Miami Dolphins and Patriots come away with victories in week 13
Week 13 in the AFC East went about as expected with the Patriots winning again, and the Dolphins holding off the Bills at home.
The Miami Dolphins somehow came away with a victory on Sunday, despite another poor showing from their offense. Luckily, they were playing the Bills, who have their own struggles as well behind a rookie quarterback. The win puts Miami at 6-6, and in the playoff race for at least one more week, if you can imagine.
The Patriots had their big showdown with the Minnesota Vikings in the late afternoon game. Gillette Stadium is one of the tougher places to play, if not the toughest, for any team, and that was no different for the Vikings as they fell on the road. To round out the division, the Jets did what the Jets do, and that’s find a way to lose, even after controlling the game much throughout. Here’s a brief recap of how every team in the division played out in their respective matchups.
“Miami has the Dolphins. The greatest football team. We take the ball from goal-to-goal like no one’s ever seen…”
I’ve been a die-hard Dolphins fan for over a quarter of a century, and I’ve always loved the catchiness of the Dolphins fight song. There was even a time, particularly when Dan Marino was the quarterback, where I thought in many ways the song was accurate.
Dan Marino was a long time ago now, however, and we’ve been stuck with mediocre at best quarterbacks ever since. The state of this Dolphins offense is atrocious in the present, and whenever I hear that song played at this point, I feel the necessity to shake my head in disarray knowing how bad this offense is. Either that or I decide to give a look similar to that of the LSU Tigers fan from earlier this year that went viral when the cameras were on her with her team getting routed by Alabama. If you haven’t yet seen it, go look it up, as it should describe the thought process of every Dolphins fan in the last twenty years.
When I say that Miami somehow came away with a victory, it’s because if they had been playing against a better team this would have easily been a convincing loss. The Bills more or less lost this game rather than the Dolphins winning it.
Buffalo out totaled Miami 415 to 175 in yards. 175 yards is all that the Dolphins could muster against a 4-7 football team. In addition, 75 of those yards came on Miami’s opening drive, that was capped by a DeVante Parker 18-yard touchdown reception. That means for the rest of the game, Miami managed just 100 total yards.
Meanwhile, their defense that is dependent upon creating turnovers, gave up over 400 yards to an otherwise weak offense. Almost all of it can be contributed to Josh Allen, who had nearly more than 100 yards passing than Ryan Tannehill. To make matters worse, Allen finished with more than 100 yards rushing than Miami’s leading rusher in Kenyan Drake. Miami as a team had just 60 yards rushing on the day. Allen by himself, finished with 135 yards rushing off of just nine carries.
The Bills also shot themselves in the foot with 13 penalties for 120 yards. The Dolphins weren’t much better with 8 for 89 yards, but the fact that the Bills were still in position to win this game should tell you that Miami is not as good as their record indicates.
A win is a win though, and the optimists will tell you that the Dolphins still have a shot at the playoffs. And truthfully, they got some help from around the league. Miami will host New England next week, however, and although the Dolphins have had success in the past against the Patriots at home, it will be tough sledding for the Dolphins to keep up.
Buffalo Bills
For all the talk of his inaccuracies, and it’s shown, Josh Allen has started to show what he can do with his legs. In the last two weeks, Allen has rushed for a total of 234 yards and a score. It’s clear that he still needs a ton of work, but he does appear to be getting better week-to-week. If Allen can get it figured out, and management can get some better players around him, this could be a very good team in just a few years.
The Bills made a ton of mistakes in this game, but they still had the opportunity to win at the end. Zay Jones had the best game of his career with four receptions for 67 yards and two scores, while adding a two-point conversion. Jones originally looked to have corralled a 24-yard pass in the final minute that would’ve given Buffalo 1st-and-goal at the Miami 6-yard line. The replay review, however, showed that Jones did not have full control.
On the following play, 4th-and-11 for the Bills at the Dolphins 30, Allen somehow found a way to avoid the Dolphins pass rush, rolling out to see a wide open Charles Clay. The ball was a bit underthrown, but still catchable, and the former Dolphin simply dropped it. It probably would’ve given Buffalo the victory, but they’ll get their shot against Miami again in the regular season finale. For now, Buffalo will turn their focus back to the Jets in what will probably be the most underwhelming game of the weekend.
New England Patriots
The Patriots controlled the Vikings in their week 13 matchup, winning 24-10. It was New England’s 8th victory in their last 9 games, and they have themselves in position for home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. This does not look like one of the stronger Patriots teams that we’ve seen in the past, but both Bill Belichick and Tom Brady understand how to run a very efficient game plan, and that’s exactly what the Patriots did on Sunday.
There were very few big plays in this one for either team. The longest play from scrimmage, in fact, came on a meaningless dump off pass from Brady to James White that went for 42 yards with defenders waiting for him near the end zone that ended the first half. Brady ended up with 300+ yards passing, but the Patriots relied heavily on the run game to win this one.
Sony Michel carried the ball 17 times for 63 yards, and James Develin vultured two touchdown runs near the goal line. As a team, New England carried the ball 39 times. Even in the passing game, Brady favored his running backs, evidenced by White’s seven receptions for 92 yards. White led the team with nine targets.
Kirk Cousins and the Vikings tried a similar approach on the Vikings offense, but it wasn’t enough. Cousins tried numerous times in the short passing game, but Minnesota could only come away with 10 points. Dalvin Cook was effective running the ball, with nine carries for 84 yards, which makes you wonder why the Vikings didn’t attempt more rushing plays.
As much as it hurts for Dolphins fans to see, the Patriots are in position yet again to host the AFC throughout the playoffs. New England now travels to Miami for a chance to clinch the division. On paper, it looks like an easy win for the Patriots, but they’ve struggled in South Florida throughout Brady’s tenure. The following weekend, the Patriots will travel to take on Pittsburgh, which is sure to have major playoff implications.
As it stands, New England is still looking up at Kansas City in the standings, but the Chiefs don’t have the easiest of schedules down the stretch. If the Patriots manage to go 2-0 these next two games, followed by cake walks with the Bills and Jets, Dolphins fans better prepare themselves for the inevitable yet again.
New York Jets
The Jets looked to be on their way to an upset victory at Tennessee. New York had the lead for all of 59 minutes and 23 seconds until someone must have reminded them that they will hurt their draft status if they win.
The Jets jumped out to a 16-0 lead late in the 2nd quarter, and led at the half, 16-6. They allowed the Titans to chip away, however, as the game went on, and with 36 seconds to go, Marcus Mariota found Corey Davis for an 11-yard score, and the 26-22 victory. Like the Dolphins, the win for the Titans keeps their playoff hopes alive, while the Jets can’t get this season to end fast enough.
Sam Darnold is expected to return next weekend after Josh McCown did little in place for him. I’ve stated previously that the odds of the Jets winning another game this year are not good. Their matchup next weekend at Buffalo is, arguably their best shot at a win, but the Bills did embarrass them at the Meadowlands back in week 12, 41-10, so it’s not a likely outcome.