The Miami Dolphins hosted the New York Giants in week 13 and they are coming off of a two game winning streak after their meltdown against the Baltimore Ravens. Meanwhile, the New York Giants are coming into the game on a four game losing streak. Coach Fallen expressed his concern about the game to the media during the week leading up to the game. Coach Fallen was asked if he felt like this was a trap game for his team and coach Fallen expressed,”Trap game? Based on their record and what they’ve put on film over the past few weeks, I haven’t seen much for us to be worried about whether we have our eyes on next week or not.” Coach Fallen is very confident about his team’s chances against the New York Giants and he all but guaranteed a win against their struggling opponent. The Miami Dolphins were given all that they could take, but they ultimately were able to outlast the Giants and get a 41-36 victory. The nail in the coffin came when the Dolphins sent pressure and Daniel Jones crumbled like a house of cards. The Dolphins victory can be attributed to the elite performance of their offense. For one of the first times this season, they were 100% in scoring when reaching the red zone. They reached the red zone six times and were able to score four touchdowns and 2 field goals.
Tua Tagovailoa has been on fire his last two games throwing for over 300 yards and having pinpoint accuracy. In weeks 10 and 11, he threw a combined 8 interceptions, but he hasn’t thrown any interceptions since week 11. Tua completed 22 of his 32 attempts for 357 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Dolphins offensive line was pressured all game long and they allowed the Giants to sack their star quarterback four times. This was the most pressure that the offensive line faced since week 8 when they lost to the Buffalo Bills. Myles Gaskin was asked to start as the team’s number one halfback and took all of the carries for the game. Gaskin didn’t have flashy numbers as he only rushed for 51 yards on 17 carries. Gaskin did also have 5 catches for 30 yards and one touchdown. It was the first game where rookie halfback Salvon Ahmed didn’t have any catches or yards in the passing or ground game.
Media members wanted to question Ahmed about how he felt not being included in the team’s game plan this week, but Ahmed elected not to talk to the media. Offensively, the Dolphins have a lot of weapons, but Jaylen Waddle led the team in receptions with 9 and had 151 receiving yards with 1 touchdown. Despite his involvement, halfback Salvon Ahmed still leads the team in catches but the Dolphins are closing in on having three receivers with over 1000 receiving yards. DeVante Parker was supposed to be a big part of the Dolphins game plan on offense this season, but up until this game, he hadn’t been targeted very often. Even when Jaylen Waddle was injured for three games, the team elected to start speedy receiver Jakeem Grant over Parker. However, Parker was able to snag 1 catch for 28 yards and he scored his first touchdown of the season. Will Fuller has been on another level with the Dolphins despite his off the field behavior when he was still with the Texans. Tua had thrown a ball behind the line of scrimmage to Will Fuller, who then made multiple Giant defenders miss, and he was credited with a fourteen yard rushing touchdown.
The Miami Dolphins forced Daniel Jones to throw three interceptions and they sacked him twice. The Dolphins were also able to force three fumbles but they only recovered one of those fumbles. Jaelan Phillips hasn’t really had a breakout season like the Dolphins were hoping for when they drafted him in the first round last past year, but he did record 7 solo tackles against the Giants. It more than doubles his previous solo tackle count earlier this season. Phillips has just 22 solo tackles and 3 sacks this season, but the Dolphins have had another breakout linebacker who has stepped up in a fashion that they weren’t expecting. Outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel has been more than stellar this season. He was able to pressure Daniel Jones on more than 10 plays, but he was able to get to the quarterback twice. He also had two solo tackles and a forced fumble. The Dolphins have a lot of speed on offense and defense, but that’s how Coach Fallen likes to build his team. The addition of outside linebacker JaCoby Stevens in week 3 has been one of the overlooked moves this year. Stevens was wasting away on the practice squad when coach Fallen signed him and he was able to pick up on the defensive playbook quickly. He had four solo tackles, one forced fumble, and one interception this week. The Dolphins are hoping to keep their hot streak going when they host the New York Jets in week 15 after their bye week.
The Miami Dolphins barely were able to defeat the Jets in week 11, but they are hoping to improve on their previous performance. In that game, the Dolphins turned the ball over 6 different times. They fumbled the ball twice and Tua ended up throwing four interceptions. The Dolphins also only had 12 rushing attempts for 48 yards. That embarrassing attempt to balance the offensive play calls will have to improve. We also saw in that game that halfback Salvon Ahmed was starting, but coach Fallen is still expected to give the starting halfback job to Myles Gaskin. A more balanced approach and taking care of the ball will give the Dolphins the victory that they are looking for. The Dolphins are expected to take it easy on their bye week since it is so late in the season. The Dolphins are still fighting for a playoff spot, so it will be interesting to see how coach Fallen manages his team’s reps during practice this week. It is typical for coaches to give their players extra rest during the bye week, but will that rest hurt the Dolphins chances of keeping their foot on the gas moving forward?
