Five Things I Think I Think About the Miami Dolphins – Week 4

Well, well, well. Look how the turn tables.

From worst to first. 32nd to 1st, baby. Superbowl incoming.

Or, at least, not a defeated season.

So.

That’s nice.

The offense looks competent

While not exactly a reignition of 2023’s fiery glory, Monday night’s version of the Fins’ offense was balanced, methodical, and actually scored some points.

Tua played with a steady hand, completing 17/25 (68%) for 177 yds, 2 TDs, and, most critically, no turnovers. He did have one wayward receipt of a snap in the shotgun, but it was recovered quickly by Miami. Meanwhile, he whipped out a bunch of flashy no-look Harlem Globetrotters ball handling nonsense and pulled that off without a hitch. I like that Tua. Let’s all have that Tua for a while.

Both his passing touchdowns went to newly active tight end Darren Waller, whose debut gives the Fin Faithful some hope that the tight end room will average more than 1 catch per week on the year.

While the passing game netted 177 yards, the ground game picked up 123 more, bringing balance to the force and keeping Mike McDaniel’s midi-chlorians humming along for another week. De’Von Achane finished 1 yard shy of 100 on the day and found the endzone once. Ollie Gordon was present.

I realize that it was against an 0-3 Jets team at home in shiny new uniforms. But a win is a win is a win. At least if the offense plays like this, even with stiffer competition, they have an outside shot. And that’s a lot more than I thought I could say just a few weeks ago.

Riley Patterson deserves some credit

With Jason Sanders sidelined, Riley Patterson was signed to placehold the placekicking role. He hasn’t been asked to put the world on his shoulders, but he’s currently 4/4 on field goals and 9/9 on extra points.

I don’t really have analysis or a joke or even a passing attempt at anything of value.

Just, like. Good job, guy.

Thanks for making all your kicks.

The defense is bending a lot

As much as I hate the phrase and the concept, Miami’s defense has started to look like their past ‘bend, don’t break’ iterations.

Of course, that’s far superior to the patent pending ‘Break into a maelstrom of glass and blood the second an opposing offensive player catches your eyeline’ defense they deployed to start the season, but it’s still not great.

Against the Jets, the defense surrendered 197 rush yards for an overall average of 7 YPC. They gave up 226 yards passing (a chunk of which was toward the very end and can be at least partially understood), but held Garrett Wilson under 100 yds. They also let Mason Taylor put up 65 yards, but that could have just been so that Jason Taylor had an enjoyable evening.

They also forced 3 turnovers, which was the main difference in the game. That’s great on paper since every analyst on Earth loves to talk about winning the turnover battle like he’s neck deep in the most intense baking competition of his life. In practice, it’s not a reliable way to win games. Turnovers are finicky (the stat and the dessert, I’m assured).

The defense needs to get better at just stopping the opponent from gaining 7 yards per play.

I know that sounds tough.

But it probably shouldn’t be.

New York helped Miami every step of the way

This game, at its core, was a slap fight between two winless squads with nowhere to go but up.

The Jets committed 91 penalties (87 accepted) for 344 yards. They lost 3 fumbles and at one point I’m pretty sure they just spotted the Dolphins 2 points as a thank you for hosting the game.

Point is: Miami won by 6 points against an 0-3 team who shot themselves so often it was like 22 Plaxico Burress’s (Burrii?) all sharing one night club.

Fans should be jazzed with the win, but rational with the outlook. If Miami played this game against a team that didn’t move backwards as much as forwards, it would have been a nailbiter at best.

Now, of course, you play whoever lines up against you and thankfully that was the Jets.

Not every week will be so lucky.

Weekly Overreaction: Tyreek Hill has played his last snap as a Dolphin

Everyone saw the gruesome knee injury that wide receiver Tyreek Hill suffered on a catch near the sidelines.

He dislocated his knee, tore ligaments, and has already undergone successful surgery (so at least that’s a positive for him).

Heading into the season, there were already rumors flying about a trade. He’s floated the idea of retirement in the past. With the severity of this injury, his age, and his discontentment with the organization, I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s done in Miami.

I’d love to be wrong here because it’s pretty clear that the offense with one of the league’s best receivers is superior to the offense without him. While he’s gone, it will be incumbent upon Mike McDaniel to call plays that spread the ball around, focus on getting it to varying targets, and strike a balance between run and pass. Knowing the MM we’ve had so far, my expectations are tempered.

Modern medicine is often indistinguishable from magic, especially at the price point these boys can afford, so I hope that Hill makes a recovery as speedy as he is and this isn’t the last we see of Reek.

Can the Dolphins win against teams who also have wins? Will the offense survive without the Cheetah? Will the team continue to wear those uniforms now that they’re undefeated in them? Talk it out in the comments below.