Winning has become a habit in Miami. Coming off four consecutive winning seasons, the Dolphins began 2024 back in the win column, grinding out a tough one against in-state rival Jacksonville. Here's how they did it.
Travis' Takeaways
- Responding to adversity
Dolphins fans have been spoiled the last couple of seasons, especially with games at Hard Rock Stadium. Typically, the offense scores early and never takes the foot off the gas. Sunday's opener against a tough Jacksonville team reflected a late-season grind that requires grit and perseverance.
"It's great for the confidence in the locker room, for all the guys to see that, 'Hey, we are not going to be easy to beat," wide receiver Tyreek Hill said. "Whether it's home, whether it's on the road, moving late into the season, not every game is going to be perfect. We know that. We are going to have games like this."
It was a sloppy start for the home team. Dropped passes, penalties and no points through the first 28 minutes of the game, Miami needed to wake up – and they did exactly that.
It started with safety Jevon Holland's forced fumble at the end of the third quarter. Running back Travis Etienne was two yards away from putting the Dolphins on the ropes with a 24-7 Jacksonville lead. One play after Holland's heroics, quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, once again, had Hill for the longest touchdown of his illustrious career, an 80-yard strike.
- Closing time
The Jacksonville offense failed to produce a point and gained just 76 yards in the second half. It was 86 yards before the Dolphins defense, and outside linebackers Jaelan Phillips and Emmanuel Ogbah, shouted last call with a pair of sacks of Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Phillips, in his first game back 10 months after an Achilles tear, lead the Dolphins with five quarterback pressures, including the pressure that forced Lawrence into Ogbah on the play prior, and the sack that got the football back to the offense.
Phillips played 39 of the defense's 50 snaps, the same number as cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The All-Pro led an incredible effort when Jacksonville tried to convert a fourth-and-1 to begin the fourth quarter. The Dolphins strung out the play and had five hats to the party when Etienne reversed his field, as seen below.
- You are what you emphasize
Head Coach Mike McDaniel is no stranger to adages. This year, his rally cry has been about executing the elements of the game the team spent all camp emphasizing. Two of those elements – capitalizing on overplay, and a better conversion rate in short yardage.
The Dolphins faced three separate third-and-1 situations Sunday and converted them all. First, it was running back De'Von Achane punching it in from the 1-yard-line. Then, fullback Alec Ingold moved the chains twice on dives right up the middle.
Conversely, Miami's two home run strikes came from the Jaguars over-playing the bread-and-butter, intermediate passing game. Twice, safeties clamped down on shorter throws when Tagovailoa pumped that way, opening deep shots down the field – a 63-yard strike to wide receiver Jaylen Waddle, and the 80-yard house call to Hill.
"Waddle was the first read," Tagovailoa said. "I saw space. There was nobody over there and I knew Tyreek was coming into my vision. I skipped my first read basically."
For more analysis, takeaways and breakdowns, download the Drive Time Podcast with Travis Wingfield, available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
