The Miami Dolphins (3-3) beat the New York Jets (0-6) in a shutout win 24-0 at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday. The victory put the team above the New England Patriots (2-3) in the AFC East and in the playoff hunt. It also marked the first time that head coach Brian Flores has had a .500 record — ahead of the Fins’ week-seven bye.
.@adamshaheen3 MONEY 💰
📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/OqqhKkCqn2
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) October 18, 2020
With touchdowns passes to Adam Shaheen, Preston Williams, and Durham Smythe, things looked exactly like last week’s matchup against the San Francisco 49ers. The defense was dominating a bad team in the Jets, as expected, and the offense was clicking on all cylinders. However, a Ryan Fitzpatrick interception to end the half started barrage of mediocrity from the offense.
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📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/bhNp4txabp
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) October 18, 2020
Now, we have to give it up the defense before we get into any bad news. They balled out today and showed that with Byron Jones and Xavien Howard, the latter having intercepted in four consecutive games, the defensive backs can play with the best. It was also the first Dolphins’ shutout in six years.
Going into the game, some believed that — even though the Jets and head coach Adam Gase don’t understand the concept of running the football — it might be rough. Somehow even Gase couldn’t get through the Fins’ poor rush defense, and the team got the job done despite a huge 34-yard run by Jets RB Ty Johnson.
Ryan Fitz-mediocre – a new name for an average performance. The second half saw the offense turn into a shell of itself, which put the defense in difficult positions. Against a team with some actual talent and coaching, people would be calling for Fitz to be yanked at QB. He had a good rating at 93.3, three touchdowns, and some hype, but he was mediocre at best in the second half.
The story will be about the Tua Tagovailoa debut at the end of the game – with two completions for nine yards – and the only Dolphins third-down conversion of the game. Yet, it is important with the bye week coming that fans look at the second half from Fitzpatrick and consider whether Tua should make his first start against the Los Angeles Rams.
.@Tua is now in at quarterback. #FinsUp pic.twitter.com/mAiIVrONwO
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) October 18, 2020
Coach Flo said this about Tua last week “If he gets a couple of snaps in a game, I’m not sure. We’re running the ball the whole time. If we want to give it to him and let him hand the ball off, I guess maybe that will make some people happy, but I just don’t see any real point in that. That’s just my opinion.” And then Tua debuts this week in mop-up duty at the end of the game.
It begs the question – if Coach Flo doesn’t want Tua to just hand the ball off, why put him in at the end of today’s game considering the comment last week? Or is this a potential signal of more to come after the bye? Prediction: Tua time might’ve been delayed after the 49ers game last week, however, it could come sooner than we think.
