“The Miami Dolphins were defeated by the Las Vegas Raiders on Saturday night by a score of blank to blank”… I had this typed out during the final 20 seconds of the game… but the Dolphins were able to pull off one of the most thrilling games of the season.
The Dolphins defeated the Raiders by a score of 26-25 on Saturday night, pushing the team to 10-5, and leaving them one win away from reaching the playoffs. The Raiders fall to 7-8 and become the second team in consecutive weeks that the Dolphins have eliminated from reaching the playoffs.
In the fourth quarter with 9:47 remaining, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was benched in favor of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Tagovailoa and the offense had struggled, as he had only 94 yards passing. At the half, Tagovailoa only had 45 yards. His completion percentage of 77% was great, but he failed to connect on a single pass beyond 10 yards.
Fitzpatrick came in and did what he does — gunsling. In his first drive, Fitzpatrick connected on more passes beyond 10 yards than Tua had all game. The drive would end with a field goal putting the score at 16-16.
On the following drive, Raiders Derek Carr found receiver Nelson Agholor for an 85-yard touchdown. He made a difficult catch over Byron Jones, and weaved through defenders to cap off the play for a touchdown. Carlson would miss the extra point. The score was then 22-16, Raiders up.
The Dolphins answered immediately, connecting with Myles Gaskin on a 59-yard touchdown pass. The Dolphins took a one-point lead after the extra point.
With 2:28 remaining, Carr looked deep towards Agholor again. This time, Jones committed a defensive pass interference, which moved the ball 49 yards into Miami territory. The Raiders were able to chew clock, intentionally not scoring a touchdown in order to settle for a field goal with 19 seconds remaining.
The Dolphins got the ball back. Fitzpatrick launched a ball downfield, while having his facemark pulled, causing his face to be nearly in the opposite direction of the pass he was throwing Hollins was able to reel in the catch along the sideline for a gain of 34, with 15 more yards added after the penalty. Sanders would make the 44-yard field goal to give the Dolphins the win.
A deeper look
Offense
The Dolphins offense was flat for the majority of the game. Many on Twitter were placing the blame on Chan Gailey for his conservative play calling. Fans are adamant that the play calling with Tagovailoa is completely different than with Fitzpatrick.
Despite the high completion rate, the inability to move the ball downfield makes it a bad game for Tagovailoa. He averaged 4.3 yards per attempt, which is completely unacceptable if this team wants to be taken serious as a playoff threat.
In the big third down moments, it seems like the Dolphins preferred to run the ball than allow Tagovailoa to make a play.
Fitzpatrick’s performance was a different story. Albeit, some of it may have been flukey, the offense looked completely different when he took over. Fitzpatrick finished this game with 182 yards and a touchdown on only three drives, nearly double what Tagovailoa had on nine drives.
The majority of his yards came on the big 59-yard pass, which Myles Gaskin did the majority of the work after the catch. He also had the 34-yard pass to Hollins, and a 31-yard pass to Gesicki.
I said after the Arizona game, that the Dolphins don’t win that game without Tagovailoa. Well, after this one, I can firmly say that the Dolphins don’t win this game without Fitzpatrick.
Flores said after the game that Tagovailoa will remain the team’s starter.
The last time Fitzpatrick took over for Tua, there was no question as to whether he would regain the starting role. There will be a real dilemma now after this one — as Fitzpatrick definitely offers more of a downfield ability than Tagovailoa, at this point in their careers.
As for whether it was the right decision, it’s hard to say. Though from an outsiders perspective, the Dolphins are still early in their rebuild, and their season is already a success in many aspects — it’s certain coach Flores and the players don’t share that mindset. They aren’t going to lay down because they are “rebuilding.” They want to reach the playoffs now, and Flores was willing to make a decision that in the end kept their playoffs alive. Fitzpatrick brings the fire, and sometimes you get burned, but with everything on the line, it’s hard to question the decision.
As for whether this will affect Tua in the future, no one truly knows. It’s odd seeing a team flip between a capable veteran and a promising rookie several times, but Flores insists’ that Tagovailoa’s confidence will remain unfazed. For now, all I will say is that the situation is a little odd.
Running back Myles Gaskin’s huge day may get buried behind Fitzpatrick’s late-game magic, but Gaskin is deserving of the Player of the Game honors after this game. Gaskin had a massive 169 total yards, with two receiving touchdowns.
He finished with 87 yards rushing, averaging over six yards per carry, and his late game heroics on the final touchdown saved the Dolphins season.
Receiving wise, there wasn’t too much. Gesicki had an impressive 31-yard reception in his return from a shoulder injury. Fitzpatrick missed him in the end zone, and he appeared to lift his arm to reach for the grab, but held himself back. On the sideline, he also appeared to be clutching that same arm.
As with many NFL players, they are tough and will play through an injury. Even if Gesicki is still hurting, I think he will be on the field in the future.
Receiver Jakeem Grant has many fans frustrated. He made a questionable decision early in the game to let a punt hit the field and roll deep into Miami field position, as opposed to attempting to make a return. He also bobbled a routine grab that prevented him from getting a first down.
In the third quarter, Grant suffered what was later called an ankle injury and was unable to return.
Defense
The Dolphins defense struggled in this game, but were able to limit the damage with a “bend, but don’t break,” performance. They forced the Raiders to go 0-10 on third downs.
For the positives, Andrew Van Ginkel was all over the field. Van Ginkel had two sacks and eight total tackles, and looked truly prepared for this matchup.
Jerome Baker led the team in tackles with 10, and also had a sack in this game.
Cornerback Xavien Howard held Henry Ruggs to 0 catches, and nearly had an interception in the second half. He also broke up a pass intended to Ruggs in the end zone.
Defensive tackle Zach Sieler also had a massive tackle for a loss on 4th down.
As for the bad, Byron Jones is the obvious one. Jones nearly cost the team this game twice. The first being the massive touchdown reception to Agholor, and the second on the pass interference down the field.
With Jones’ performance today, Xavien Howard alleged new contract desires will seem entirely warranted.
Eric Rowe has done a fine job at containing opposing tight ends, but Darren Waller just got the best of him, and that may be an underestimate. Waller torched Rowe all game. Waller finished with 112 yards in this game — and there was an identical play along the right side over Rowe’s head that Waller completed at least three times for over 15 yards.
Josh Jacobs also had a solid game on the ground, finishing with 69 yards on the the ground and over five yards per carry. However, if you consider how much worse it could’ve been and compare it to Jacob’s other outings, holding him to under 70 yards was a huge factor in tonight’s win.
Jacob’s last-minute fall to prevent going into the end zone, allowing the Raiders to drain more clock may have proved costly for the team. This season, we saw Todd Gurley try to do the same, only to fall into the end zone, allowing enough time for the Lions to drive down the field for the win. It’s hard to say Jacob’s made the wrong decision without knowing the outcome in hindsight.
In that same drive, Kyle Van Noy had a brutal mental mistake, jumping offsides with two minutes remaining.
In the third quarter, Elandon Roberts suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury. He was seen grabbing at the front area of his knee, which brings about a worry of an ACL injury. He was carted off the field.
Aside from Jakeem Grant’s botched punt return and a good return from Raiders Hunter Renfrow, it was a solid game from the Dolphins special teams unit. On fourth down, the Dolphins utilized a fake punt, where safety Clayton Fejedelem busted off a nice spin to get into the open field and gain 22 yards.
Kicker Jason Sanders connected on all four of his field goals, as well as both extra points.
Takeaways:
The quarterback situation dilemma is real this time. Flores has said that Tagovailoa will remain the starting quarterback, but there is a chance that this same scenario happens either next week or in the playoffs. If the offense comes out looking flat, Flores will now have the pressure of knowing when the right time to pull the trigger on Fitzpatrick is. How out of hand does a game have to get before he puts Fitzpatrick in? Right now, Tua is safer with the ball, at the cost of limited production. Fitzpatrick is more risky, with the upside of being able to put up huge games. The Dolphins will have to make a decision with which side they want to roll with in big moments.
DeVante Parker’s return is crucial to the offense’s success. If the team truly plans on sticking with Tua, he needs some sort of help. We saw that when Tua took chances on deep passes, it was one-on-one situations to Parker. With Grant leaving the game with an injury, and the receiver group being on the shorter side, with a severe lack of big play ability, Parker may be the only receiving option capable of providing a true spark.
The Dolphins need to stop the big plays. Next week, they will go up against a Bills team that shredded them defensively, and even thought the defense has made massive strides since then, they still struggle to stop the big plays.