter the postseason. And let’s be honest, even with Tua instead of Skylar it looked like the offense had been figured out. No, no one in their right mind would give this team a shot at a championship, much less a victory this coming Sunday.

But the fact is, they are here. A victory might not be likely, but I’m gonna enjoy a playoff appearance for the first time in too many years (and hope they don’t embarrass themselves) and worry about the offseason and next year – well, in the offseason and next year. This season is not the end goal – its hopefully the first building block.

Outstanding post, merc! Well said!

by **JMP** Mon Jan 09, 2023 3:48 pm

https://twitter.com/i/status/1612468210925797376

Great video of the Phins celebrating the victory yesterday. First, someone (Holland maybe??) takes out TD (the mascot), and then at about 10 seconds in Wilkins almost destroys Chris Grier! Wilkins is like a bull in a China shop! Laughing

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