The Miami Dolphins beat the Washington Commanders 45-15 on Sunday, as Mike McDaniel’s team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
Miami’s offense finally got back in a groove, tallying over 400 yards and 38 points. The Dolphins will get another extended rest before they play the Tennessee Titans next Monday.
However, before we get there, we took the time to grade every position group from the Dolphins’ win over the Commanders, from quarterback to special teams.
Quarterbacks: A
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was nearly perfect on Sunday, as the quarterback made smart decisions and accurate passes.
Tagovailoa completed 18 of his 24 pass attempts for 280 yards and two touchdowns which were both to Tyreek Hill. Tagovailoa also finished with zero turnovers against Washington’s defense, compared to his three turnovers last week.
The fourth-year quarterback didn’t have to finish the game because of the Dolphins’ large lead, allowing Mike White to come in and play mistake-free football.
Running Backs: A-
The run game dominated the Commanders, especially in the second half, as De’Von Achane’s return to the team provided a spark on the ground.
The rookie running back shined in his first full game back since September, rushing 17 times for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
Raheem Mostert barely touched the field in the second half. However, Mostert carried the ball 11 times for 43 yards and a touchdown.
Wide Receivers: A-
Tyreek Hill continued his historic season with five catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns. He has a realistic chance to break the all-time receiving yard record with five games left in the season.
Hill’s best play came on his second touchdown, as the receiver made a spectacular adjustment on the ball in the air to make the catch and take it into the end zone.
Jaylen Waddle had five catches for 52 yards. However, Waddle did have a crucial drop on a great play from Tagovailoa.
River Cracraft was the only other wide receiver to catch a pass on Sunday, bringing in two for 16 yards.
Tight Ends: Incomplete
As usual, there wasn’t much notable from the tight ends. Julian Hill caught two balls for 23 yards.
Offensive Line: A
The offensive line gets the “A” grade because they didn’t allow a sack on Sunday, as the group consistently gave Tagovailoa enough time to find an open man.
The group also helped the running backs rush for three touchdowns and 123 yards.
Unfortunately, the offensive line suffered a few injuries during the game. Star left tackle Terron Armstead hurt his ankle, but it doesn’t appear to be serious. Dolphins right guard Robert Hunt re-aggravated his hamstring injury as well. Hopefully, Hunt will be able to play next week.
Defensive Line: A-
The defensive line constantly put pressure on Commanders quarterback Sam Howell, and Zach Sieler led the group with 1.5 sacks on Sunday.
Emmanuel Ogbah saw more playing time than normal with Jaelan Phillips out for the season, as he had a sack and two quarterback hits.
Andrew Van Ginkel had a massive day, recording five tackles, two passes defensed and two quarterback hits. Van Ginkel had the play of the day for the defense as well when he intercepted Howell and returned it for a touchdown.
Linebackers: A-
David Long Jr. and Duke Riley led the team in tackles with eight. The former also had a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit.
Unfortunately, Riley came in after Jerome Baker suffered a knee injury. While it looked serious initially, the Dolphins don’t believe Baker’s injury is season-ending.
Bradley Chubb had five tackles, a quarterback hit and a half-sack.
Cornerbacks: A
The cornerbacks were barely mentioned on the broadcast Sunday, and that’s a good thing.
Washington rarely tried Jalen Ramsey and Xavien Howard throughout the contest, as nearly all of the Commanders’ 127 receiving yards came from the backfield.
Howard made a great play on a perfectly thrown deep ball, making contact with the receiver right as the ball touched his hands to prevent the touchdown. Very few cornerbacks in the NFL are disciplined enough to not get a pass interference in those situations.
Ramsey, Howard, Kader Kohou and Nik Needham are proving to be a formidable cornerback group to go against in the NFL.
Safeties: B+
For the most part, the safeties succeeded at not giving up the big play on Sunday. Brandon Jones started for Jevon Holland, who is nursing knee injuries.
Jones had one play where he was late to help Baker, who was beaten by Commanders wide receiver Curtis Samuel. Jones ended up accidentally hurting Baker while attempting to hit Samuel. The safety had five tackles and a quarterback hit.
DeShon Elliott had three tackles and a pass defensed.
Special Teams: B
Jason Sanders made all his kicks including a 49-yard field goal.
Jake Bailey punted three times for 127 yards, with one of his punts landing inside the 20-yard line.
