The Wide World of Dirt

Blessed be our aquatic friends for squashing out the New Englanders.

After a dozen weeks of football action, the Miami Dolphins sit at a respectable record of 5-6 heading into a Thanksgiving night game matchup with Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers.

Before diving into the game ahead, let’s take a look back at the pummeling of the Patriots.

Tua Makes Miami a Real Threat

The Patriots received the ball first to start the game and immediately stalled out on the opening series, punting to the Dolphins who went on to replicate that performance on their drive.

A series of short passes to Antonio Gibson and Austin Hooper interspersed with Drake Maye scrambles setup a 45-yard field goal try for Joey Slye where the sixth-year placekicker doinked one off the right upright.

Tagovailoa capitalized on the great field position right away, throwing for three straight first downs to get the Dolphins into the red zone before the end of a scoreless first quarter.

On 3rd & goal from the seven-yard line, Tua hit Jonnu Smith with a pass over the middle where the former Pat dove over two defenders to roll into the end zone for the first score of the day.

A strong defensive effort on the next New England series resulted in another punt that led to another Miami drive powered by Smith and Waddle.

The Alabama connection between Tua and Waddle saved the squad from a daunting 3rd & 9 from the Patriots’ 23 when they linked up for a 14-yard gain.

A dangerous screen pass to Achane from the 9-yard line looked poised for a loss, but the slippery former Aggie wriggled away from tacklers and found his way to the end zone for his fourth receiving TD of the year to put the Dolphins up 14-0.

Maye’s short pass to Rhamondre Stevenson on first down got called back due to a holding penalty, leading to another three-and-out for a struggling Pats’ offense.

Tua dropped back on 3rd & 8 on the following drive before drilling the ball into the chest of Waddle for his fourth catch of the half to keep the chains moving before grabbing a fifth ball soon after for 19 yards, fighting off a hold by Pats’ CB Marcus Jones to get the first down.

A pair of Jonnu Smith catches kept the team’s momentum up as another third-down conversion gave Miami a touchdown when a breakdown in coverage allowed Achane to get open in the flat for an 11-yard score.

After only using up 14 seconds over three plays, the Pats punted the ball back to Miami where the offense took over on their own 41-yard line with just 1:28 left to play in the first half.

Dolphins’ coach Mike McDaniel kept attacking Marcus Jones with Jaylen Waddle as the offensive mastermind schemed up a Go route for Waddle where Tua put it into his receiver’s outstretched hands at the New England 30-yard line.

A crossing route from Tyreek Hill saw the star wideout break free before rolling out of bounds at the New England 3 with 20 seconds and a timeout remaining, but after three tries at the end zone, Miami settled for a 20-yard field goal.

New England’s defense came out ready to play in the second half, sacking Tua on third down to force Miami’s second punt of the game.

Despite that, both teams failed to make anything happen on their next drives, trading punts until New England lost their most promising drive since the first quarter to a Drake Maye fumble.

Zach Sieler got to the rookie gunslinger and stripped the ball away, giving Jordyn Brooks the opportunity to pick up the ball and take it to the New England 25.

With just two plays, Miami dialed up a fourth touchdown from Tagovailoa’s hand, this time a 23-yard strike to Waddle to bump the score up to 31-0.

Drake Maye learned from his previous mistake and drove the Patriots’ offense down the field with a slew of chunk plays that ended with a miraculous 38-yard touchdown to Austin Hooper on 4th & 15 early in the fourth quarter.

Two quick drives that ended in changing possessions for each team gave the Dolphins the ball inside the New England 40-yard line, but a botched handoff from Skylar Thompson to Jaylen Wright gave Pats’ DB Christian Gonzalez the opportunity to take the fumble all the way to the end zone for a touchdown.

Another Jason Sanders field goal in the fourth quarter was the only significant action for the remainder of the day, ending in a 34-15 Dolphins victory.

No run game? No problem!

Miami elected to run the ball 24 times for just 65 yards, averaging just 2.7 yards per carry over the game. De’Von Achane’s two receiving scores bolstered a day where he tallied 32 yards on the ground over 10 carries.

Instead of forcing the ball down New England’s throat, Miami’s offensive staff opted to just air it out with Tagovailoa going 29/40 for 315 yards and 4 TDs, his best game since returning from the IR in week 8.

Tua’s streak of games of throwing less than 10 incompletions may be over, but this recent win streak continues to steam ahead. While the Rams, Raiders, and Patriots aren’t exactly top teams at the moment, a win is a win.

This team struggled with playing down to competition in previous seasons, including last year’s embarrassing loss to Tennessee on MNF.

Sunday’s performance was anything but embarrassing for Miami.

Jaylen Waddle’s ascension gives me hope going forward that the Dolphins’ receiver woes are coming to an end after gaining 144 yards and a touchdown on 8 catches. The 144 yards account for over 26% of Waddle’s 548 yards on the season.

Something that can’t go underscored is Anthony Weaver’s defensive unit stifling New England at every turn. Though the Pats’ offense is nothing to write home about, holding an already bad offense below their season average for total yards is something good teams routinely do.

Here’s to hoping this means this defense is starting to put the pieces together as they head into the season’s final six weeks.

Pack Watch?

The 2024 Green Bay Packers are a curious case.

Matt LeFleur’s group keeps finding ways to win games no matter what. No starting quarterback? No problem, just throw in a widely-questioned backup with no professional success into the lineup and win games anyway.

LeFleur receives little consideration from sports media for coach of the year honors, which baffles me, but I suspect that has more to do with impressive jobs from Kevin O’Connell and Dan Campbell within his own division.

Green Bay finally rid themselves of Joe Barry this past offseason; that simple change has made a world of difference.

Former Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley assumed the role of defensive coordinator, leading to the illustrious small-market team owning a top-10 defensive unit for the first time in what seems like ages.

With the absences of Romeo Doubs, Edgerrin Cooper, and Jaire Alexander, the Packers will be fighting an uphill battle against a Dolphins team that has a significant fire lit underneath them.

Going up against Mike McDaniel without your All-Pro caliber corner sounds like a nightmare, but this game takes place in Green Bay with a projected temperature hovering in the high 20s.

This game is shaping up to be a true test of whether this Dolphins team can overcome the narratives surrounding them, specifically that they can’t beat good teams or play well in the cold.

If Tua and the offense can get their bearings about them on Thursday, this matchup has the potential to be a barnburner. It’s time for the Dolphins to prove they’re battle-tested and ready for a playoff run.

(Top Photo Credit: Lynne Sladky/AP Photo)