Shredded.

The Miami Dolphins shredded the Jacksonville Jaguars Thursday night, taking the victory by a score of 31-13.

The Dolphins lost their two previous games against the Patriots and Bills by only a combined 13 points, but anyone would tell you that the games weren’t really that close.

But this game was something that Dolphins’ fans had been craving for a long time. A dominating victory.

This wasn’t a close win, or a lucky win, this was an absolutely dominant performance by the Miami Dolphins.

 

Offense:

There were several areas of the team that deserve a ton of praise, but to begin with the main headline here – – the teams’ leader: Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick was as efficient as he’s ever been. He didn’t have one of his ridiculous stat-padded games with 400 yards, 4 TDs and 3 interceptions. This was surgical.

Fitzpatrick finished the game: 18/20, 160 yards, 2 TDs, 38 rush yards, 1 rush TD.

He only threw three passes beyond 15 yards. He threw to 7 different players, and also completed one to himself.

Surgical.

 

This game was a perfect display of his value to the team. Fitzpatrick is a leader, and it shows on plays like his scrambles for first downs, where he lowers his shoulder instead of sliding – – absorbing the contact like it’s nothing.

It shows on plays like Gaskin’s long run in the first quarter, where Fitzpatrick ran ahead to get a lead block.

Fitzpatrick’s value goes beyond the stat sheet.

The offensive line in this game deserves a ton of praise. The Dolphins finished this game with 138 yards rushing, the most the team has had in a game since Week 15 of 2018. They had 91 yards on the ground just in the first half. This is a team that averaged 72 yards rushing per game last season – – to make a jump like they have this season is very underrated.

Are they the elite offensive line that the Cowboys had in 2017? Of course not, but they have played three games of outstanding football. Three games without a preseason – – with 2 rookies starting – – with two offseason additions. They had impressed me the first two weeks, and this was even more of that.

Solomon Kindley continues to be a monster in the trenches, and Austin Jackson already looks like a veteran at times. This is an exciting unit the Dolphins are building here.

RB Myles Gaskin got off to a very hot start in this game. He had 33 yards rushing, and another 19 receiving by the end of the first quarter. His number wasn’t called as much in the second quarter, receiving only two touches and his production began to simmer down.

He finished the game with 66 yards rushing on 22 carries. He also had 5 catches for 29 yards. Just based on the numbers, it wasn’t a breakout performance, but he is still impressing. The team loves him, and his versatility makes him the most viable RB on this team.

Receiving wise, there weren’t any numbers that would blow anyone away. This was again, a game where Fitzpatrick only threw for 160 yards. DeVante Parker led the way with 69 yards receiving on 5 catches. He caught every pass thrown his way.

Mike Gesicki’s lone reception was a 15-yard touchdown, and Preston Williams had two receptions, one being a 3-yard TD.

Jakeem Grant also had an impressive diving catch, and a long rush, finishing the game with 48 total yards.

 

Defense

The Dolphins defense looked improved. There were still plenty of things to be frustrated about – – but they appeared to make adjustments in this game, something that they did not do against New England and Buffalo.

James Robinson looked like he would be a big problem for the Dolphins on the ground. He had 36 yards in the first half, and finished with 46.

The Dolphins capitalized off DJ Chark Jr. missing the game. No receiver for Jacksonville had more than 43 yards. Robinson did have 83, but I think the team would prefer that over what happened last week with Stefon Diggs, John Brown and Cole Beasley.

Minshew was sacked four times in this game, once by Kamu Grugier-Hill, and once by Andrew Van Ginkel. Emmannuel Ogbah and Zach Sieler combined for a sack. And Kyle Van Noy had a huge play in this game, getting a strip-sack on Minshew, and making the recovery himself. It was a play that set up Miami beautifully in the Jaguars redzone for a score.

Ogbah looked like a force all night, constantly disrupting the pocket and shutting off the edge.

By looking at the Jaguars receiving numbers, you can see the secondary had a better day. It wasn’t perfect, as Chris Conley had several big drops. Minshew also overthrew him on what would’ve been a long TD play, when Noah Igbinoghene bit on a pump fake.

But there were improvements, including Noah Igbinoghene breaking up a pass in the end zone to rookie Collin Johnson. Igbinoghene also had a big open field tackle on Shenault on third down earlier in the game. Xavien Howard came away with a late game interception to seal the game.

Elandon Roberts appeared to really struggle in this game, as he looked flat-footed multiple times tonight where his man would blow by him. There was a third down play where Brandon Jones missed an interception, and then him, Van Noy and Jerome Baker all missed the follow up tackle, turning it into a huge gain for Shenault.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was a lot better.

 

Takeaways:

It’s time to stop questioning the offensive line. It’s easy to point at the young players here, and look at all the moving parts and think this group would have some hiccups. It’s easy to reflect back on the offensive lines that Miami has had for years and think it would be more of the same. But for now, that’s not the case at all. These guys have proven they can hang and it’s time they get the props they deserve for their play.

Miami’s defense is getting better, but still has a ways to go. They don’t deserve the intense criticism they received after their first two games right now. They did enough to at least silence the critics, but now it’s time to prove them wrong. One solid game against a subpar offense that was missing their WR1 isn’t enough to erase the current narrative, but it is enough to put it on pause for at least another week. This was a lot better.

Myles Gaskin is the best RB on the team. A part of me wanted to say this after Week 1, but it was far too early. Then after Week 2, I really wanted to say this, but I restrained myself because I was very big on Breida and he had a good game that week. But now, it’s indisputable. Gaskin is THE GUY right now. His vision is terrific, as well as his ability to remain balanced after taking hits. He’s reliable as a pass blocker, and his ability as a receiver forces the defense to be on their toes. He isn’t a quirky, gadget player. He isn’t just riding the hot hand. He looks like a legitimate lead back.