Dolphins, for first time in a while, have look of a playoff team play

[DKphin]

Playoff teams overcome injuries. The Dolphins played Sunday without three starters on their offensive line: left tackle Branden Albert (wrist), left guard Laremy Tunsil (shoulder) and Pro Bowl center Mike Pouncey (hip). Backups Sam Young, Kraig Urbik and Anthony Steen held their own to help Miami produce 358 yards of total offense.
Playoff teams have their best players consistently perform at a high level. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw for three touchdowns and has just one turnover in his past five games. Linebacker Kiko Alonso, who leads the team in tackles, added 11 more stops and an interception in the third quarter. Defensive end Cameron Wake registered a quarterback sack in his fourth straight game, and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh made the game-saving tackle on 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick on the final play.
Playoff teams avoid letdowns. The Dolphins reversed an ugly trend in recent years of playing down to their competition. Miami jumped out to a 31-14 lead in the fourth quarter over lowly San Francisco (1-10), which went into desperation mode and scored 10 late points. The Dolphins also have been nearly unbeatable at home this year with a 5-1 record.
Miami has just one playoff appearance in the past 15 years, but the aforementioned factors show that this could be the year that run of futility comes to an end. The Dolphins are showing impressive maturity for a young team. They have 29 players age 25 or younger, and this is the first time many on Miami’s roster are experiencing this level of success at the pro level. But Miami has kept its focus during this lengthy winning streak.
Sunday’s game against the 49ers was a warm-up compared to what Miami has up next. The Dolphins will travel to face the Baltimore Ravens (6-5) in a big game with playoff implications for both teams. The Ravens are in the hunt for the AFC North title and a wild-card spot. The winner will own an important, head-to-head tiebreaker.

http://www.espn.com/blog/miami-dolp...me-in-a-long-time-have-look-of-a-playoff-team

 

[Phinsguy]

Hate to piss in anyone's cornflakes and while we should enjoy the win, we won't be going far into playoffs unless this "bend and almost break" defense gets better quickly. It never should have been as close as it was at the end vs. a not too good 49er's team.

If our D was exposed by a mediocre team & QB just wait until they face an above average team.....which is all we'll be seeing in the playoffs if we make it and if they play like today forget going past the wildcard.

 

[Fin Thirteen]

We've played quite a few underperforming offenses in our schedule (Sea, NYJ, Pitt, LA, SF). We're about to play another in Balt. We're winning g games and building confidence but as the season progresses and if we get into the playoffs, there'll be teams that challenge our shaky D a lot more than some of the above.

We need Howard back. We need Jenkins relegated. We need our dline healthy and "fresh". Even then we need to ride our luck and momentum.

 

[Cangrejero51]

Lets get to the playoffs first, and worried how far we are going later.

For me, even getting to the playoffs is a big achievement and Gaze should win Coach of the year award.

 

[Handbanana]

Honestly I'm just stoked to be having this conversation at this point of the season. The negative Nancy's can worry all they want, win or lose, I'm gonna just sit back and enjoy the ride.