The Green Bay Packers took control early, minimized the damage of a mini-run in the second half and got a few big plays late to finish off a mostly comfortable 30-17 win over the Miami Dolphins on Thanksgiving Night at Lambeau Field.
The Packers led by at least two scores for the final three quarters and held a three-score advantage for long stretches. The Dolphins piled up passing yards in the second half but it was mostly hollow production, especially when the Packers produced a big fourth-down stop in the red zone in the fourth quarter.
Matt LaFleur’s team is now 9-3 ahead of next week’s mammoth trip to Detroit to play the Lions in primetime.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly coming out of the Packers’ win over the Dolphins:
The Good
Jacobs, Reed and Kraft: Playing in the cold against one of the NFL’s worst tackling teams, the Packers needed to find ways of getting the ball to their top tackle-breakers. Mission accomplished. Josh Jacobs, Jayden Reed and Tucker Kraft turned 29 touches into 242 total yards and three scores. Jacobs had 74 receiving yards and 117 total yards, Reed caught two touchdown passes and had a 23-yard run, and Kraft caught six passes for 74 yards. The Dolphins had issues tackling the trio all night.
Quay and McDuffie lead the way: Linebackers Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie combined for 20 tackles and three tackles for loss. Walker had a game-changing play on a fourth-down sack, while McDuffie fought through an ankle injury to produce a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. They played fast and physical and were a big reason why the Dolphins ended up averaging only 2.8 yards per rush.
Special teams: Keisean Nixon opened the contest with a 43-yard kickoff return, the game turned early on Robert Rochell’s recovery of a muffed punt, Brandon McManus connected on all three field goals and all three extra points, and Daniel Whelan put three of four punts inside the 20. Dolphins returner Malik Washington was a non-factor. Another good night for Rich Bisaccia’s unit.
The Bad
Procedural penalties: Unbelievably, the Packers were flagged four different times for offsides or lining up in the neutral zone, including one negating a sack and another on a field goal attempt. This has become a recurring issue over the last few weeks. The Packers finished with seven penalties, including six procedural or pre-snap penalties. Elgton Jenkins’ unnecessary roughness penalty came in the red zone in the fourth quarter.
The Ugly
Middle of the field coverage during the second half: Tua Tagovailoa missed a few throws to the middle of the field in the first half, but the Dolphins stuck with their bread and butter and eventually got rolling offensively in the second half. Tagovailoa started throwing with anticipation and accuracy on in-breaking routes, often off play-action, and the Dolphins found themselves one yard away from potentially making it a one-score game in the fourth quarter. The stats don’t tell the whole story, but Tagovailoa finished completing 37 passes for 365 yards — by far the highest totals allowed by the Packers this season.
