The Miami Dolphins won their sixth game of the season on Sunday, as they beat the Chicago Bears 35-32 at Soldier Field.
Mike McDaniel’s team has now won three games in a row for the second time this year, and they’ve earned a victory in all six games that quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has started and finished.
Their three losses came against the Bengals, where Tagovailoa left with a head injury, and then against the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings, where Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson played.
Today, we’ll look at some Dolphins that deserve some attention, both positive and negative, during their win over the Bears.
WINNER: QB Tua Tagovailoa
Tagovailoa continued his stretch of impressive play this season, completing 70% of his attempts for 302 yards and three touchdowns. He finished the day with a 135.7 passer rating, bumping up his career rating to 95.3 – the highest for any Dolphins quarterback ever.
While he’ll likely receive some criticism for a couple poor throws at the end of the game, the former first-round pick did more than enough to earn praise this week.
LOSER: K Jason Sanders
Sanders missed a 29-yard field goal attempt on Sunday – the closest miss of his career. He’s dropped his percentage this season to 73.3% which would be the lowest single year in his five in the NFL.
The miss played a huge part in McDaniel’s decision-making later in the game. Miami could’ve kicked a makeable field goal late, but opted to go for it on fourth down and failed to convert.
WINNER: RB Jeff Wilson Jr.
In Wilson’s first action since being traded to the Dolphins, he led the team in rushing, totaling 51 yards on nine carries (5.7 yards per attempt). He also recorded three receptions for 21 yards and his first receiving touchdown of the year.
Combined with Raheem Mostert, this rushing attack could provide defenses with a different guy to prepare for each week.
LOSER: Coaching
There were a number of coaching decisions that were questionable in this game. However, clock management stands above everything. McDaniel and his staff need to do a better job of getting plays in and making sure everything is set to go before burning a timeout. They also can’t let precious time run off of the clock at the ends of halves.
At least they had a season-low in penalties accepted.
WINNER: WRs Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle
Miami’s fantastic duo continues to impress. This week, the pair combined for 15 targets, bringing in 12 of them for 228 yards and two touchdowns. Their mix of speed and quickness makes them so difficult to cover, and if they get the ball in space there’s no chance for defenders to catch them.
Hill became the first player this season to break 1,000 receiving yards, and Waddle isn’t far behind with 812 on his own.
