1. Dolphins defeat the Raiders at home 28-20. It is my favorite game of the season so far. I don’t think I have ever had that many players make my impact analysis in one game. I had 8 with one returning. Tannehill had his best game of the season with 289 passing yards and 26 yards on the ground. He even threw a key block on Shilique Calhoun to buy time for Albert Wilson to throw a 54-yard TD pass to a wide open Jakeem Grant. Speaking of which, Grant and Wilson were quite a tandem that day. Wilson had 74 receiving yards and Grant contributed an even 70 receiving yards. Whoever does a documentary on the Dolphins 2018 season please make the high-five between these two, your ending resolution of the film. Gosh, so special. The o-line played a better game after giving up 4 sacks against the Jets the week before. Wake had a sack and also put pressure on Derek Carr to help instigate Howard’s endzone interception. Taylor and Hayes also had a sack. Hayes, unfortunately, would be heading to IR following this game, making him the second player who after makes my impact analysis heads straight to IR. (Sitton was the first). Howard made my impact analysis for the second straight week as he had 2 interceptions in this game. Why is it foretelling? There’s a lot to like about this game. Don’t get me wrong. But, if I am to be completely honest, I thought the Dolphins would put up more points in this game. They probably could have if they weren’t playing from behind most of the game. For all the explosive, trick plays that happened in this game, clearly, the offense is still a work in progress even after 3 years under Gase’s reign.
2. Dolphins defeat the Bears 31-28 in an overtime home victory. I’m not even going to sugar coat it, laugh if you want to, but I felt on top of the world after this win. It felt really good. Gore and Wilson had their best games of the season. The o-line down 2 starters at this point, didn’t give up a single sack. Taylor had his second sack of the season. Sanders, for the last 2 weeks, had some pretty major kicks and was the hero of this game. Haack had 2 punts inside the 20 because you know with this offense and defense, the Dolphins need all the help they can get when it comes to field position. Jonathan Woodard, who was activated, off the practice squad also got his first career sack. Why is this game foretelling? No team at that point had put up 31 points against the Bears. You could say that Khalil Mack was hurt. I can except that. But, don’t tell me, if the Bears were at home, it would be a different story. History actually favors the Dolphins. They are 4-1 on the road and 5-3 at home when they face the Bears. If there was a sequel to Any Given Sunday, I guarantee you, this game would be the inspiration. The offense with a backup QB and a porous o-line still managed to put up a decent amount of points.
3. Lions defeat the Dolphins on the road 32-21. I was prepared for a disaster game. I didn’t expect the Dolphins to win. The team got behind and just couldn’t catch up. The only way we were going to win this game is if the defense up front could apply pressure to Stafford and force some turnovers. They were never going to stop the Lions running game. They haven’t been able to stop the run all season so getting pressure up front was the only way and suffice it to say, didn’t happen. There were some positives though. Drake had 6 carries for 72 yards and a TD. Amendola had 6 receptions for 84 yards and a TD as well. Matt Haack has to be the most undervalued player we have right now. So many times he pins the opposing team back with his punts and if our defense can stop them early, it helps our offense get good field position. He had another 2 punts inside the 20. Why was this game foretelling? Kerryon Johnson is an absolute stud when he is healthy. I felt he was the best RB in the 2018 class and I still do. What kills me is the Dolphins could have had him. Lions picked him right after we picked Mike Gesicki. I don’t hate the Gesicki pick. I actually think he will turn out to be a solid contributor as will Ballage but it’s these boneheaded moves by the front office that is one of the reasons we don’t have any depth. This is a conversation for another day but I don’t think Gesicki was the best player available in the second round.
