Dolphins 34 Jets 13: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

[TheFish]

The Dolphins blasted the hapless NY Jets tonight 34-13, and one would think all is well.  And yet, I’m sure all of us DolFans have an uneasy feeling after the game mostly due to Jaelan Philips’ most likely season-ending Achilles injury. A huge loss for the vastly improving Miami defense.  On the field, the Dolphins dominated the Jets on both sides of the ball.  The Jets showed absolutely nothing on offense and never threatened to score until it was garbage time.  The Dolphins’ offense continued to shoot itself in the foot with another three turnovers.  This week’s GBU list is more of the same as the past few weeks.  I’d sure like to see fewer Bads and Uglies. THE GOOD

• DEFENSE (4 consecutive weeks). The Jets finally scored an offensive touchdown long after the result was no longer in doubt.  That’s one TD allowed in the last 3 second halves—tack on seven sacks, 50 yards allowed after three quarters, and only 5 first downs.  Full game, they only allowed 159 yards and 12 first downs.  Yes, it was against perhaps the worst offense in the league, but they get an A grade from me this week.
• Jevon Holland. Holland did his best James Harrison imitation by returning a Hail Mary interception 99 yards for a touchdown on the last play of the first half, which essentially ended the game. It was an incredibly athletic play aided by some great downfield blocks.
• Tyreek Hill (repeat from last week). Chalk up another nine catches for 102 yards and a TD for The Cheetah.
• Jalen Waddle. Waddle complimented Hill nicely by grabbing eight balls for 114 yards.
• Running game. Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson, Jr. combined for 31 carries and 150 yards, and the offensive line won the line of scrimmage battle.
• Jason Sanders. Give credit where credit is due.  Sanders hit both of his field goals, including a season-long 54-yarder.

THE BAD

• Tua (repeat from last week). Forget the stats.  Tua suffered two more interceptions, including a pick 6.  This is beginning to be a habit and one that needs to be broken as soon as possible.
• Mike McDaniel (repeat from last game).  My message is the same as last week’s.  A lot of east-west passing and an overall conservative game plan.  What was most obvious was McDaniel’s predictability on first and second downs.  In the second half, McDaniel ran 12 straight times on first down and 6 of 9 times on second down.  He ran 10 of 13 times on 1st down in the first half (excluding the two-minute drill). Maybe McDaniel is saving his best for the Cowboys, Ravens, and Bills to close the season.

THE UGLY

• Turnovers (repeat from last week). Three more this week and 6 in the last two games.  I said in last week’s GBU article, “They were lucky to win this game against an inferior opponent.  I hope the focus of this short week of practice is to take care of the ball.” It bears repeating.
• The Philips injury. It was a big loss to a rapidly improving player on defense.

The Fins get an extended break as they have an extra two days to prepare for another below .500 team, the Washington Commanders.  Getting a win is obviously mission #1, but a turnover-free game has to be mission #2. The post Dolphins 34 Jets 13: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly appeared first on Miami Dolphins.

Source: https://dolphinstalk.com/2023/11/dolphi ... -the-ugly/