The Miami Dolphins went into FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland for a battle with the Washington Commanders and walked out with a dominant 45-15 victory.
Miami’s offense was hitting some big plays and running the ball rather well, despite some injuries on the offensive line. Right guard Robert Hunt and left tackle Terron Armstead returned to the starting group this week, but they both left due to injuries at some point.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa completed 75% of his passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Keeping the ball out of the hands of opposing defenders was a huge key coming into this game, and Tagovailoa did his best to only hit his targets.
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was the go-to guy for Tagovailoa again this week, as he hauled in five receptions for 157 yards, including 78-yard and 60-yard scores.
They built such a big lead that Tagovailoa was taken out in the fourth quarter and replaced by backup Mike White.
Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane totaled 116 yards on 4.1 yards per attempt and both found the end zone for scores (Achane did so twice).
On the other side of the ball, Miami ferociously put pressure on Commanders quarterback Sam Howell. Vic Fangio’s defense may have only finished with four sacks (1.5 for Zach Sieler, one for Emmanuel Ogbah and a half-sack for Bradley Chubb), but they had pressure on a good percentage of Howell’s dropbacks.
They also did a great job shutting down Washington’s top weapon – wide receiver Terry McLaurin. He finished the game without a single reception, as he was blanketed by Miami’s secondary which features two of the best cornerbacks in the league in Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey.
Linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel, who has a bigger role with Jaelan Phillips’ injury last week, was all over the field. His biggest play was a pick-6 of Howell in the first quarter.
The unit had some trouble covering a few players out of the backfield, as they allowed a big catch-and-run to wide receiver Curtis Samuel, who was covered by Jerome Baker, and another to Antonio Gibson, with David Long on him.
Unfortunately, on that big play by Samuel, Baker had his left leg hit by teammate Brandon Jones. Baker was helped off of the field and was ruled out with a knee injury that looks like it could be serious.
With the victory, the Dolphins moved to 9-3 and increased their lead in the division to three games above the second-place Buffalo Bills. Next week, Miami will take on the Tennessee Titans on Monday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
