The Dolphins won big in this one as they leaned on the rushing attack. Jackson turned in another impressive performance in what has been a remarkable season for the 3rd year QB. Jackson was accurate with a good majority of his passes made a few big time throwsand didn't put the ball in harm's way. Jackson favorite target in Week 17 was Devonte Parker and Parker rewarded Jackson for feeding him the ball. Parker turned four out of his five receptions into either a first down or touchdown. Tennessee tried to stop Freeman but it didn't matter what they did. Freeman was the player of the game with 5 touchdowns and +200 rushing yards.A total of three sacks for the Dolphin defense doesn't look bad at first glance but beyond those three play Miami was barely able to get pressure on Marcus Mariota. A lot of that had to do with the Titans quick passing game not providing much time to generate pressure but even on longer-developing plays the pass rush was non-existent much of the time. Going into the playoff Dolphins have some things to clean up before a tough showdown in Cleveland.
Tyree Jackson struggled to move the ball consistently due to his inability to work through his progressions and lack of feel in the pocket. Because he held onto the ball too long throughout the game, he caused a sack and multiple hits and hurries by himself. A rare struggle from the Dolphins offensive line particularly Lane Johnson. He struggled to handle the speed of Buffalo's edge rushers, especially Ed Oliver and surrendered more than a handful of pressures as a result. Howard made a nice pass breakup on a vertical route to Brown in the end zone. Howard batted a second end-zone pass intended for Sutton in the third quarter. Flowers also broke up an end-zone pass intended for Brown in the third-quarter. Bills seemed undermined for most the game and never got into a rythem.
This one reminded me of an ex girlfriend. The harder it got the kore she wanted it. And that was Mitch Trubisky in this one. A battle from start to finish, whenever the Broncos needed a big play, Mitch was there making one in the air or on the ground. The Dolphins offense sputtered its way to 35 points through a less-than-inspiring passing attack where Jackson aired it out nearly 40 times. AJ Green and Donte Freeman continue to be two of the more underutilized playmakers in the league. However, until the offense is able to move the ball with more consistency and prove the ability to connect on deep shots Miami will continue to fall short of getting the most out of its arsenal. The Dolphins offensive line did not play its best game. The Broncos defense ran mostly a 4 man rush after both ED particularly Chubb harassed Jackson. With Freeman barely able to cross the line of scrimmage throughout the game dropping an irratic quarterback within a scenario without adequate pass protection was a recipe for failure. Chubb and Miller were both excellent as pass-rushers Sunday, but Miami did a good job of neutralizing the pass-rush's impact with a quick passing game script. Rookie lineman Moffit who has struggled this season had a good game and made some plays as a pass-rusher. Keep an eye on him as the Dolphins get ready for postseason play.
Tomlinson played a good game Sunday, particularly at the intermediate and short levels of the defense. He routinely hit crossers, slants and posts off RPO fakes, including one that Harry took to the house for a long touchdown. Harry was Tomlinson's best friend in Sunday's game as he not only caught a long touchdown but also served as his security blanket on third down and extending a number of drives that helped the Patriots play keep-away from the Dolhins in the second half. The edge-rushing duo for the Dolphins consisting of Mack and Vernon made mincemeat of the Patriots pass protection. The Miami defensive front spectacularly shut down the Pats during the opening stanza, forcing Tomlinson to greatly speed up his time-to-throw, and entirely stonewalling any attempt at establishing a ground game, holding New England to 54 yards rushing. With the rushing attack scrapped and the passing offense attempting to quickly get the ball out the Dolphins defense then shifted into an early prevent mode of its Cover-2 zone scheme. This allowed linebacker Hightower to score double-digit tackles in cleaning up the many checkdowns, and provided the safeties added comfort with the Pats making zero attempt to attack them vertically. Jackson struggled to keep drives going as he was constantly in 3rd and long situations.
Tyree Jackson didn't make any splash plays but he did an excellent job of carving up the defense on slants and crossers to extend drives and play keep-away from the Jets offense. Bell's long touchdown run was the highlight of the night. He exploded down the right sideline to put the Jets up by two scores in the third quarter. Edge defender Khalil Mack had a very productive night against the Jets. He produced multiple sacks after running outside of LT Wilkinson and he added a second sack in the third quarter after quickly beating center Boone. Mack's third sack of the game came in the fourth quarter when he and Moffit meet at the QB and he finished his game off right by generating a fourth sack after beating Wilkinson on a stunt. Dolphins secondary couldn't do much right as Darnold moved the ball downfield with ease. If the Dolphins want to make a post season the defense is going to need to tighten up.
This one got ugly and fast! 3 Interceptions highlighted the Dolphins first half. Tyree Jackson had a strong performance on Sunday night. He didn't light the world on fire but he was accurate, he made plays with his feet and he didn't put the ball into harm's way. Paired with the performance from his defense, Jackson did more than enough to earn Miami the win in a pivotal mid season game. Both AJ Green and Devonte Parker showed up for their star quarterback. Both players were heavily targeted and they made good on those targets with solid production. Both guys were machines when it came to picking up first downs as neither player dropped a pass and Green made a couple of guys miss with the ball in his hands. Rookie DB Dickson was targeted a handful of times throughout the game and didn't give up a lot in coverage. He was also able to break up a couple of passes. Howard was all over the field tonight. He allowed the Dolphins to mix up a lot of their coverage looks and he was able to tally a few stops and a pass breakup in the game. The Dolphins have a game next against New York for the division lead.
Quarterback Tyree Jackson was solid but unspectacular against the Texans. Jackson didn’t turn the ball over and tossed 3 TD passes. Freeman continues to display quickness and decisive cuts with the ball in his hands. Freeman topped the 100-yard mark on the day and had a 26-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Miami enjoyed some success on the ground in the second half which was due largely to the struggles of the linebacking corps. None struggled more than Dylan Cole as he repeatedly allowed linemen to get on top of him and bullrush him backward in the second level. Khalil Mack had one of his better games of the season as he was relentless off the edge when rushing the passer. He also notched multiple run stops as well as constantly pressuring Watson. Dolphins secondary held there own against arguably the best WR Corp in the league. Watson didn't turn the ball over but never seemed to push the ball downfield.
As long as the Dolphins didn't get pressure on the Saints QB (which was the vast majority of the game) he was lights out. He carved up the Dolphins secondary with his intermediate accuracy and spread the ball out to all of his receivers. WR Kenny Stills had a huge day, notching two touchdowns in the game. Kenny was mostly unguardable in man and zone coverage. Khalil Mack stood out for the Dolphins front, picking up multiple stops around the line of scrimmage in the run game while also making his presence felt late as a pass-rusher with a pressure and a pair of batted passes in the fourth quarter. Miami’s secondary fell apart late in the game as they allowed Hartman & Co. to charge back into the game. No one player was the lone culprit as just about everyone on the back end saw passes head their way and largely failed to make plays. Dolphins will take away from this one the way Tyree struggled. 4 interceptions on the day and was never able to get into a rythem.
After a tough loss a week ago against the Raiders, the Dolphins bounced back putting together a complete team effort win. Holding the Patriots to under 250 yards and forcing Tom Brady into 4 interceptions. ILB Baker and Mcmillian shines, each grabbing an interception. Brady wasn't pressure unless blitzed but struggled to find guys open downfield consistently checking it down and audibling to runs. Dolphins QB Jackson played almost flawless throwing 3 touchdowns and completing 86% of his passes. The unsung hero in this one was Cordarrelle Patterson. Became on strong with a kick return touchdown and 4 catches for 84 yards and another score. Patterson has been a big part of the success of the offense both running and receiving the ball. Freeman played a quite game, he was never able to get it going average less than 4 yards a carry.
David Carr had a phenomenal day against the Phins. He took care of the ball and seemed to find every mistake the Dolphins made. He made a few big-time throws without any turnover-worthy plays. Antonio Brown was one of the best players on the field today. Brown was effective both running short routes underneath and catching it over the top with his highlight play coming on an 84-yard touchdown reception from a corner route. To nobody's surprise Celin Ferrell was a constant presence in the Dolphins backfield. He had three sacks but added a quarterback hit and even more hurries when rushing the passer. He also was no slouch in the run game where he also made some big plays. Tyree Jackson finished the game with 4 interceptions and played his by far worst game of the season. AJ Green did continue his excellent play snatching a touchdown and gaining 138 yards on 4 catches.
Tyree Jackson didn't have the spectacular outing we've come to expect from him every week. Injuried on the 3rd play of the game, Rosen was thrown into the fire. Rosen missed several throws and recorded a bad turnover-worthy play on his interception to Patriots conerback Jackson. Playing the middle third in cover-3, Jackson jumped in front of Rosen's pass intended for Devonte Parker on a go route. Rosen was also under constant pressure and failed to push the ball downfield when under duress. He did finish the game with 350 yards. The comeback made in this one might have topped last weeks as the Dolphins trailed 26-6. The Dolphins stepped it up defensively holding the Patriots to 1 TD. Rosen and Freeman were the difference offensively as both picked there game up in the 2nd half. Biggest play of the game goes to CB Minkah Fitzpatrick who sealed the game with a INT on the 13 yard line. McMillian is the player of the game with a game changing pick 6 to give the Dolphins 1st lead late in the game.
Nothing went right for the Dolphins in this one, atleast in the 1st half. Tyree Jackson started the game 0-11. Jackson watched his team go down 22-3. The spark that started the rally was a missed FG by Zurlien with a minute before halftime. Jackson drove down and made it 22-10. The 2nd half was all Miami, out scoring LA 25-3. Dolphins run game was great again for another week rushing for 120 yards. Jackson struggled the 1st half but finished the game 14-30 244 yards and 2 TDs. The secondary was relentless against Goff picking him off 5 times. Gurley had trouble finding holes as the number 1 ranked rush defense held him to 31 total yards. Dolphins beat player was Jerome Baker who had a pair of sacks and 1 INT. Dolphins play 2-3 NE next week as Coach Flores looks to improve off this win.
DeVonta Freeman helped the Dolphins race out to an early lead with his elusiveness in space. He broke multiple tackles in the first half on his way to a strong outing both as a runner and receiver. Tyree Jackson was near flawless posting 14-18 324 yards 2 TDs. Dolphin receivers made the most out of each catch by continuously gaining yards after the catch. Rookie DB Smart was picked on frequently as he often found himself covering the dangerous array of Seattles receivers. He gave up several big plays on the day, including a 48-yarder to Lockett in the second quarter. Dolphins defense overall was very good considering the Seahawks being in the redzone 4 times and held to 3 FGs. Josh Jones continued his excellent play from last season that landed him a spot on the pro bowl with a team high 6 tackles and a INT. Player of the game goes to AJ Green who made the most out of his 3 catches scoring twice and having 153 yards.
The Dolphins finally showed up in a game after what has been a disastrous start to the season. Tyree Jackson and the passing game clicked throughout with a number of deep connections to TE Mike Gesicki. DeVonta Freeman was the star in this one with 130 yards rushing and a TD. Minkah Fitzpatrick added a nice pass breakup in the fourth quarter to force a Chargers field goal. Wilkins collected a late second-quarter sack of Philip Rivers to tally his first of the season, then added a second sack in the third quarter. Dolphins played a near perfect game to dominate the Chargers in all 3 facets. Rookie DT Pettyway had his first 2 sacks of his young career and put notice to coach Flores. Player of the game was Freeman, his ability to run the ball and help control the clock was the difference.
Cardinals cornerback Byron Murphy jr seemed to get targeted on every throw and the biggest play he gave up on a day where he gave up quite a few was on a deep crosser to Mike Glescki who had him by a step then kept on going all the way to the house. Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray has been impressive through the first 2 games this season and that won’t change after this game. Murray has an uncanny ability to consistently make perfect deep throws like the one that hit Andy Isabella for the team’s first score. Wherever Jerome Baker lined up on the field he made a positive impact. He put fierce pressure on the pocket attacked his gaps to frustrate blockers and helped to stall plays throughout the game. His most electrifying play came when he darted through an A-gap to tackle Murray on a RPO. The Dolphins secondary did not play well in this one. No matter who they threw at Andy Isabella found a way to take advantage. While the Kyler Murray led offense is as dangerous as any in the NFL. If the team expects to make another run at a Super Bowl they need to shore up the defense. It was a game of three Jackson's. The Tyree Jackson who shredded the Arizona secondary in tandem with superstar AJ Green over the first three quarters. The Jackson who began the fourth quarter with a three-and-out and a Interception and then there was the Jackson who reconnected with Parker to drive the Dolphins offense on two consecutive scoring to tie the game. Eerily similar to last week where the Dolphins came out strong and played a strong 1st half against the Jets. However dissimilar to last week Jackson saved some gas for the fourth quarter continuing to help move Miami downfield and help the offense keep pace with Cardinals. Jackson took quite a bit of punishment throughout the game and deserves a large portion of the credit for the team’s entertaining showing. 4th year linebacker Baker had two huge plays knocking the ball loose from Arizona's Running Back David Johnson. One unluckily bounced out of bounds and the otherwhile recovered didn’t lead to points. The Cardinals struggled to get pressure in the first half. Their few sacks came late after lots of time in the pocket for Tyree Jackson. Unless the Dolphins can get the defense under control it's going to be another long season.