Dolphins rookie quarterback Tua Tagovailoa missed Sunday’s game against the Jets with a thumb injury, which meant another go-round for Ryan Fitzpatrick. The 16-year NFL veteran started in place of Tagovailoa, helping guide the Dolphins to a 20-3 victory.
Thanks to another strong performance from the defense, the Dolphins improved to 7-4 and jumped up to the No. 6 seed in the AFC playoff standings with five remaining regular-season games.
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Let’s tackle three important issues from Miami’s victory.
Who’s the starting quarterback?
The offense operated more efficiently with Fitzpatrick at quarterback compared with Tua Tagovailoa against the Broncos in Week 11. With Tagovailoa out, Fitzpatrick did enough in completing 24 of 39 throws for 257 yards and two touchdowns. Whenever he needed a completion, he found DeVante Parker, who had a season-high 119 receiving yards on eight catches.
However, it looked like the Dolphins probably could’ve scored even more. Out of 11 possessions, the Dolphins punted four times and fumbled twice.
While Fitzpatrick made his case, Flores insists Tagovailoa is still the starter.
“If Tua’s healthy, he’s the guy,” Flores said. “Again, he’s dealing with something with the hand. We’ll take it day-to-day. He’s a tough kid. He wants to be out there. Thankfully, we have other guys who stepped up. We can talk about Tua, but we had 52 other guys who went out there and played their butts off today in all three phases. We were able to get a division win on the road. We’ll enjoy the win and then turn the page and move on to the next opponent, the Bengals.”
One week after Tagovailoa absorbed a season-high six sacks, the offensive line didn’t do many favors for his replacement either. Fitzpatrick endured 10 quarterback hits and was sacked four times. The offensive line, which was without rookie right guard Solomon Kindley, clearly needs to improve both in pass and run protection. Whenever Tagovailoa returns, it’ll be in Miami’s best interest to keep the rookie upright.
Just about a month ago, Fitzpatrick was extremely candid in sharing his feelings after being benched. He said he didn’t know if he’d ever start another NFL game and even thought to himself, “Is this it?”
Following the victory over the Jets, he reflected once again.
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“It’s kind of been the story of my career,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s been so up and down and I’m in the lineup, and I’m out of the lineup, and I’m back in. For me, just trying to stay steady, just trying to provide the team with leadership and going out there when my number’s called and playing well, and that’s what I had to try to do in this situation. . . . I love playing, I love being out there. It was fun to be out there today.”
X-man strikes again
The narrative around the Dolphins’ success this season has revolved around defense. The Jets kicked a field goal to score their only points on the game’s opening drive, but the Dolphins’ defense responded with six forced punts (including three three-and-outs), two interceptions and a Jets missed field goal. In two games, Miami outscored New York, 44-3.
Cornerback Xavien Howard continued his case as one of the best ballhawks in the NFL. Howard’s interception off Jets quarterback Sam Darnold marked his league-leading seventh pick. Howard’s interception was Miami’s second of the game after fellow cornerback Nik Needham picked off Darnold at the beginning of the second half.
Howard, a 2018 Pro Bowler, is playing some of the best football of his career right now. He’s consistently causing a disruption for opposing quarterbacks and receivers. Howard was not made available to the media during postgame interviews.
Fitzpatrick said of Howard: “Turnovers are such a big part of this game. It’s momentum, it’s field position, it’s just confidence overall. We don’t take that for granted on offense that they’re doing that, creating those turnovers. Because we know it’s difficult to do and they’ve been really good at it. It’s a great feeling to be sitting on the bench, looking at the tablet and somebody handing you your helmet and saying, ‘Hey, we’re back up. X got another interception.’ It’s unbelievable. He’s always around the ball. He’s always got his hands on the ball. He’s a pretty special player in that regard.”
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Howard’s knack for finding the football has rubbed off on his teammates. Needham said the rest of the secondary got antsy throughout practice this week leading up to the Jets game.
“X is so inspiring,” Needham said. “The way he always gets his hands on the ball, he should really have like 12 (interceptions). We just try to keep up and make as many plays as that man. He pushes me every day, definitely. He’s a great player.”
Paging Gaskin as RBs struggle
Lead tailback Myles Gaskin has now missed four straight games with an MCL sprain, but the call for his return grew louder this weekend. On consecutive drives toward the end of the third quarter, Dolphins running backs fumbled on third down. On both turnovers, Miami gave up possession in its own territory.
The first fumble was by Matt Breida, who earned the start with Gaskin and Salvon Ahmed (shoulder) out with injuries. Jets defensive end Quinnen Williams blew up the backfield after beating left guard Ereck Flowers at the line of scrimmage and hit Breida, forcing the ball loose.
Patrick Laird gave up the second fumble on a draw play on third-and-long. Laird picked up several yards on the rush and nearly moved the chains, but he lost the ball on an open-field tackle before reaching the marker.
Luckily for the Dolphins, the Jets’ punchless offense failed to score on both drives. New York punted after the first fumble; on the next drive, linebacker Elandon Roberts came up with a big stop on fourth-and-1, bringing down veteran tailback Frank Gore behind the line of scrimmage.
Both Laird and Breida didn’t receive another touch after their mistakes. Dolphins running back DeAndre Washington closed out the game, finishing with 49 rushing yards on 13 carries. Gaskin leads all Miami running backs with 387 rushing yards on 100 carries with two touchdowns over seven games. He also has 30 receptions. Breida has 132 rushing yards on 39 carries this season, and Ahmed has 166 yards on 40 carries in three games.
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“We’ve had a lot of different guys back there,” Flores said. “I thought Breida ran the ball effectively. I thought Laird had a good run prior to fumbling. We’re getting there, we just have to keep working at it . . . those fourth-quarter first downs, fourth-quarter rushing yards, fourth-quarter time of possession. Those are all things we talk about and are very important. If we can get those done and finish all games like today, that’s always good. I thought (Washington) ran the ball effectively. We need that. Especially when we’re trying to close out a game.”
(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)