Things we learned in Miami Dolphins’ 31-16 victory over the New York Giants
The Dolphins' big-play offense was back in full effect as they had three plays of 60 or more yards in their win over N.Y. But QB Tua Tagovailoa threw a pick-six and had another interception. Here are some more takeaways from Sunday.
MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins are back atop the AFC East.
The combination of the Dolphins’ 31-16 victory over the New York Giants and Buffalo’s 25-20 loss to Jacksonville means the Dolphins (4-1) are in first place once again ahead of the Bills.
The Dolphins had their big-play offense back in full effect as they had three plays of 60 or more yards.
But quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw a pick-6 and had another interception at the Dolphins’ 30-yard line.
Still, the Dolphins did what they had to do.
The interceptions meant this wasn’t exactly the “get-right” game the Dolphins hoped for, and fans expected, but a win is a win. Here are some more takeaways from Sunday:
Tua is human
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had two interceptions and both kept the Giants in the game.
On Tagovailoa’s second interception it appeared he was attempting a touch pass over the head of center Connor Williams, who was blocking. It seemed the ball sailed over Jaylen Waddle, the intended receiver, and into the hands of Giants linebacker Bobby Okereke. The Giants kicked a field goal to cut their deficit to 24-13 in the third quarter.
It was Okereke who deflected the ball earlier when Tagovailoa had a pick-6 by strong safety Jason Pinnock, a touchdown that cut the Giants’ deficit to 14-10 late in the second quarter.
Tagovailoa ended 21 of 29 for 300 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, one sack and a 99.8 passer rating. — Chris Perkins
Big plays are back
The Dolphins had three of their four longest offensive plays of the season Sunday with rookie running back De’Von Achane’s 76-yard touchdown run and wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s 69-yard touchdown reception and Hill’s 64-yard catch-and-run reception.
The only other play in that category is wide receiver Robbie Chosen’s 68-yard touchdown reception against Denver.
Big offensive plays took a one-week break for the Dolphins with last week’s 48-20 loss at Buffalo, but they were back against the Giants.
The Dolphins entered with 11 plays for 30 or more yards but they had just one against Buffalo and two (43 and 30 yards) against New England.
Achane has three of the Dolphins’ eight longest plays with his 76-yard run vs. the Giants, 67-yard run vs. Denver, and 40-yard run vs. Denver.
Eli Apple is back
Cornerback Eli Apple, who lost his job as the nickel/fifth defensive back, returned to that job against the Giants. Apple plays the boundary in the nickel along with Xavien Howard, and Kader Kohou shifts inside to the slot.
Apple had been replaced by Justin Bethel as the nickel. Bethel remains the dime/sixth defensive back. Parry Nickerson has been replaced as the dime.
Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio hinted a change could be coming but said it wouldn’t be “earth-shattering.”
Achane is getting KO coverage snaps
Achane got some kickoff coverage snaps Sunday, which isn’t a surprise if you’ve been following the team. Achane, the speedster who had a franchise rookie rushing record 203 yards against Denver and followed that with 101 yards last week, was getting kickoff coverage snaps in training camp.
It might be a little bit unnerving, especially considering Achane has never played kickoff coverage in his life. But nowadays it’s basically running about 20 yards down field and never engaging in contact so it seems fairly safe.
Christian Wilkins is a wise man
During a second quarter timeout there were 22 players in the field, and 21 of them stood in the sun. One stood in the shade. It was Dolphins defensive lineman Christian Wilkins. That’s why that guy won the Campbell Trophy, the so-called academic Heisman Trophy, during his final season at Clemson.
Wilkins stands in shade while others stand in sun. He’s a smart guy pic.twitter.com/xTJw2Mom9v
— Chris Perkins (@chrisperk) October 8, 2023
RB fumbles getting concerning
Dolphins running backs have four fumbles in the last two games, and two of them were lost.
Achane lost a fumble in the second quarter. It was the second fumble by a running back in the game. (Raheem Mostert fumbled out of bounds in the red zone at the Giants’ 11-yard line but the ball went out of bounds.
Mostert uncharacteristically had two fumbles last week, losing one.
Connor Williams gets fourth holding call
Center Connor Williams returned after missing the Buffalo game due to a groin injury but he got flagged for his fourth holding call of the season and it wiped out a 39-yard run by Mostert.
It’s been a rough season for Dolphins centers.
Williams also had a high snap in the shotgun formation that was successfully fielded by Tagovailoa.
Run game is back
Running backs Mostert and Achane sparked a resurgent run game that rushed for <220> yards.
The Dolphins have four games of 140 or more yards rushing and two games of 200 or more, including a NFL season-best 350 yards against Denver in that 70-20 win.
Achane led the way Sunday with 148 yards on nine carries, fueled by a 76-yard touchdown run, but Mostert added 65 yards on 10 carries. He also had a 41-yard run negated on a holding call by center Connor Williams.
The Dolphins, who were 31st in the league in rushing attempts last season, opened play Sunday tied for 15th in rushing attempts (112), but No. 1 in rushing yards per game (176.8).
Defensive performance
The Dolphins’ defense gave a strong performance by not allowing an offensive touchdown to a bad offensive team. They also knocked Giants quarterback Daniel Jones out of the game.
The Giants, a bad offensive team, hardly threatened to score a touchdown as the Dolphins recorded seven sacks and held the Giants to 84 yards rushing on 27 carries.
Linebackers Jerome Baker and Emmanuel Ogbah both had 1.5 sacks and linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel had 1.0 sack. Ogbah and Van Ginkel were playing in place of edge rusher Jaelan Phillips (oblique), who missed his second consecutive game and third overall.
OL without LT Terron Armstead doing the job
The Dolphins’ offensive line gave a strong performance in its third game without Pro Bowl left tackle Terron Armstead, leading to more hope that his years-long concern might be reasonably handled.
Once again, veteran left tackle Kendall Lamm started in Arnstead’s place and did well. Elsewhere, the combination of Williams at center, Robert Hunt at right guard, Austin Jackson at right tackle and Isaiah Wynn at left guard performed well.
Wynn left the game briefly with a neck injury early in the fourth quarter but Liam Eichenberg, who had trouble at center last week, filled in nicely.
Dolphins’ non-quarterback rushing performance is beyond belief
Entering Week 5, the Dolphins non-quarterbacks have averaged an extraordinary 7.51 yards per carry, with 909 yards on their 121 runs. For some perspective, here are the top 10 seasons of yards per non-quarterback carry in the Super Bowl era: 1997 Lions: 406 for 2385 (5.87 yards per carry); 2012 Vikings: 425 for 2382 (5.60); 1994 Lions: 368 for 2021 (5.49); 2007 Vikings: 435 for 2356 (5.42); 1984 Rams: 503 for 2711 (5.39); 2011 Panthers: 316 for 1699 (5.377); 1966 Browns: 376 for 2021 (5.375); 2003 Packers: 479 for 2550 (5.32); 1973 Bills: 553 for 2939 (5.3146); 2021 Browns: 436 for 2315 (5.310) — Steve Svekis
There hasn’t been a game yet without a play of at least 43 yards
For the fifth consecutive game, the Dolphins registered at least one play of at least 43 yards, with De’Von Achane’s 76-yard lightning bolt for Miami’s second touchdown. Later in the second quarter, Tyreek Hill took a bubble screen for a 64-yard gain and then he roared for a 69-yard touchdown in the third quarter. This season, Miami has had 11 plays of such length.
Dolphins should be favored to win the AFC East
The Bills losing a “home game” in London to the Jacksonville Jaguars cleared a ton of space for Miami obviously, but, for the second week in a row, the Bills sustained major injuries on defense, with star linebacker Matt Milano being carted off and Von Miller, who made his first start since his ACL injury last year, finished the game wearing a baseball cap instead of his helmet. And, finally, the Dolphins have only four road games left and a neutral-site contest, while the Bills play six road games in their final 11, including on Jan. 7, 2024 in Miami Gardens in the regular-season finale.
How is the Never-Even-Interviewed-Mike-McDaniel Tour going?
It wasn’t 70-20, but the record still improved to 2-0 with a net point differential of 101-36 against teams who ignored the Miami Dolphins coach in the 2022 hiring process.
Dolphins broke the glass on Cedrick Wilson Jr.
The former Dallas Cowboy who came to Miami in the 2022 offseason, had never had a game with the Dolphins with more than two catches, but he hauled in four for 52 yards against the Giants.
Dolphins remain on pace for a historical rushing season
Through five games in a Dolphins season, these are the most rushing yards by a Dolphins team: 1975, 1,077; 1973, 940; 1972, 936; 2023, 929. With a per-game average of 185.8 rushing yards (929). If the Dolphins maintain that pace for the full season, they would end up with 3,158, breaking the club record of 2,960 from the 1972 Perfect Season, but still short of the Super Bowl-era (1966-2023) NFL record of 3,269 of the 2019 Baltimore Ravens. On a per-game basis, the 1972 Dolphins averaged 211.4 yards on the ground, and the Ravens had a 204.3-yard per-game clip.
On deck: Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m., Sunday, Hard Rock Stadium
The Tua Alabama Quarterback reunion tour continues against the lowly Panthers with rookie Bryce Young the latest to reconvene with the Dolphins’ Alabama legend (also on the tour: Mac Jones and the Patriots twice, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles). … Meanwhile, friend of the franchise Kevin Harlan will be on the microphone for CBS. Since Mike McDaniel took over the Dolphins’ reins, Harlan has called five Miami games, with the Dolphins going 5-0 and averaging 40.8 points scored per game.