Dolphins dominate the 49ers in Santa Clara as the schedule changes

The Miami Dolphins beat the San Francisco 49ers 43-17 in a Week 5 matchup that many thought would go differently. Though still a long way from the playoffs, the win moves the Dolphins (2-3) one spot off the number 7 seed for the wildcard ahead of their Week 6 opponents, the New York Jets (0-5).

Perhaps even more significant than the victory are schedule changes that came in response to COVID-19 outbreaks among the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots. Those games were postponed. Originally, the thought was that the Dolphins would have a forced bye in Week 6 after the Denver Broncos (1-3) game was canceled. Instead, the NFL made these changes for the Dolphins:

    • -Week 6 originally at. Denver Broncos | Now, vs. New York Jets – 4:05 p.m.
    • -Week 7 originally vs. Los Angeles Chargers | Now, BYE WEEK
    • -Week 10 originally vs. New York Jets | Now, vs. Los Angeles Chargers – 4:05 p.m.
    • -Week 11 originally BYE WEEK | Now, at. Denver Broncos – 4:05 p.m.

Luckily the Fins’ didn’t suffer the same issues that the Broncos have faced in recent weeks regarding COVID-19 outbreaks and a forced Week 5 bye. That was similar to the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-0) who had their bye week forced in Week 4 after originally preparing to play the Titans.

The season will continue, and the NFL made quick adjustments to ensure fairness. However, it will need to continue to bring swift punishment to teams that aren’t following the guidelines set by the league and the NFL Players Association.

As far as the Dolphins win over the 49ers (2-3), fans would be lying to you if they said they saw this coming. No one did — I mean, even the Dolphins official Twitter poked fun.

It was complete and utter domination from the Fins on both sides of the football and, finally, a complete game by the Miami team. Fans have been waiting for this since the team dominated the Texans following the firing of Joe Philbin in 2015.

From kickoff, it seemed like a day for the eventual downfall of Ryan Fitzpatrick. Yeah, that never happened. The defense kicked it off by forcing a quick three-and-out in just 1:23. The ensuing drive for the offense included six plays, 79 yards, and a touchdown in just 2:52. Fans knew the Dolphins would be aggressive from the first play of the drive, a 47-yard pass from Fitzpatrick to wide receiver Preston Williams.

The 49ers proceeded to turn it over on downs on their next offensive possession. This gave the Fins’ offense, and Fitzpatrick, great field position as they drove 58 yards in 3:19, capped by a Myles Gaskin rushing touchdown, his first of the year.

It was absolute domination from the start, and the team finally kept their foot on the gas, playing its best game under Head Coach Brian Flores. Now it’s safe to assume the team will go into Week 7 bye 3-3. For now, we await what should be another dominant performance at Hard Rock Stadium this Sunday against Adam Gase and the Jets.

Kai’Chien Chisholm is currently studying broadcast media and wants to become sports broadcaster. He currently works for the ProFootballNetwork and is the Podcast Network Director for the site while running his own podcast.