Listed here are a few of the high takeaways from the Miami Dolphins’ 35-32 win over the Chicago Bears at Soldier Discipline on Sunday:
Tyreek Hill is a red-zone possibility
Vast receiver Tyreek Hill, who had his fifth 100-yard receiving sport of the season Sunday with seven receptions for 143 yards and one landing, caught a 3-yard landing move from Tua Tagovailoa within the second quarter, which provides him his red-zone risk credentials. The reception was Hill’s third landing of the season. His earlier touchdowns had been 48 and 60 yards, each in opposition to Baltimore. Hill, a 5-foot-10, 191-pound ball of muscle and pace, has been focused everywhere in the subject in nearly each occasion, and now defenses need to have a bit extra consciousness within the crimson zone searching for Hill. — Chris Perkins
Cedrick Wilson is an possibility. Interval.
Vast receiver Cedrick Wilson has seen his position on the workforce steadily growing. He had a 14-yard reception within the second quarter Sunday and ended with two receptions for 23 yards. Wilson entered the sport with two receptions for 20 yards, with each catches coming in opposition to the New York Jets. Wilson began getting common enjoying time two video games in the past because the punt returner. Vast receiver River Cracraft has missed the previous two video games, opening alternatives for others. Final week it was undrafted rookie Braylon Sanders.
Working again Jeff Wilson Jr suits in properly
Working again Jeff Wilson Jr. had a pleasant debut with 9 carries for 51 yards and three receptions for 21 yards and one landing. He had a 10-yard landing reception within the third quarter to present the Dolphins a 35-25 lead. He acquired his first stick with it a 4-yard achieve on first-and-10 from the 14-yard line within the second quarter. He additionally caught a move for a 4-yard achieve that additionally included a roughing the passer penalty within the second quarter. Wilson had a key block on a 22-yard completion on the primary play of the third quarter, defending quarterback Tua Tagovailoa from a attainable sack or hit. He adopted that with a 28-yard stick with it the following play. The Dolphins completed with 77 yards on the bottom. Miami entered the sport twenty eighth within the league at 88.1 yards per sport.
Particular groups come by way of. After which they didn’t come by way of
Particular groups could make game-changing performs. We noticed it within the second quarter. After which we noticed particular groups sputter later within the second quarter. As for the good things, linebacker Jaelan Phillips broke by way of from the appropriate facet to dam a punt that fellow linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel returned for a 25-yard scoop-and-score landing. It marked the primary time shortly particular groups contributed a game-changing play. And, sure, that features the notorious butt punt in opposition to Buffalo. As for the dangerous stuff, kicker Jason Sanders missed a 29-yard subject aim try large left shortly earlier than halftime. It was his solely miss of the season inside of fifty yards. He was 11 of 11 inside 50 yards and 19 of 20 on further level makes an attempt.
Secondary will get new face
Security Elijiah Campbell acquired enjoying time Sunday, giving the secondary yet one more look because it actually goes by game-by-game matchups. For instance, final week security Jevon Holland was down within the field for a lot of the sport with rookie Verone McKinley III deep. In opposition to the Bears, Campbell performed heaps within the field leaving Jevon Holland as the one deep security. The Dolphins, who began cornerbacks Xavier Howard and Kader Kohou together with Holland and Campbell at safeties, additionally used Keion Crossen and security Eric Rowe, who was surprisingly inactive final week. In the previous couple of video games the Dolphins used defensive backs similar to safeties Clayton Fejedelem and cornerbacks Noah Igbinoghene and Justin Bethel extensively.
Dolphins OK not scoring first
Sunday marked the sixth time Dolphins opponents scored first this season. The Dolphins had been 3-2 in such situations getting into Sunday’s sport. Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, the New York Jets, Detroit and Chicago all scored first. The Dolphins misplaced Cincinnati and the Jets. The Dolphins scored first in opposition to New England, Minnesota and Pittsburgh, solely dropping to Minnesota.
Penalties had been introduced beneath management
Keep in mind final week when TV cameras caught coach Mike McDaniel flip to somebody on the sideline and stated one thing alongside the strains of “Get these penalties mounted!”? Effectively, somebody acquired them mounted. Yeah, maybe Crossen grabbed large receiver Chase Claypool by the waist on an important third down move play on the Dolphins’ 22-yard line that wasn’t known as a penalty. However the Dolphins ended with simply three penalties for 38 yards. Crossen was known as for a 28-yard move interference penalty within the first quarter. Left sort out Terron Armstead was flagged for unlawful participant downfield, wiping out a modest 7-yard Trent Sheffield completion. The Dolphins had been flagged for unlawful participation late within the second quarter on the Chicago 18-yard line after they broke the huddle with 12 males. However general it was exhibiting in that regard.
Chubb strikes back and forth
New Dolphins edge rusher Bradley Chubb moved from proper to left on the defensive entrance, lining up throughout from left sort out Braxton Jones and proper sort out Riley Reiff. Chubb had some shut calls and close to misses attending to quarterback Justin Fields. The massive one was within the fourth quarter when Fields broke free for a 13-yard achieve on third-and-7 from the Bears’ 29-yard line. Chubb ended with one sort out.
Working quarterbacks are problematic
Bears quarterback Justin Fields had 15 carries for 178 yards to ascertain a NFL document for normal season dashing yards by a quarterback in a sport. The earlier document was 173 yards by Atlanta’s Michael Vick in opposition to Minnesota on Dec. 1, 2002. The Dolphins have allowed the longest two landing carries by quarterbacks this season. Fields broke unfastened for a 61-yard landing run early within the third quarter. Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson had a 79-yard landing run in opposition to the Dolphins. Miami’s run protection entered the sport sixth at 100.6 yards allowed per sport. The Dolphins hadn’t allowed a workforce 100 yard dashing because the New York Jets totaled 135 5 video games in the past.
Tua was sharp. Once more.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had one other precision-passing efficiency, going 21 of 30 for 302 yards, three touchdowns and a 135.7 passer score. The one flaw was throwing quick to tight finish Durham Smythe on fourth-and-1 from the Bears’ 15-yard line with 7:50 remaining and the Dolphins defending a 35-32 lead. He had red-zone landing move to Hill, Wilson and large receiver Jaylen Waddle. Tagovailoa made good choices, together with working out of bounds as soon as and throwing balls away not less than 3 times (to the ire of Bears followers within the fourth quarter who thought it ought to have been intentional grounding), together with as soon as within the crimson zone. You might say Tagovailoa misfired on a fourth-and-6 move to tight finish Mike Gesicki however in actuality Gesicki was well-covered and the completion in all probability didn’t have an opportunity of occurring, so the blame on Tagovailoa is minimal. The offense’s 4 touchdowns approached the season better of six established in opposition to Baltimore.
The Tyreek meter
With Hill at 1,104 receiving yards for the season, he wants solely 286 the remainder of the yr to set the membership document (1,389 by Mark Clayton in 1984) and 861 to interrupt the NFL document (1,964 by Calvin Johnson in 2012). To interrupt Clayton’s document, Hill should common 35.8 yards a sport the remainder of the best way. To interrupt it in the identical 16-game body as Clayton had, he would want 40.9 yards per. To interrupt Johnson’s mark, he would require 107.7 yards a sport, and 123.0 to interrupt it on a 16-game body. — Steve Svekis
Did defenses get spooked from blitzing after Tyreek Hill’s first landing of the season?
In Week 2, on the fourth-quarter play in Baltimore the place Hill blew previous the Ravens secondary and hauled in his 48-yard landing move, making it 35-28 Ravens, Baltimore had blitzed two from the left facet — the route the place quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has made probably the most hay throughout his profession. Nonetheless, Hill was streaking down the center of the sector. Whereas that blitz acquired ample push, and would have been successfully in Tagovailoa’s face if he had been throwing to the left half of the sector, it was picked up sufficient to maintain him clear as he surveyed the panorama in Hill’s route and let it fly. As much as that time, defenses had blitzed the Dolphins quarterback 29 instances in his first 80 dropback (36.3%). However because the Ravens’ game-turning, unsuccessful six-man rush, Tagovailoa had confronted 16 extra-man rushes in Miami’s 119 dropbacks (13.4%), getting into the Bears sport (giving him a cumulative 22.6% blitz charge for his first six video games).
The proportion shrunk in opposition to the Bears, with the unofficial depend being 4 blitzes in Tagovailoa’s 31 dropbacks (12.9%). By comparability, these are the blitz charges in opposition to a few of the NFL’s high quarterbacks by way of Week 8: Lamar Jackson, 95 blitzes in 272 dropbacks (34.9%); Jalen Hurts, 85 in 254 (33.5); Geno Smith, 82 in 281 (29.2); Patrick Mahomes, 82 in 290 (28.3); Josh Allen, 77 in 302 (25.5); Justin Herbert, 68 in 328 (20.7); Joe Burrow, 50 in 347 (14.4). So, at that line of demarcation, Tua went from the most-blitzed quarterback within the NFL with not less than his 199 dropbacks to, after that game-turning bomb to Hill, the least.
The Dolphins club-record-long street win streak in opposition to the Bears continues on, seemingly right into a fifth decade
The Dolphins haven’t misplaced to the Bears at Soldier Discipline since 1988. The subsequent-longest span with no loss on the house stadium of a given workforce has been in opposition to the Rams franchise, a 2001 defeat in St. Louis. Curiously, the Rams are the workforce with the longest drought of successful a sport in South Florida, final beating the Dolphins within the Orange Bowl in 1976.
The final yr the Dolphins misplaced a sport on the house stadium of a given NFL workforce:
1988: Bears; 2001: Rams; 2007: Eagles, Commanders; 2009: Falcons; 2012: Cardinals, 49ers; 2013: Saints; 2014: Lions; 2015: Jaguars, Chargers; 2016: Seahawks; 2017: Ravens, Panthers, Chiefs; 2018: Packers, Texans, Colts, Vikings; 2019: Browns, Cowboys, Giants, Steelers; 2020: Broncos, Patriots; 2021: Payments, Raiders, Buccaneers, Titans; 2022: Bengals, Jets.
The Patriots’ win over the Colts made historical past for the AFC East
The AFC East has all of its groups with a successful document going into Week 10 for the primary time in its 57-year historical past.
This may not be the primary time Dolphins haven’t had a first-rounder in consecutive drafts
After the Bradley Chubb commerce, 2023 is on monitor to be the fourth time in Dolphins historical past the place they haven’t had a first-round decide for consecutive seasons. The 2022-23 span would be part of 2002-03, 1999-2000 and 1970-71 in that realm. Sure, Miami — partly due to getting Ricky Williams — had one first-rounder in a five-draft span, and the first-rounder was a twenty sixth decide at that (DB Jamar Fletcher in 2001).
Not that it's straightforward, however…
The Dolphins’ tally in opposition to working quarterbacks this season is unpleasant. Justin Fields (15 runs for 178 yards), Lamar Jackson (9 for 119) and Josh Allen has (eight for 47) jaunted for 344 yards on 32 carries (10.8 yards a run).
Duke Riley had a play which may be forgotten, however it was large
Justin Fields had been working roughshod on Miami, and on the Bears’ last possession, the Chicago quarterback sprinted proper with designs on getting yet one more working first down, however linebacker Duke Riley set the sharpest of edges on him and compelled him out of bounds for a 2-yard sack. It arrange a third-and-10, and two performs later, the Dolphins had received the sport. Large, large play.
On deck: Cleveland Browns, Exhausting Rock Stadium, Sunday 1 p.m.
The Browns, who regarded very spectacular in hammering the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night time, will probably be getting back from per week off. Jacoby Brissett, the Dolphins backup quarterback final season, had a 133.7 passer score in opposition to the Bengals, tacking on a key dashing landing. He is also 10 for 11 in gaining not less than 1 yard in third- or fourth-and-1 conditions. On the flip facet, he has absorbed 11 of his season’s 16 sacks the previous three video games. In the meantime, Myles Garrett — arguably the most effective edge participant within the NFL — has caught fireplace since escaping grievous harm in a one-car wreck after Week 3 — piling up 4.5 sacks as a part of his 21 pressures the previous three video games, including in 4 tackles for loss and a compelled fumble. Moreover, edge bookend Jadeveon Clowney is predicted again beginning after the break.
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