The Miami Dolphins are now two games under .500 after winning their fourth game of the 2024 season, beating the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock on Sunday.
Miami opened the game with a long eight-minute drive to score a touchdown and kept it up all game long. The offense was simply too much for the Raiders to handle.
Instead of trying to force the ball deep, the Dolphins played an underneath game that made the Raiders waste personnel covering the potential deep pass. Tua Tagovailoa made them pay with short to mid-range passing the Raiders couldn't overcome.
Winners and losers for Dolphins in crucial victory over Raiders
Winner: Tua Tagovailoa
The Dolphins' quarterback didn't have to do much more than be accurate, completing 28 of 36 passes for 288 yards and three touchdowns. The line gave him time for most of the game, and Tua only needed to find the open receiver. In many cases, he found his running backs out of the backfield or one of his wide receiver weapons.
It was a solid outing for the Dolphins' team leader, who was taking the team on his shoulders.
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Loser: Anthony Weaver
When you start to nitpick about the Dolphins' defense, you know there wasn't much to complain about, but Anthony Weaver could have done better. The Raiders are not a good football team, but Miami let them hang around far too long. Entering the fourth quarter, the Dolphins held a five-point lead, but this isn't why Weaver is one of our losers this week.
His defensive game plan was great at stopping the Raiders' rushing attack, but Las Vegas doesn't have a good receiving corps. Instead of making Gardner Minshew beat them with solid throws to his receivers, the Raiders hung around because Miami couldn't stop Brock Bowers.
Weaver didn't have much of an answer for the Raiders' tight end, who posted a touchdown and 126 yards receiving, the first 100-yard receiving day of his career.
Winner: De'Von Achane
The Raiders kept the Dolphins' run game in check for most of the day, but De'Von Achane was simply too much, given his contributions as a runner and receiver. Achane rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown while adding four catches for 32 yards.
Achane controlled the tempo and pacing of the game all day, giving the Dolphins long, sustained drives that ate the clock. He was a difference maker, with Raheem Mostert carrying only a handful of times and Jaylen Wright still finding his way into the game plan consistently.
Winner: Jonnu Smith
The Dolphins have needed a top tight end for a very long time, and they finally have one with Jonnu Smith. Since Tagovailoa returned from his concussion, Smith has been a big part of the Dolphins' passing game. In Week 11, he posted his first 100-yard game as a Dolphins player.
We saw glimpses of what Smith could do all the way back in the preseason, and it's finally translating into regular-season success.
Smith led the team with 101 yards receiving on six catches and had two touchdowns. His longest went for 57 yards on a busted coverage late in the fourth quarter to put the victory in the bank. The Dolphins went over 30 points for the first time in 2024.