Dolphins Team Grades: Led By Stoic Defense, Tannehill Finishes Off Rams Late
By Abraham Gutierrez
In the NFL, a win is a win, no matter how ugly it is. For the Miami Dolphins, Sunday's 14-10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams represents the franchise's first five-five game win streak since 2008. Thus, Adam Gase's Fins improved to 6-4 on the season and they are now being discussed as a potential playoff threat in the AFC.
Offense: C+
"Better late than never," would be the best way to describe the Dolphins offense Sunday against the Rams. That's because for about three quarters and six minutes of play in the fourth, Tannehill and the Fins offense laid a goose egg on the scoreboard and were unable to get anything going.
Luckily, another old saying came into play when describing the outcome of this contest: "It's not how you start, it's how you finish." That perfectly sums up Miami's rallying victory.
As a team, the Dolphins finished the game with 16 first downs—nine coming on passes, five on rushes and two on penalties. Going up against a solid Rams defense, it was clear that Miami's offense could be in for a dogfight, and that's exactly what it got.
The Dolphins closed out the game with 239 yards of total offense on 57 plays, out of which, 142 came through the air and 97 hard-fought yards on the ground. With only 16 touches, running back Jay Ajayi racked up 77 yards, plus 19 more from quarterback Ryan Tannehill on a pair of rushes. Despite being sacked 4 times (-30 yards), the offensive line deserves credit considering the lack of personnel.
"They're a really good defensive unit," Tannehill said after the game. "D-line's really tough, do a good job of creating matchups up front where they can get their guys one-on-one and they're talented. We had a ton of respect coming into this game and I think we leave with a ton of respect as well."
Offensively, wide receiver DeVante Parker was the key to this victory, registering 8 catches for 79 and the game-winning touchdown. Nevertheless, the play of the game belonged to Jarvis Landry (5 catches, 27 yards, TD), as he—with a little help from his friends—got Miami on the board with a 10-yard touchdown pass with 4:02 remaining on the game clock.
After an ugly start, Tannehill needed just two drives to steal this game, completing 24-of-34 pass attempts for 172 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for a quarterback rating of 89.3. Trailing 10-7 with 36 seconds left on the clock and no timeouts, Tannehill threw a dagger towards the sideline and found Parker in the end zone for the go-ahead score of the ballgame.
"He's growing," Tannehill said of Parker. "Every week he's growing, continues to get better and we look to continue that."
Defense: A
Kudos to the Dolphins' defensive unit, as they were the ones responsible for keeping Miami in this game when nothing was going well. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (5 tackles, 0.5 sacks) and defensive end Cameron Wake (1 tackle, 0.5 sack) continued to make their case as the best duo in the National Football League, while linebacker Kiko Alonso (8 tackles, forced fumble and recovery) had another productive day.
"It's hard to pinpoint, you know," Wake said when asked when the turning point was for this defense this season. "I didn't really take note of it, but it was a long time ago when guys just had that fight. You can tell, you can feel it."
As a unit, Miami's defense limited Los Angeles to 12 first downs, 227 yards of total offense and dominated on third-down situations, allowing the Rams to convert on only 2-for-12 of those instances.
Special Teams: A
In a game where points are at a premium, having a solid special teams unit often is the difference between losing and winning football games. To the Dolphins' credit, everyone did their job against a Rams special teams group that seemed eager for a big play, particularly in the return game (Benny Cunningham: 2 returns for 86 yards).
However, Miami held it down in the special teams department, punted the ball when it needed to, and were fortunate that the defense kept Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein far enough for him to miss a 46-yard field goal attempt in the second half.
Coaching: A
It seems like every week that goes by, Coach Gase continues to convert doubters into believers of this Miami Dolphins football team. And while critics will point to the many things Miami did wrong in this contest, the truth is that when it mattered most, the right plays were called and the team executed, which means they prepared for those scenarios well during the week.
Next Up: Miami Returns Home To Host Niners
Looking to keep the good times rolling following a two-week West Coast swing, the Dolphins return home for a matchup against the (1-9) San Francisco 49ers. Losers of nine consecutive ballgames, this is obviously a golden opportunity for Miami to extend its win streak to six straight games and continue its march towards a Wild Card berth in the AFC.
"We're way on the other side of the country, but we still have you guys in our hearts," Wake said to the fans as he was walking off the field. "We took over California -- two birds, one stone, we knocked them down we're coming home with another 'W.' We love you guys, we'll see you back home."