Moore to start against Patriots
QB Cutler remains in concussion protocol, ruled out.
DAVIE — The Dolphins waited as long as they could. Jay Cutler is still in the concussion protocol, and the team decided to move forward with Matt Moore at quarterback against the Patriots.
Moore, who came in for Cutler at halftime of last weekend’s loss to Tampa Bay, has practiced with the first team all week. This will be his first start this season with a full opportunity to prepare, as opposed to being thrown in mid-game or the short week he had leading up to the Baltimore game.
“When Matt goes through a week like this, it’s really beneficial to him because the reps are very few during the season,” coach Adam Gase said. “It just helps kind of speed up his mind-set of how things are going to look ... just kind of how they play. I think it was good for him.”
Cutler was dressed and on the field Friday, but he has not been cleared and will be out regardless of whether he’s healthy by Sunday. Miami will stick with David Fales as Moore’s backup.
Over the last two seasons, Moore has played seven games for the Dolphins. Including the three games when he entered in the second half, he’s 4-3. Moore has completed 61.1 percent of his passes and thrown for 1,367 yards, putting up 11 touchdowns against six interceptions.
He came in with a 20-7 deficit against the Buccaneers and got it to a tie with three minutes remaining. He completed 17 of 28 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown after Cutler exited with three picks in his 12 attempts.
In his career, Moore is 0-3 in his three games against the Patriots, but posted a 91.6 passer rating. He has six touchdown passes and two interceptions against them.
This game presents a daunting challenge against the 8-2 Patriots, who are 16.5point favorites at home, but it’s also another chance for Moore to make his push for the job full-time. While Gase has been fairly firm in his support for Cutler as the starter, he has left himself wiggle room at times, and a strong performance at New England would make it much harder for him to stick Moore back on the bench.
“If you’re in there to play, my goal is to execute and win games,” Moore said. “Whatever happens after that, happens. It’s out of my control.”
Cutler has an 82.7 passer rating for the season, which is more than a 10-point dropoff from Ryan Tannehill last season. He has completed 64.6 percent of his attempts, averaged 178 yards per game and has 13 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He is averaging a career-low 5.9 yards per attempt.
He has not spoken publicly since getting knocked out and will not be available until cleared.
By ruling Cutler out entirely, the Dolphins don’t have any quarterback but Fales available. The thirdstring option is tight end MarQueis Gray.
Fales, 27, has appeared in one NFL game — a brief appearance for Chicago in 2015 when Gase was his offensive coordinator and Cutler was the Bears’ starter. Fales dressed for the game against the Ravens, but has been inactive since.
Fales was with the team in the offseason before being cut at the regular-season roster deadline, then Miami brought him back a month ago when Cutler suffered broken ribs against the Jets.
“Very smart,” Gase said of Fales. “If he ever goes into a game, he reacts. The best thing he does is play in actual games. When things are kind of changing up on him during a game, that’s his best thing. That’s when he can really slow everything down and know where to go with the ball and get it out on time.”
In four preseason games with the Dolphins, Fales completed 27 of 55 passes for 424 yards and five touchdowns against one interception. The Dolphins signed him this time around rather than promote Brandon Doughty, a 2016 seventh-round draft pick.