Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Low-grade game
Dolphins provided few highlights in Sunday’s sloppy 17-9 win over Texans
Victories have been hard to come by this season, so the Miami Dolphins should cherish every chance they get to feel good about themselves as a team.
Although the game was sloppy, Sunday’s 17-9 win over the Houston Texans (1-8) should relieve some pressure, since it had been nearly two months since Miami won a game.
But the celebration has to be short-lived, because the Dolphins (2-7) are hosting the Baltimore Ravens (6-2) for this week’s nationally televised Thursday night game, and most of the time these two teams meet, the Dolphins end up embarrassed.
Here is the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s report card, evaluating how the Dolphins performed against the Texans:
Passing game, C: Jacoby Brissett, who replaced Tua Tagovailoa because of the finger injury the second-year quarterback was nursing, completed 26-of43 passes for 244 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Brissett was under constant pressure from the Texans, who abused Miami’s struggling offensive line. Mack Hollins had his role elevated and caught three passes for 22 yards and one touchdown. It wasn’t perfect, but the Dolphins need to find a receiver who is reliable, and Hollins appears to be the first in line.
Running game, F: Miami’s run game has been terrible most of this season, but Sunday’s performance against the Texans — 47 rushing yards and a touchdown on 25 carries — takes the crown for disappointing performances.
The Dolphins averaged 1.9 yards per carry against a defense that had been allowing 4.5 yards per rush and 136.9 rushing yards per game. At this point it’s hard to justify anything Miami’s bad offensive line has been doing. The Dolphins average 75.1 rushing yards per game this season. That’s just a smidgen more than the 2019 average of 72.3, which was the worst average in franchise history.
Defending the pass, D: Tyrod Taylor usually saved his best games of the season for the Dolphins, but that wasn’t the case this Sunday. Taylor completed 24-of-43 passes for 240 yards, but threw three interceptions. He was also sacked five times by the Dolphins. Miami’s defensive front took advantage of Houston’s injury-depleted offensive line. Miami’s cornerbacks contained Brandon Cooks, limiting him to six receptions for 56 yards.
Defending the run, A: The Dolphins continue to have success defending the run since Raekwon Davis returned to the starting lineup. By limiting the Texans to 73 rushing yards and one touchdown on 18 carries, Houston became the third team all season Miami held to less then 100 rushing yards. Taylor did the most significant damage, gaining 23 rushing yards on three carries.
Special teams, C: Miami’s special teams unit hasn’t played up to the standards set the previous two seasons, but there was only one major mistake made against the Texans, and that’s the punt Jevon Holland fumbled and lost, which put the Texans in scoring territory. The Dolphins have now lost three fumbles on punt returns this season. Jaylen Waddle also had opportunities to return two kickoffs and got neither of them past the 25-yard line, which means the Dolphins would have been just as productive taking the touchback if one was available.
Coaching, C: Miami’s coaches deserves the benefit of doubt for helping this team survive a game where the Dolphins turned the ball over five times. Defensive coordinator Josh Boyer’s unit continues to make steady progress, creating an identity on defense. If only the offense could say the same thing. Expecting this offense to score more than 20 points seems to be an unrealistic expectation, and the offensive line’s struggles are at the heart of the problem.
Stock up: Brandon Jones, the Dolphins’ 2020 third-round pick, is 20 defensive snaps shy of surpassing his playing time contribution in 2020, when he had 62 tackles, one sack and one forced fumble. So far he’s already contributed 41 tackles, two sacks, and recovered two fumbles, and one of them came Sunday when he recovered a ball Eric Rowe dislodged. He’s been utilized mainly as a blitzer, but it will be interesting to see if Miami helps Jones expand his role in the second half of 2021.
Stock down: Rookie left tackle Liam Eichenberg got off to a decent start earlier this season, but he’s struggled as of late. He allowed a sack and three pressures against the Texans’ average cast of defensive linemen. It seems as if Eichenberg has hit the rookie wall, and now it’s the coaching staff ’s responsibility to help him get over it. The Dolphins’ 2021 second-round pick is too talented a player to look this technically sloppy.