The Miami Dolphins are on a streak. However, the streak is losing two consecutive primetime games to an AFC opponent. Miami(4-4) was defeated by the Oakland Raiders(4-5) Sunday night at Hard Rock stadium in Miami, FL.
Miami was coming off a blow out/shut out loss to the Baltimore Raven, who like the Raiders, are a struggling team with loads of talent. To credit Miami, it definitely wasn’t the same performance as last Thursday night.
In a game plagued by penalties by both teams, it was important to capitalize on any available opportunity to put points on the board. The Dolphins and Raiders had racked up 105 and 107 penalty yards, respectively. But it was Oakland who took the most advantage of their defensive stops and penalties by Miami.
The first time was after a Kenyan Drake fumble in the second quarter. The Raiders offense, led by Derek Carr, then took the ball and went 81 yards to the endzone to put Oakland back in the lead. Oakland also took advantage of penalties on the next two drives. One drive, holding Miami to a field goal instead of a touchdown and the next to score a field goal for themselves to go up by four points at halftime.
Aside of the penalties, the Dolphins actually played good football throughout the game. Jay Cutler, who was in his second game back starting after a ribs injury, threw for 300 yards and 3 scores with no interceptions. This included a 15 yard touchdown strike to Julius Thomas to help put Miami within three points with 1:32 left in the game. The other scores were to Jarvis Landry and Damien Williams.
I have to say Jay Cutler played lights out football. He kept his turnovers down, was only sacked one time(amid the poor offensive line play), and completed 81 percent of his passes. The running game was somewhat staggered as this was the first game without running back Jay Ajayi, who was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kenyan Drake ran fairly well, taking on the number one spot in the backfield. Although he did not have any touchdowns, he gained 69 yards on 9 carries(7.7 y.p.c.) that included a 42 yard rush for his long. Damien Williams performed at a lesser rate only gaining 14 yards on 7 carries. Don’t count him out though, Williams was electrifying in the past game. Williams was targeted six times and caught all six passes for 47 yards. And to top it off, Williams caught a ten yard touchdown where, after making a tackler miss, “superman” jumped to the goal line to score. One of the best plays I seen all night.
I was impressed to see such an overall solid performance by the Dolphins offense. Especially with DE/LB Khalil Mack chasing Jay Cutler and friends all over the field. It looked as if he had a motor that would not turn off. As a former defensive end, I applaud Mack for his efforts Sunday night, as he alone put more pressure on Miami then I seen in awhile from a single player.
Miami could have pulled the win out but in the end, the Raiders took advantage of Miami’s mishaps. The Dolphins defense set their offense up on two separate occasions to take the lead and potentially close the game out. Ndamukong Suh forced a Carr fumble in hall of fame fashion. Suh beat his blocker and turned the corner heading for Carr. Seeing as he wouldn’t make the sack, Suh jumped, left his feet, stretched out, and knocked the ball from Carrs' hand. This is why Suh was paid big bucks and these types of plays are why he has been a major factor for Miami's defense.
The offense did not capitalize on the turnover as the offense gained only 5 yards on four plays and then punted. The score was still 20-16 and Miami’s defense came back on the field and forced a punt this time. Only allowing one yard on three plays and forcing an Oakland punt. Miami's offense was given another chance at this to convert turnovers into points. But this time the Raiders defense gave no ground, holding Miami to -8 yards.
As I said earlier, the team who capitalized the most on the others mistakes, was the team to take the game. As Al Pacino stated in, Any Given Sunday, “it’s a game of inches” and all the inches matter when you have two teams who are trying to find their niche. I loved the fact that Miami seemed more physical this game. They were more in tune with the goal to get accomplished. It was the “inches” that made the difference between winning or losing….That’s football, as well as life, as Pacino said, that’s all it is. A game of inches.
Next game:
Miami Dolphins(4-4) @ Carolina Panthers(6-3)
Monday; November 13, 2017 8:30 p.m.
Bank of America Stadium
Game covered nationally on ESPN
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