The Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets 30-0 on Sunday, and after a devastating loss the previous week, Mike McDaniel’s team responded with a dominant victory in all phases of the game.
Miami’s offense was nearly perfect without star receiver Tyreek Hill. The defense was even better, recording their first shutout of the season.
We took time to grade every position group from the Dolphins’ win, from quarterback to special teams.
Quarterbacks: A
Tua Tagovailoa proved that his success doesn’t just come from Hill, as he finished with 21 completions on 24 attempts for 224 yards and a touchdown.
The quarterback’s accuracy shined, as his first incompletion came near the end of the second quarter. Tagovailoa’s best play came when he made a perfectly thrown deep pass to Jaylen Waddle for a 60-yard touchdown.
Tagovailoa has kept the offense afloat given all the injuries to his offensive line and skill position players, sneakily putting him back in the MVP conversation.
Running Backs: B-
It wasn’t the best day for the running backs.
The group averaged 3.04 yards on 26 total carries. Raheem Mostert had 15 carries for 42 yards. De’Von Achane wasn’t much more efficient, finishing with nine rushes for 32 yards.
On a positive note, Mostert was able to fuel the Dolphins in the red zone, rushing for two touchdowns on the day. The running backs were at a disadvantage playing against one of the best defenses in the league without a majority of their starting offensive linemen.
Wide Receivers: A-
Waddle shined in Hill’s absence on Sunday, making eight catches for 142 yards receiving. Tagovailoa and the Dolphins made a point from the start of the game to get Waddle involved.
The Alabama product accounted for over half of the Dolphins’ total receiving yards on Sunday. The other wide receivers were relatively quiet.
Braxton Berrios was the only other receiver to have over 10 yards receiving. Chase Claypool got involved with two catches for eight yards.
Tight Ends: B+
Durham Smythe had a good day in the passing game, as he was second in receiving yards with four catches for 32 yards.
Offensive Line: B-
The offensive line got some much-needed reinforcements with the return of Terron Armstead.
The group had a difficult time establishing the running game without Robert Hunt and Connor Williams, who would’ve made a positive impact in that aspect.
They were decent in pass protection, as Tagovailoa got sacked three times for a total loss of 15 yards. Hopefully, the group can get Hunt back at some point before the end of the regular season.
Defensive Line: A
The defense dominated the Jets for the entire game.
In the Dolphins’ first shutout since 2020, the defensive line helped the front seven record six sacks and hold the Jets to just 23 total rushing yards.
Christian Wilkins had three tackles and a half-sack. Zach Sieler had another strong day with a sack and two quarterback hits. Sieler also had a nice pass breakup on the day.
Andrew Van Ginkel had a pass defensed, a half-sack and two quarterback hits.
Linebackers: A+
In response to his bad game the previous week, Bradley Chubb had arguably the best performance by a Dolphin this season, as he had three sacks and led the team in total tackles.
Chubb had two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. His performance alone was enough to get the linebacker group an “A” grade.
David Long Jr. had a solid day with six tackles and one tackle for loss. Duke Riley also performed well with his increased playing time, recording five tackles, a pass defensed and a half-sack.
Cornerbacks: A
The cornerbacks were barely tested, but they received an “A” grade because they held the Jets to under 100 yards passing.
Jalen Ramsey made a great play in coverage to break up a pass. Eli Apple saw the field with Xavien Howard out, and he had four tackles and a pass defensed. Nik Needham was good in coverage and had two tackles.
Safeties: A
The Dolphins came into the game without both their starting safeties.
Brandon Jones had a great game, recording two interceptions and five tackles. Elijah Campbell was a solid replacement for DeShon Elliott with four tackles and a pass defensed.
Special Teams: A
The special teams were great on Sunday. The group stopped a Jets fake punt to give the Dolphins good field position. Jason Sanders made all three of his field goal attempts. Jake Bailey kicked the ball four times for 143 yards with three landing within the 20-yard line.
