Dolphins continue to stop opponents on third down
This was the best anyone’s ever done against Tom Brady when it comes to stopping him on third downs.
The Dolphins‘ defense came through on 11 of 11 third-down tries by New England in their 27-20 upset Monday, marking the first time since 1991 that the Patriots failed to convert a single third down in a game. (The Patriots had two “conversions” on penalties, but the league doesn’t count those in this statistic.) The last time Miami did shut out an opponent on third downs was in 2011, when it did it to the Bills twice.
That keeps up a nice hot streak for the Dolphins, who held the Broncos to 1 for 13 on third downs the week before.
Monday’s performance was impressive enough considering it came against Brady and the No. 3 offense in the NFL, but New England was also fourth in the league in third-down conversion success rate at 44.9 percent.
Miami’s success started with the fact that it played well on first and second down. On the Patriots’ 11 third-down conversion tries, their average distance to go was 12.2 yards. Putting someone in third-and-12 all night is a good blueprint for winning.
There were some outstanding plays by the Dolphins–none more so than Xavien Howard–on third down throughout the game. Here’s what happened on 11 of New England’s 11 attempts.
1. First quarter, third and 10, New England 25-yard line, 8:23 remaining
Brady had a lot of time in the pocket here, but forced one to Brandin Cooks in extremely tough coverage. Howard picked him off, and the Dolphins drove 34 yards for a field goal afterward.
2. First quarter, third and eight, New England 27-yard line, 3:04 remaining
Another play where Brady tried to fit a pass where there was no room. This time it was Alterraun Verner with a great pass breakup on Chris Hogan.
3. Second quarter, third and four, New England 41-yard line, 12:06 remaining
Brady completed a short pass to running back Rex Burkhead, but linebacker Kiko Alonso got to him immediately to keep him from reaching the 45 and Reshad Jones helped him finish the tackle with a big hit. Burkhead came up a yard short, and New England punted.
4. Second quarter, third and three, Miami 29-yard line, 0:46 remaining
This was essentially a run play with Brady making a quick shovel pass to running back James White. He was met by a swarm of Alonso, T.J. McDonald and Verner and went down at the 28, two yards short of the first down. New England kicked a field goal on that drive to move within 13-10.
5. Third quarter, third and 16, New England 14-yard line, 13:40 remaining
This was the play of the night. With Brady threatening to put the Patriots back on top with a long heave for Cooks, Howard somehow made up ground at last possible moment to run away with the interception. He said he was flat-out beat on the play and wasn’t sure how he got there. Brady underthrew the ball slightly, which gave him a chance. Howard returned it to the Patriots’ 46, and Miami scored a touchdown for a 20-10 lead two minutes later.
6. Third quarter, third and one, New England 29-yard line, 9:17 remaining
After Cameron Wake’s neutral zone infraction took this from third and six to third and one, Howard bailed the Dolphins out with another great pass breakup on Cooks. Like most of the night, he was all over him.
7. Third quarter, third and nine, New England 33-yard line, 3:40 remaining
This was the lucky one. Verner got spun around at the line of scrimmage and fell well behind Hogan down the right sideline, but Brady overthrew him. If the Dolphins get credit for anything on this, it’s Jones making it at least a tougher throw with his coverage over the top.
8. Fourth quarter, third and eight, New England 17-yard line, 11:05 remaining
Ndamukong Suh came up with a sack here, but rookie Charles Harris was the first one to break into New England’s backfield. Harris beat his man and forced Brady to move forward to get away from him, sending him right into Suh’s reach.
9. Fourth quarter, third and four, New England 25-yard line, 7:17 remaining Brady still hadn’t accepted that this wasn’t a night to try Howard. He went back to Cooks here, but Howard had him locked up again. The pass was incomplete, and New England punted.
10. Fourth quarter, third and 20, New England 12-yard line, 4:58 remaining
Nothing amazing here, just good prevent defense by Miami on a third and long. The best option Brady saw was Danny Amendola, who was 11 yards short of the first down and wasn’t going to get much with Jones zeroing in on him.
11. Fourth quarter, third and goal, Miami 15-yard line, 1:02 remaining
When the Dolphins coaches talk about defensive tackle Jordan Phillips having a good year, this play is what they mean. Andre Branch went inside, and Phillips took the outside and pressured Brady into throwing sooner than he wanted. He threw to Amendola at the 3-yard line, which gave him little chance of reaching the end zone, but Howard’s coverage was too good again and it went incomplete. New England opted for the field goal to pull within 27-20, but couldn’t recover the onside kick and the game was over.