The Miami Dolphins defense steps up in week two
The Miami Dolphins traveled to MetLife stadium Sunday and earned a 20-12 victory over the New York Jets.
The Miami Dolphins improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2013 despite being shutout in the second half by their division rival. Here are my week two takeaways.
1) ALL levels of the defense played well.
The defensive line, linebackers and secondary all played well Sunday. The D-line pressured Sam Darnold all afternoon, and came up with three sacks and five hits on the rookie QB.
Kiko Alonso led the team in tackles with 13, and as a team Miami had nine tackles for loss. Meaning, the Jets could not get anything going on the ground.
New York ran the ball 19 times for an abysmal 42 yards (2.2 ypc). This forced the Jets to become one-dimensional and rely on Darnold. The 21-year-old moved the offense down the field a few times, but could only get in the end zone once.
And most importantly, the Dolphins defense continues to force turnovers. Miami intercepted Darnold twice and forced a fumble by Robby Anderson as well. The Dolphins are now +2 in the turnover margin category through two games, and Miami’s five interceptions are tied for the most in the NFL.
2) The running game was efficient once again
The Dolphins rushed for over 100 yards for the second straight week, tallying 135 yards on 31 carries (4.4 ypc). The added dimension of the option-read was a major factor late in the game.
Tannehill ran for 44 yards including a first down on 3rd-and-6 with just over two minutes left to put the game on ice.
Kenyan Drake only carried the ball 11 times, but averaged 4.8 yards per carry. If Miami can keep this balanced offensive attack all season, they’ll be vying for a playoff spot down the stretch.
3) Tannehill continues to lead his team to victory
The sixth-year quarterback is now 9-1 over his last 10 games as the Dolphins starting quarterback and despite some struggles in the third quarter, he delivered once again for Miami late in the fourth.
First, Tannehill was 12-for-15 with 116 yards and 2 touchdowns in the first half Sunday. That is good enough for a 138.5 passer rating. The reason the Dolphins had room to work with was because of his performance in the first half, and taking advantage of the short fields the defense gave the offense.
Second, when Miami needed to tick time off the clock and possibly score on their final drive, Tannehill got it done. The 3rd-and-19 dump off to Gore kept the drive alive and led to his 3rd-and-6 run a couple of minutes later.
Yes, the throw to Gore was low. However, the 2013 version of Ryan Tannehill would have taken that sack. Instead, he climbed the pocket, avoided the rush, and got rid of the ball to Gore with the pass rush surrounding him.
Through two games, Tannehill’s 104.9 passer rating is 8th in the NFL, his 72.5% completion rate is 5th, and his average of 7.8 yards per pass attempt is T-13th.
Therefore, those who complain that all this offense does is “dink and dunk” their way down the field need to realize that Tannehill is in the top half of the league when it comes to the average length of his passes.
He needs to clean up a lot and turn the ball over less, but if Tannehill can keep putting up these types of numbers he will keep Miami in the playoff race all season.
4) Jason Sanders…c’mon man
I know it didn’t come back to bite the Dolphins Sunday, but a missed extra point drives me insane. At the NFL level, a kicker simply can’t miss more than one or two per season. He got his one Sunday.
5) This team still can’t compete with the top dogs
There are a lot of positives to take away from the first two games, but still too many frustrating mistakes that will cost Miami against a top-5 AFC team (New England, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Cincinnati).
The Dolphins must put together a complete game in the next few weeks if they want to be viewed as a team with playoff hopes. Normally, Miami starts slow and plays an excellent second half. Sunday, it was the opposite.
Playing Oakland week 3 is a perfect opportunity to put it all together before the Patriots week 4.
One last thought…
The Raiders won’t be an easy win. I still consider them to be in that middle tier of NFL teams despite the 0-2 start. Derek Carr went 29-for-32 with 288 yards and a TD against the Broncos defense Sunday, and Lynch still runs hard.
It’ll be a closer game than Miami fans think, and it’s crucial that the Dolphins start 3-0 before playing New England and Cincinnati on the road.