On Sunday afternoon, the Miami Dolphins passed the New England Patriots to move into 2nd in the AFC East, thanks to the Dolphins shut out win over the New York Jets. Adam Gase couldn’t turn things around as the Jets stay winless, losing to the Dolphins 24-0. On the other hand, the Dolphins get to .500 and are now 2nd in the AFC East with the Patriots loss to the Broncos.
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Tua Tagovailoa
After a long wait, “Tua Time” has finally arrived in Miami.
With 2:27 remaining in Sunday’s 24-0 win over the Jets, the Dolphins inserted rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft. After handing off to running back Matt Breida on his first play under center, Tagovailoa completed his first NFL pass, a two-yarder to running back Patrick Laird. On the next play, Tagovailoa hit teammate Jakeem Grant for a seven-yard completion while giving the Dolphins their last first down of the game. Tagovailoa handed off to Breida on the game’s final two plays. Even though Tua was only in for a few plays, it was one of the biggest headlines as many Dolphins fans across the world were standing on their feet.
Dolphins Defense
Even though it was against one of the worst offenses in the league, the Dolphins defense impressed yet again. Emmanuel Ogbah continues to put pressure on the QB’s, showing that he is one of the most underrated DE’s in the league. Ogbah had the best defensive play, sacking Joe Flacco for a 28-yard loss.
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Xavien Howard also impressed, now having an interception in each of the last four games. The Dolphins finished the game allowing zero points which is most impressive. The Dolphins also held the Jets offense to only 263 yards, 3.8 yards per play.
Jets and Dolphins Offense
Both offenses weren’t that impressive. Even with Fitzpatrick getting the win, he only threw for 191 yards while throwing two interceptions. On the positive side, Fitzpatrick threw three touchdowns to Adam Shaheen, Preston Williams, and Durham Smythe. DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki had one of their worst games of the season, though. Gesicki didn’t record a catch while Parker had three receptions for only 35 yards. The Dolphins best offensive player of the game was Myles Gaskin. Gaskin had 91 yards from scrimmage on 18 carries, a number that was last reached two years ago. Gaskin also had 35 receiving yards. One thing to work on for the Dolphins is their 3rd down conversions. Against a bad Jets defense, the Dolphins were 1-for-9 on third downs.
For the Jets, Breshad Perriman was the only good sign. Perriman, who was signed this offseason by the Jets, had four receptions for 62 yards. Veteran Joe Flacco was the QB in Sunday’s game, as Sam Darnold was still recovering from a shoulder injury. Flacco was 21/44 passing, recording only 186 yards. This was the Jets’ first game in the last two seasons without Pro Bowl RB Le’Veon Bell on the roster, so they relied on veteran Frank Gore and rookie La’Mical Perine. The Jets are still looking for their first win of the season, but the lack of offensive and defensive weapons won’t help them one bit.