Well, it happened. The Miami Dolphins traveled to the Bay Area and had their five-game winning streak snapped by the San Francisco 49ers, 33-17. It was a game in which a lot of craziness happened, and I’m here to recap it while providing game takeaways.
1. A lot of action in the first few minutes!
On the very first play of the game, Tua Tagovailoa threw a dart to receiver Trent Sherfield, who ran past the best defense in the entire league for a 75-yard touchdown.
On the 49ers opening drive, QB Jimmy Garappolo went down awkwardly on his foot, and was later ruled out for the rest of the game with a broken foot. However, a report came out (according to Ian Rapoport) that it may not be a fracture. Anyway, Mr. Irrelevant (the last pick in the 2022 NFL Draft), Brock Purdue, took over and the game took a different turn.
2. Mr. Irrelevant became Mr. Relevant.. a tale of two quarterbacks.
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49ers QB Brock Purdy was selected with the last pick in the NFL Draft, therefore considering him “Mr. Irrelevant”. However, Purdy was up to bat, and he hit a home run on Sunday.
Purdy had an amazing NFL debut, completing 21-of-32 passes for 215 yards, throwing a pair of touchdowns, and one interception to Xavien Howard (his first of the season).
Tua, meanwhile, looked like his rookie self, completing only 18-of-33 passes for 295 yards. Despite throwing two long touchdown passes (the second touchdown was a 45 yard dime to Tyreek Hill), Tua overthrew a lot of passes, and threw two interceptions in the third quarter to Jimmie Ward and Deommodore Lenoir, which both led to field goals. Tua was also sacked three times by Nick Bosa, and the final sack was the nail in the coffin when Dre Greenlaw scored a defensive touchdown after the ball came loose.
3. CMC + Niners Defense = Perfect?
Another reason why the Niners did what they did was because of Christian McCaffrey. He led the team in rushing and receiving. He carried the ball 17 times for 66 yards and had eight receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown. Rookie Jordan Mason had a record day, carrying the ball eight times for 51 yards. The best fullback in the NFL, Kyle Juszczyk, also had a receiving touchdown.
Simply, the Niners continued their defensive tear, recording many sacks and turnovers while pressuring Tua for the entirety of the game.
4. Kyle Shanahan = Challenge King
In the fourth quarter, the game-changer came on a Dolphins drive where TWO completed passes were overturned. The first was a Jaylen Waddle pass that went through his hands. The second one came with a Mike Gesicki pass that went through his shoulders with six minutes remaining. Without these two challenges, the game’s result might have been different.
The Dolphins will stay in California to play the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football. The 49ers, meanwhile, will stay in San Francisco to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.