The Miami Dolphins were beat down in Buffalo last week but returned home to Hard Rock Stadium to dominate the New York Giants 31-16 on Sunday.
Miami was the better team by an aquatic mile, and aside from a few hiccups, absolutely controlled the game, despite not controlling the clock.
Buy Dolphins TicketsThey were able to score and move the ball almost at will, and if it wasn’t for a few interceptions, they could’ve gotten to the 40-point mark. Tua Tagovailoa was very good regardless of those picks, and he hit over 300 yards and once again had a passer rating over 90, doing this in all five games so far in 2023. He’s the only AFC quarterback to claim this after five games, and only Brock Purdy can say so on the NFC side after Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys.
The scoring started with Jaylen Waddle on the first drive, as it was obvious Miami wanted him in the end zone as soon as possible. The third-year wideout has been a little slow out of the gates in 2023 with an oblique injury he dealt with as well as missing a game in concussion protocol. He was able to score, hit the Waddle dance with his teammates and even video interview-bomb his quarterback following the game.
Tagovailoa hit Tyreek Hill for a long touchdown, as the pair connected a total of eight times for 181 yards. Hill is averaging 130 receiving yards per game so far this season.
Rookie running back De’Von Achane was, once again, a revelation and is breaking records and turning heads in the process. His 151 rushing yards, a 13.7-yard average, sends him to the top of the NFL lead in yards. He’s entering rarefied air with his ground performance, as he’s had three straight 100-yard days.
He becomes just the fifth different Dolphins player to have three straight 100-yard rushing games, joining Ricky Williams (four separate times), Ronnie Brown, Reggie Bush and Jay Ajayi.
He has seven total touchdowns through his first four NFL games, becoming just the second NFL player to do so in league history. New York Giants running back Bill Paschal had eight touchdowns in his first four career games in 1943.
Defensively, the Dolphins had their best game and can use this as a fine building block for stiffer competition. The unit hit Giant quarterbacks 14 times, registering seven sacks from six different Dolphins. Zach Sieler had a pair and three total quarterback hits, and Andrew Van Ginkel got to Daniel Jones for his fourth on the season.
Van Ginkel is now within the top 10 sack leaders in the NFL.
Christian Wilkins was disruptive and pressured the quarterback, sacked him and was credited with another quarterback hit as well.
The Dolphins’ defense held the Giants to an average gain per play of just 3.9 yards while Miami’s offense generated an average gain of 9.7 yards per play.
The Dolphins did this without Jaelan Phillips and will be getting players back like Nik Needham in the coming week or two, as well as a month or so away from Jalen Ramsey returning. This defense can hit its stride while becoming close to whole over the next few weeks.
Miami’s next game is a home matchup against the Carolina Panthers who are 0-5. The Dolphins look to hit the 5-1 mark for the first time since 2002, and on Sunday, which is during Fan Weekend, they’ll also honor an All-Pro linebacker from that very year to celebrate his recent Hall of Fame induction. His name is Zach Thomas.
