The Wide World of Dirt

After a true tug-of-war contest with the division rival New York Jets, the Miami Dolphins bounced back from a crushing defeat at Green Bay to defeat New York in overtime by a score of 32-26.

Let’s see how we got there.

A Win is a Win.

In just three plays, the Dolphins’ offense went from their own 30-yard line to the red zone after solid gains from Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill capitalized on an ill-timed unnecessary roughness penalty against Javon Kinlaw.

From there, Miami took their sweet time getting into the end zone. De’Von Achane took a short pass to get the ball inside the 5. From there, they failed to score, but a pass interference call on third down gave them a new set of downs.

Achane took his fourth carry inside the 5 into the end zone for the first score of the day, allowing Aaron Rodgers’ and the Jets’ offense to take the field. Jason Sanders missed the extra point try, putting the score at 6-0.

The ensuing New York drive nearly ended at midfield before a pass interference penalty on Jalen Ramsey kept the drive alive.

Two quick passes to rookie Braelon Allen put the Jets into the red zone, but they failed to capitalize, settling for a 28-yard field goal that brought the lead to 6-3.

Great contributions from Jaylen Wright and Achane on the next drive gave Miami great field position, but a missed connection on 3rd & 1 set up a 39-yarder for Sanders on fourth down, a kick he saw go through the uprights to make it 9-3.

A huge play on New York’s next possession from Garrett Wilson sent the offense to Miami’s 17 where unheralded rookie Isaiah Davis scored his first NFL touchdown on a gutsy journey to pay dirt.

With the score saddled at 10-9, Tua Tagovailoa was determined to get the lead back, tossing passes to five different receivers over the course of the 12-play, 65-yard drive that ended in a successful 24-yarder off of Sanders’ boot.

Blown coverage allowed Aaron Rodgers to connect with Davante Adams to rapidly move into Dolphins’ territory where the veteran marksman couldn’t find the end zone, settling for another short Carlson three-pointer.

Left with just 41 seconds on the clock, Tagovailoa continued to cook, throwing strikes to Hill and Waddle before clocking the ball at the Jets’ 39-yard line with six seconds left in the first half.

Jason Sanders lined up and kicked the ball through the uprights, tying his career-long set in Dallas last season to bring the score to 15-13.

A matter of seconds into the Jets’ first drive of the third quarter, they were deep in Dolphins’ territory due to broken coverage that left Garrett Wilson all alone down the sideline. A better pass from Rodgers likely results in a touchdown.

Instead, Rodgers flung a 3-yard pass to Adams to earn their next score of the game, another pass given up by Kader Kohou on the outside.

Miami hit the field again and got going with a pass to Waddle that advanced them near the 50, but a short pass in the flat to Odell Beckham Jr. on third down brought out the punting team.

Davis carved through the Miami defense to start the next series, giving New York a fresh set of downs prior to a big completion from Rodgers to Adams placed the Jets in scoring position.

A great play from Rodgers to Allen Lazard was called back due to Lazard’s illegal motion, putting a potential touchdown drive in jeopardy.

The drive culminated in a baffling third-down sack where Rodgers evaded Dolphins’ DB Jordyn Brooks briefly until Brooks jumped back up and brought the aging QB to the ground, leading to Carlson’s third made field goal on the day.

Down 23-15, Miami threw three straight incompletions to punt the ball away, taking just 28 seconds off the board, but luckily for them, a second-down sack from Zach Sieler gave the offense the ball back at the top of the fourth quarter.

Tagovailoa missed two more passes to open up the next series, but a huge connection to Hill kept Miami in the game as they converted on their first third down of the game.

Firmly in New York territory after two Jeff Wilson touches earned another first down, a pass interference call on DJ Reed put the Dolphins’ inside the Jets’ 10-yard line where a bold fourth-down pass to Hill got Miami back on the board.

The four-yard TD pass set up Miami for a two-point conversion where Waddle caught a short pass to tie the game at 23 with just nine minutes remaining.

A second consecutive three-and-out from the defense presented an opportunity to take the lead, but a holding call on Robert Jones forced Miami to punt the ball back to New York with 4:34 left to play.

Starting their drive at their own 13, Rodgers and company got moving again with a completion to Allen that got them a first down. Allen later converted on 3rd & 1 where he took a direct snap to keep the drive alive.

Rodgers followed with big completions to Adams and Lazard that put them inside Miami’s 30, both of which were immediately undone by two big losses from Davis and a second Sieler sack.

Standing at Carlson’s limit as a kicker, Rodgers needed a completion, and a quick pass to Adams on the outside saw the seasoned wideout go out of bounds, stopping the clock with 1:02 left while Miami had no timeouts.

Carlson knocked down his fourth field goal of the day, this one from 42 yards to put New York up 26-23 with 52 seconds left.

Dolphins rookie Malik Washington hauled Carlson’s kickoff from the 1-yard line and weaved through the Jets’ special teams unit to put Miami on their own 46 to kickstart their final drive.

Tagovailoa found an open Hill near the sidelines to put Miami in field goal range where they chipped away a few more yards before Sanders trotted out for a 52-yard try that went through the uprights with two seconds left to tie the game.

Miami won the toss and moved the ball effortlessly behind three big Jonnu Smith catches. The first two came on screen passes that the speedy tight end converted for 20 and 14 yards, respectively.

Short passes to Hill and Achane advanced the Dolphins into the red zone where Tua threw a dart to Smith in the end zone to end the game at 32-26.

Still can’t run the ball

With Raheem Mostert out of the lineup, De’Von Achane and Jaylen Wright were tasked with picking up the slack in the running game.

I cannot fault the backs entirely for the poor results, but it is getting frustrating to watch Tua practically have to do everything himself in order for this team to even have a chance to win games.

Miami totaled 19 carries from five different ballcarriers with just 44 yards to show for it. This is unacceptable.

The Jets aren’t a truly awful team; they’re just poorly coached and managed. They have an abundance of pieces that — if coached the right way — could create a team that could’ve competed this season.

That’s just not reality, though; the Dolphins shouldn’t have been in an overtime situation with this team at home.

Watching the game again showed me just how many times the Dolphins’ secondary just utterly failed to assign a man to either Garrett Wilson or Davante Adams, which just can’t happen if you intend to compete in January.

Jaylen Ramsey has gotten smoked a number of times this season to the point that I’m getting worried about his ability to remain a top-flight corner going forward.

Jonnu Smith was cruelly underutilized in this game’s first 60 minutes, being targeted just once in regulation before breaking out for 3 catches, 44 yards, and the game-winning touchdown on the final drive.

Hill and Waddle ran crisp routes and used their speed to create space, leading to the duo combining for 19 catches and 214 yards.

Tua had that stretch where he threw five straight incompletions, but he bounced back from them immediately and ended the second drive with a touchdown.

Our fearless leader ended the day without being sacked, slinging the rock 47 times to the tune of 33 completions, 331 passing yards, and the TD to Hill.

Tua’s poise in tense situations at the end of each half determined this game and the fate of the season, playing with great clock awareness and precision.

Mike McDaniel’s playcalling in tough situations should get more attention, but again, it’s hard to give a guy credit when we struggled to beat a 3-9 Jets team.

I’m happy we won, but it was not an easy watch.

Will we have the NRG in Houston?

Following 13 consecutive weeks of play, the Houston Texans finally got an off-weekend last week, meaning they’ll be as rested as they’ve been in some time.

That said, they’re wounded on both sides of the ball and missing a key defensive player due to a (rightful) suspension.

This Texans team lost to Tennessee three weeks ago. They played Jacksonville close both times, even with Mac Jones under center. They lost to the Jets.

But, they’ve also played Green Bay and Detroit hard and lost in one-score games.

The Houston Texans are an enigma.

To make a long explanation short, this is a winnable game against a vulnerable team, but playing in Houston after their bye week could present a fair number of obstacles for a team desperate to prove themselves.

This team ranks seventh in passing yards allowed, but they played the Colts, Pats, and the Bears. They’re also 10th in rushing yards allowed, so they’ve been relatively stout on that side of the ball.

As a Dolphins’ fan, I’m hopeful they can defeat Houston, but the odds certainly aren’t in their favor, even against a team reeling from missing players and a putrid offensive line.

(Top Photo Credit: Jasen Vinlove/Imagn Images)