If you told me before the Miami Dolphins Thursday night win against the Baltimore Ravens that Mike Gesicki would have zero catches, I would have thought it would be a long night for the offense. The Ravens made a conscious effort to take Gesicki out of the game. The Dolphins are without DeVante Parker and Will Fuller so Gesicki is their biggest playmaker. The Dolphins needed other guys to step up and other guys responded in key spots to help the Dolphins pull out the upset.
The first was a 52-yard reception by Isaiah Ford. That big play led to a field goal at the end of the first half to give the Dolphins a 6-3 lead. Ford has been on and off the roster since being the 7th round pick back in 2017. He does make contributions but then he doesn’t on a consistent basis. He’s a decent player and with the injuries at the receiving position he has to step up.
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The next big play was a 35-yard catch by rookie Jaylen Waddle. That reception set up another field goal to extend the lead. Waddle has gotten his touches and makes his presence. However, the problem is the Dolphins aren’t using him right with his speed. They are using him on bubble screens and quick slant passes. Defenses have been crowding the line of scrimmage so he can’t get loose. It doesn’t help that the offensive line is bad that when they do use him on deep crossing routes there is rarely enough time to throw. The Dolphins need to find ways to take advantage of his game-breaking speed.
The final big play was the 64-yard catch and run by Albert Wilson. Wilson has been invisible this year and a nonfactor. That’s not what anyone was expecting after getting off to a hot start in training camp but then had an injury and he’s been a nonfactor. Thursday night he doubled his total yardage output from the whole season. Wilson needs to continue to be a factor especially with all of the injuries.
With the injuries to Parker and Fuller, the Dolphins will continue to get contributions from other players outside of Gesicki and Waddle. If the Dolphins can they should be fine the second half of the season.
