Dolphins lose but move up to 3rd in draft order
Veterans’ day: Manning outduels Fitzpatrick in battle of bottom-feeders
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The Miami Dolphins tried to spoil Eli Manning’s home farewell.
Dolphins defenders Vince Biegel, Nik Needham and Jerome Baker all intercepted passes from Manning in his final home game at MetLife Stadium as defensive coordinator Patrick Graham’s familiarity with Manning from coaching against him in practice paid off for Miami’s young defense.
That’s until the Giants handed the football off to Saquan Barkley, their standout running back and former No. 2 overall pick, who helped his team end a nine-game losing streak while handing the Dolphins their 11th loss of the season.
Barkley scored two rushing touchdowns to overcome three interceptions from Manning as the Giants beat the Dolphins, 36-20.
“He’s one of the great backs in this league,” Baker said of Barkley, who turned 24 carries into 112 yards against Miami’s struggling run defense. “He did exactly what we expected. You can’t stop a guy like that. You can only contain him, and we did not contain him at all.”
The tri-state area has been unkind to the Dolphins these past two weeks, with losses to the Jets and Giants.
But Sunday’s loss was beneficial after the 4 p.m. slate of games that helped the Dolphins in the 2020 NFL draft order.
After the game, they remained stagnant at the No. 4 pick, but wins by other teams including the Arizona Cardinals (over the Cleveland Browns) and a loss by the Washington Redskins helped even Miami’s strength of schedule with Washington.
The Cincinnati Bengals fell to 1-13 Sunday, and remain the favorite to land the top pick after a blowout loss to the New England Patriots. The Giants remain at No. 2 despite the win over the Dolphins with the lower strength of schedule (.471).
The Dolphins own the No. 3 pick in the draft order ahead of the Redskins despite both teams having the same strength of schedule at .491 due to Miami’s loss to Washington earlier this season.
The Giants, Dolphins and Redskins are all tied with a 3-11 record with two games to go.
Miami has another defeat in hand, a slightly better draft position for the future, and another reminder of how dire this rebuilding effort could be for the franchise.
“We kinda beat ourselves in a lot of areas,” coach Brian Flores said. “We didn’t do enough to win.”
The Dolphins left six points on the board in the first quarter due to a missed field goal and a failed fourth-and-1 run by Patrick Laird that was a precursor for a momentum-changing play in the second half.
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw the first of two touchdown passes to DeVante Parker early in the second quarter, Manning threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate, and Dolphins kicker Jason Sanders made a 24-yard field goal to help the Dolphins take a 10-7 lead into halftime.
The Dolphins opened the second half giving up a touchdown drive to Manning, who threw a 5-yard pass to rookie Darius Slayton that gave New York a 14-10 lead.
Fitzpatrick, who fumbled after being hit on scramble, and Manning, who threw his third interception to Baker, traded turnovers in the third quarter. Sanders kicked a 47-yard field goal to help Miami trim the lead to 1, before the Giants took the reins of the game.
The Giants pinned the Dolphins offense at the 1-yard line, got a tackle for loss on Laird to force a safety and a 16-13 lead for New York.
Then, Barkley scored two rushing touchdowns on the next two drives to deflate the Dolphins.
Parker added his second touchdown catch with 1:54 left in the game, which ended in a tribute to Manning, who likely played his final home game of his career for the Giants, completing 20-of-28 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns.
“They definitely caught a lot of momentum, and they fed off that,” Needham said. “We didn’t respond as well as we should have. We have to come out harder than that defensively.”
If the team records were an indication, the quarterback matchup was a greater indicator of where these franchises are currently.
Manning received a rousing ovation from fans in attendance after leaving the game on the Giants’ final drive. Two Super Bowl wins and MVP honors in both games against the storied New England Patriots boost his 16-year resume that will be subject of Hall of Fame debate.
It may be eight years since the Giants won their last the Super Bowl in 2011, and 12 years since Manning’s first title in 2007. But the Giants have been fortunate enough to experience NFL success at the highest level in the last decade or so.
For the Dolphins, that joy and achievement hasn’t been experienced in 47 years and counting — nearly five decades.
Miami will look to select their next franchise quarterback, among other standout players in next year’s draft, which will be the next phase in the franchise rebuild under Flores and general manager Chris Grier.
The Dolphins could find themselves in position for the No. 2 pick in the draft — where they could select a player like the talented Barkley — after next week where they will have their final home game of the season against the Bengals at Hard Rock Stadium.
A Dolphins loss to the Bengals, and a Giants win over the Redskins next week could put Miami right behind Cincinnati in the draft order. Miami will travel to New England for its season finale on Dec. 29.
That scenario may be either near or far-fetched depending on how this Dolphins team performs in the final two weeks of the season.
“I believe in all these guys in the locker room. We want to get better,” Biegel said. “The effort is not the question. It’s being able to execute at a high level.”