Well, we made it through another disappointing season. Time to go over each game and give a grade. Mind you, it was not easy. I had to factor in my predictions with who made my impact analysis and compare it to the actual winners and score. Here we go:
Titans at home: A. Why?Reshad Jones had two interceptions for 80 yards. I would have liked the linebackers to have done a better job containing the run and the only reason Kiko Alonso made my impact this week is because he had an interception for the Dolphins which turned the tables for us. But, you know, they got the win and I felt it was a stronger showing then last year’s season opener.
Jets on the road: C. Why? The offense was terrible. The secondary had to bring this win home for us as Xavien Howard had an endzone interception of Sam Darnold late in the 4th quarter which sealed the victory for us as the Jets were threatening to tie the game up potentially.
Raiders at home: C. Why? This game was a tough one to grade. On the one hand, I had a lot of players make my impact analysis. On the other hand, the Dolphins came very close to losing this game because the Raiders led it for most of the time. The offense was sputtering for two and a half quarters and thanks to the Wilson-Grant Show, it suddenly erupted! Tannehill threw a key block on the Wilson 54-yard TD trick pass to Jakeem Grant. The offensive line which gave up four sacks the previous week, gave up just one sack this week. Vincent Taylor was one of the leading tacklers for the week was getting good pressure on Derek Carr. So was Cam Wake. He got after Carr late in the game that led to Xavien Howard’s second endzone interception for the year. William Hayes got after him too but after he sacked Carr, he got hurt and found himself on injured reserve making him my second player in a row to go from my analysis directly to IR.
Patriots on the road: F. Why? I knew that we would lose but this loss was so bad, I mean, if you had any hope, it was gone by halftime. Secondary was the only positive thing about this game as McCain and Fitzpatrick both got an interception.
Bengals on the road: D. Why? I almost gave this game an F but after so many abysmal performances by the offense, to finally see it producing for most of this game, I decided to be generous. They did go and blow it in the fourth quarter which is why they are only getting a D. Ground game finally got going with Frank Gore having twelve carries for sixty-three yards. Kenyan Drake was lethal in the air with seven receptions for sixty-nine yards including a touchdown. Special teams also came to play as Taylor had two blocked kicks. Jason Sanders kicked a 42-yard field goal while Matt Haack was having a field day as he had four punts inside the twenty. It’s so frustrating that we can’t play a complete game.
Bears at home: A. Why? Offense was starting to find its groove and that’s saying something when breaking in a new quarterback and a new center. Gore continued his dominance with fifteen carries for 101 yards. Wilson had another big game as he had six receptions for hundred and fifty-five yards with two touchdowns. Offensive line didn’t give up any sacks. Jason Sanders had three big field goals including the game winner. Haack split two of his punts inside the 20.
Lions at home: D. Why? This grade may be too generous. Dolphins got behind early and just could never catch up, but the offense was producing. Kenyan Drake was able to get some work done on the ground as he had six carries for seventy-two yards including a 54-yard touchdown run. Danny Amendola, the third mighty mouse, makes my impact analysis with six receptions for eighty-four yards. He also had a touchdown. Haack put up similar numbers from a week ago and had another two punts inside the 20.
Texans on the road: F. Why? This was by far the toughest for me to grade. If the Dolphins had won, it would be an A. The offense was continuing to keep the team in it by answering the Texans’ scores with scores of their own. Then, Gase decided to go for field goals instead of touchdowns when our defense was struggling all game. It was at this point, that I knew the season was over. Pity the Dolphins didn’t as they were coming up on the trade deadline and made no moves for additional draft picks. I can’t really describe what I was feeling for weeks but I was just so defeated.
Jets at home: C. Why? So, after a month of somewhat decent offense, in this game, it fell completely flat. I gave it a good grade though because of how well the defense played. Kiko Alonso had a much better showing this go-around as he was able to help his unit contain the run with seven tackles. He was also good in coverage as he had two pass deflections and his second interception on the season. However, it was Jerome Baker’s pick-6 that sealed the win for us. McDonald and Walt Aikens also had interceptions.
Packers on the road: C. Why? Defense played as well as they could, but no one stood out. Only thing that went right in this game is Danny Amendola as he had seven receptions for seventy-two yards. Honestly, the C grade may have been too generous, but I will leave it alone for now.
Colts on the road: C. Why? In a shocking turn of events, Tannehill comes back from injury to start for the Dolphins. Whatever he did, the offense had an infusion of life in it and they went up and down the field with the ball. Leonte Carroo, who had pretty much been a bust at this point, had a 74-yard touchdown reception. Tannehill went back to Drake in the air for five receptions for sixty-four yards. He also had a touchdown. Haack, who had been quiet last couple weeks punted the ball deep in Colts territory three times.
Bills at home: D. Why? I don’t know what happened but even in losses, I found impact players. In both Bills games, I got none. The three units I looked at were: QB, RB, WR. Honestly, this was a game they probably should have lost.
Patriots at home: C. Why? I’m not trying to downplay a big win, but this was another game, the Dolphins should probably have lost but thanks to the Miami Miracle, we didn’t. It will certainly go down as one of the happiest moments of my life. Defense couldn’t force any turnovers; that was the downside. The positive side is they were able to contain the run as six players (Alonso, McMillian, Baker, McDonald, Fitzpatrick, McCain) all contributed. McCain also contributed on the pass-rush as he sacked Brady once and hit him another time. Quinn also got after the quarterback as he had a sack and two quarterback hits. Some noteworthy offensive players were Tannehill and Gore. Tannehill had three touchdowns for 289 yards and Gore had twelve carries for 92 yards. There were plenty of impact players, but special teams struggled in this game and at the end of the day, I felt the defense needed to do more. That’s why I only gave them a C. Is it too harsh for one of the greatest plays in Dolphins history?
Vikings on the road: C. Why? Speaking of game grades, maybe the C is too generous for such an atrocious defensive showing. The Dolphins got down early so fast, this game was over by the first quarter. It took a Fitzpatrick pick-6 to breathe some life into the team. Ballage, who had to sub in for Gore when he got hurt, had a 75-yard touchdown run. He ended up having twelve carries for 123 yards on the day. It was nice to see him get some work in. Quinn and Godchaux both each had a sack, a TFL and a QB Hit in the game. I really wanted to give this game an F, but I felt it was a good enough mix of impact players so that’s how I settled on the C.
Jaguars at home: F. Why? Offense went back to being bad again. The reason for the good grade was how well the defense played. It was like watching the second Jets game all over again but this time we lost. I knew we would. It was a trap game. Dolphins were just staying true to form. Defense had five sacks and they were able to contain the run. If we just had one turnover, maybe we would have won this game. Haack was able to pin the Jaguars deep in their own territory, defense just couldn’t capitalize.
Bills on the road: F. I was hoping for a better showing this go around. But this game was abysmal. All three phases were bad. It didn’t take long for Josh Allen and Co. to score. Dolphins made it interesting by tying it up at one point but Bills slowly pulled away. At this point, season was already over, and I wanted us to lose just to get the better draft spot. How sad is that?
Overall season grade: C –. Too many games where one side of the ball was playing well and the other one bad and then of course, special teams would help out on on occasion. The record reflects it too. This is an incomplete team. The rebuilding process has just begun.
