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Hyde10: Ramsey’s return, Hill tops 1,000 yards, fourth-down fun — 10 thoughts on Dolphins’ 31-17 win

dave hyde, south florida sun-sentinel
·6 min read

MIAMI GARDENS — Remember when beating the New England Patriots was a season highlight for the Miami Dolphins?

Now it’s a good step to setting up a big game against Kansas City.

The Dolphins beat New England, 31-17, at Hard Rock Stadium to sweep the season series in a game where the only concern is the offensive line got more beaten up. Here are 10 thoughts on the game:

1. Play of the Game: Jalen Ramsey entered the season in a big way Sunday just before half. Playing in his first game after a knee injury, he came off coverage of DeVante Parker to cut in front of Kendrick Bourne and intercept a pass on the sideline at the 10-yard line. He then went down the sideline 49 yards to the Patriots’ 40-yard line. So in one play he ended a Patriots scoring chance in a 14-7 game and set up a Dolphins scoring opportunity. It led to a 30-yard field goal to make it 17-7 at half. Ramsey already forced a fumble that was negated due to penalty (the ball went out of bounds anyway.)

2. Player of the Game: Tyreek Hill. Again. Any doubt Tyreek Hill is the best receiver in the game this season? He split the secondary on another Sunday for a 42-yard touchdown to open the scoring. He drew a pass-interference call in the end zone on third-and-goal at the 6-yard line in the second quarter. That put the ball at the 1-yard line and led to the second score. He caught eight passes for 112 yards Sunday to go over 1,000 yards receiving for the season, becoming the first to reach that mark in eight games in the Super Bowl era. All in a week the question for a while was whether he would play this game due to a hip injury. It was a different week, but the same story. Hill has eight receiving touchdowns in eight games after having seven all last season.

3. Stat of the game: Dolphins 3 for 3 on fourth-down conversions. They entered Sunday ranked 31st in fourth-down conversions at 22 percent (two of nine). Only New England’s 20 percent (2 of 10 was worse). Lo and behold, they went 3 for 3 in the first half. It started on the first drive when McDaniel went for it on fourth-and-1 at the Dolphins’ 45. Tagovailoa threw 17 yards downfield to Jaylen Waddle for the first down. Then, two fourth-down conversions helped keep a 14-play, 53-yard drive alive for a touchdown to make it 14-7. On fourth-and-4 from the New England 42, Tagovailoa scrambled up the middle for 8 yards (he had 18 yards rushing all season). On fourth-and-1 at the Patriots 8, coach Mike McDaniel passed on a field goal and was rewarded again. Hill caught a 2-yard pass from Tagovailoa for the first down.

4. It’ll be another week of looking at the offensive line for injury updates as the list expanded Sunday. It looks like the Dolphins dodged major trouble when guard Rob Hunt (hamstring) and left tackle Kendall Lamm (abdomen) left the game in the first half. Lamm returned for the second half. Hunt warmed up before the second half but didn’t feel well enough to play. The line already was without three starters in center Connor Williams (active but didn’t play), guard Isaiah Wynn (injured last week) and left tackle Terron Armstead (on injured reserve, eligible to return in a week). The question becomes how badly Hunt is hurt considering he’s the best player on this remade line.

5. You saw what Tagovailoa can do so well on the touchdown that put away Sunday’s game. He looked at Hill from the pocket, and looked him, and the New England defense reacted accordingly. OK, this is about Hill, too. But all this coupled no doubt with a breakdown in the New England secondary led to Waddle being wide open in the middle for a 31-yard touchdown with 2:43 left. Tagovailoa finished 30 of 45 for 324 yards and three touchdowns. Don’t forget Waddle, too. He caught seven passes Sunday for 121 yards.

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6. Confession: I was wrong wondering before the season if this offense could succeed in the red zone. I looked at the small receiving crew and, well, wasn’t sure who they’d go to in close. I thought this was the one place they’d miss 6-foot-6 tight end Mike Gesicki. Well, they went 2 for 3 on Sunday to make it it 23 of 30 on scoring touchdowns in the red zone (and four field goals, one interception, one fumble and one turned over on downs). They entered the game leading the league 77.78 percent. Buffalo entered second at 68.75 percent. The New York Jets, not surprisingly, were last entering Sunday at 29.4 percent. So, yeah, they’re doing just fine in the red zone. (Dolphins opponents entered Sunday 18 for 27 in the red zone.)

7. The Dolphins had two turnovers Sunday to set up 10 Patriots points and sustain a storyline that McDaniel surely wants to change. The Dolphins are minus-four in turnover differential this season. There’s no straight-line conclusion on the differential, as mediocre Tampa Bay entered Sunday with a league-leading plus-eight in the margin. But of the 10 teams that entered Sunday with a minus-three of below only Atlanta, Cleveland and the Dolphins had a winning record. The others: Chicago, Carolina, Denver, New York Giants, Minnesota, New England and as Vegas. Bottom-line: This is usually a stat for bad teams. Ramsey’s interception was the takeaway Sunday while Tagovailoa threw an interception and there was a fumbled hand-off exchange between Tagovailoa and Raheem Mostert.

8. Bill Belichick remains 17 wins behind Don Shula’s all-time wins mark, and he’s not going to get all that much closer this year with this offense. Mac Jones isn’t much at quarterback. Then again, his receivers aren’t helping him. So, this offense scores is either being set up by the defense (as their first touchdown was off Tagovailoa’s interception) or with long, plodding drives. Their one touchdown drive went 13 plays for 81 yards.

9. Quick Hits:

* Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins got a sack, giving him 4.5 after eight games to tie his high in a season. That matters because the low number of sacks was a possible reason he didn’t get the contract extension offer he wanted before the season.

* Chase Claypool had his first catch as a Dolphin in the third quarter with a 15-yard completion over the middle to the Patriots 14-yard line.

* New England beating the Bills last week tells about how the mighty AFC East has fallen. The Bills defense is decimated, the Jets don’t have a quarterback and you saw the Patriots on Sunday. It’s the Dolphins’ division.

10. Next week: Dolphins vs. Kansas City in Germany. Ach du lieber! If the Dolphins have to play overseas, this is the way to do it. The Dolphins are going to Frankfurt rather than Kansas City, where the Chiefs are 23-6 since 2020. So instead of as tough a place to play they go to a neutral site. Kansas City, which is 6-1 entering a 4 p.m. game Sunday at Denver, will be another measuring stick against top-drawer competition for the Dolphins.