CRAZYDOLFAN305
We Are Still Going To The SB
“The football game is about adjustments, second-half adjustments, in-game adjustments,” Suh said. “So we obviously figured out what they were trying to do.”
The Dolphins’ defense allowed 67 yards rushing after halftime but Washington didn’t score or successfully convert a third-down play in the second half.
Washington went 0 for 5 on third downs in the second half.
For the second consecutive season opener, the Dolphins shut out their opponent in the second half.
We all remember the Dolphins outscoring New England 23-0 after halftime in the 2014 opener on their way to a 33-20 victory.
Taking it back further, the Dolphins have not allowed a touchdown in the second half of any opener under Joe Philbin. They allowed three points against Cleveland in 2013 and two field goals against Houston in 2012.
With 2:17 left in the fourth quarter and Washington with two timeouts remaining Miami was able to run out the clock with two first downs to preserve the victory.
The first coming on a 22-yard reception by Lamar Miller on second-and-16 and the other coming on an 8-yard run on third-and-8.
Without the second first down, the Dolphins would have been forced to punt and give the ball back to Washington with a few seconds left. But Miller made sure that wouldn’t happen by carrying a couple of defenders to the first-down marker.
“That third-and-9, I thought our guys came off the ball on the snap, they were decisive, they were physical and Lamar ran the ball hard, he secured the football with two arms,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. “When guys had their hands on him, he held on to the ball and drove his legs. Anytime you can finish the game and not have to punt, you’re going to be happy about it.”
“We’ve really worked as a whole offense — coaches, players, everyone — to be better at situational football,” Lazor said. “Some areas we weren’t better (against Washington). Short yardage would be one. Red zone. But some areas we were better. I thought two-minute was a situation before the first half (where we executed). And then four-minute was another situation that we got into and we lost one of the two tight ends that was active for the game but still had to finish out the game and we were able to finish it out with the ball.”
Milestones!
• In his first game in a Dolphins uniform, punter Matt Darr set a franchise opening-day record with a 54.3 gross average. The previous record was 54.0 yards, set by Brandon Fields in 2013.
Just how impressive was Darr’s debut? His average was tied for second-highest ever — based on minimum of four punts — on opening day for a rookie punter.
• Quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s 93.5 passer rating was the highest of his career for a season opener — and by a pretty healthy margin. His second-best showing was the 82.3 he recorded in 2013 at Cleveland.
• What also stood out defensively was Reshad Jones (12), Jelani Jenkins (11) and Koa Misi (11) all reaching double digits in tackles. Only seven times in the previous 20 years had a Dolphins player recorded at least 11 tackles on opening day — Zach Thomas five different times, Jones in 2011 and Misi in 2012.
• The Dolphins had 26 new players (almost half the 53-man roster) from their opening-day lineup of 2014.
• The game at Washington marked the 13th time the Dolphins held their opponent to 10 points or less on opening day. They are 12-0-1 in those games, the only blemish being a 10-10 tie against the Denver Broncos in 1971.
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The Dolphins’ defense allowed 67 yards rushing after halftime but Washington didn’t score or successfully convert a third-down play in the second half.
Washington went 0 for 5 on third downs in the second half.
For the second consecutive season opener, the Dolphins shut out their opponent in the second half.
We all remember the Dolphins outscoring New England 23-0 after halftime in the 2014 opener on their way to a 33-20 victory.
Taking it back further, the Dolphins have not allowed a touchdown in the second half of any opener under Joe Philbin. They allowed three points against Cleveland in 2013 and two field goals against Houston in 2012.
With 2:17 left in the fourth quarter and Washington with two timeouts remaining Miami was able to run out the clock with two first downs to preserve the victory.
The first coming on a 22-yard reception by Lamar Miller on second-and-16 and the other coming on an 8-yard run on third-and-8.
Without the second first down, the Dolphins would have been forced to punt and give the ball back to Washington with a few seconds left. But Miller made sure that wouldn’t happen by carrying a couple of defenders to the first-down marker.
“That third-and-9, I thought our guys came off the ball on the snap, they were decisive, they were physical and Lamar ran the ball hard, he secured the football with two arms,” offensive coordinator Bill Lazor said. “When guys had their hands on him, he held on to the ball and drove his legs. Anytime you can finish the game and not have to punt, you’re going to be happy about it.”
“We’ve really worked as a whole offense — coaches, players, everyone — to be better at situational football,” Lazor said. “Some areas we weren’t better (against Washington). Short yardage would be one. Red zone. But some areas we were better. I thought two-minute was a situation before the first half (where we executed). And then four-minute was another situation that we got into and we lost one of the two tight ends that was active for the game but still had to finish out the game and we were able to finish it out with the ball.”
Milestones!
• In his first game in a Dolphins uniform, punter Matt Darr set a franchise opening-day record with a 54.3 gross average. The previous record was 54.0 yards, set by Brandon Fields in 2013.
Just how impressive was Darr’s debut? His average was tied for second-highest ever — based on minimum of four punts — on opening day for a rookie punter.
• Quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s 93.5 passer rating was the highest of his career for a season opener — and by a pretty healthy margin. His second-best showing was the 82.3 he recorded in 2013 at Cleveland.
• What also stood out defensively was Reshad Jones (12), Jelani Jenkins (11) and Koa Misi (11) all reaching double digits in tackles. Only seven times in the previous 20 years had a Dolphins player recorded at least 11 tackles on opening day — Zach Thomas five different times, Jones in 2011 and Misi in 2012.
• The Dolphins had 26 new players (almost half the 53-man roster) from their opening-day lineup of 2014.
• The game at Washington marked the 13th time the Dolphins held their opponent to 10 points or less on opening day. They are 12-0-1 in those games, the only blemish being a 10-10 tie against the Denver Broncos in 1971.
1 down 15 to go..
