The Miami Dolphins beat the New England Patriots on Sunday 31-17, as Mike McDaniel’s team cruised to a home victory.
The return of cornerback Jalen Ramsey visibly improved the defense, including his great effort on an interception.
The Dolphins are 6-2 after the win and play the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs next week.
However, before we get there, we took some time to grade every position group from the Dolphins’ win, from quarterback to special teams.
Quarterbacks: A-
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was mostly perfect on Sunday, as he completed 30 of his 45 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns.
Tagovailoa’s only bad mistake was his interception in the first half. Aside from that, Tagovailoa made all the throws he needed to.
Miami’s signal-caller had a huge throw to tie the game when he found Tyreek Hill for a 42-yard touchdown, and he was able to put the game away with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle.
Running Backs: B-
The Dolphins were unable to find a solid running game throughout this one.
Raheem Mostert rushed 13 times for 46 yards but did manage to rush for a touchdown.
Jeff Wilson Jr. had a slightly better day in terms of yards per carry, as he finished with five carries for 23 yards.
Salvon Ahmed provided a bit of a spark in the passing game, bringing in a crucial catch-and-run for a first down on a third-and-13.
Wide Receivers: A
Waddle led the Dolphins with seven catches for 121 yards and a touchdown, which was the game-sealing score. He also had an impressive leaping catch in the red zone.
Hill had his usual game, recording eight catches for 112 yards and a touchdown, as he and Tagovailoa connected on a 42-yard deep ball for a score.
Chase Claypool got his first catch as a Dolphin, which went for 15 yards, and Cedrick Wilson Jr. also had one catch for a touchdown.
Tight Ends: B
Durham Smythe caught three balls for 28 yards. He almost had a touchdown, but was stopped at the one-yard line. The group, overall, was also solid in pass protection for the majority of the day.
Offensive Line: B-
The offensive line was decent. They gave up two sacks, as the group suffered key injuries during the game to Robert Hunt and Kendall Lamm but managed to limit the damage from the opposing pass rush.
The offensive line proved unsuccessful in helping to establish an efficient run game, as the Dolphins only averaged three yards per carry.
Hopefully, the group can heal up before the Dolphins play the Chiefs next week.
Defensive Line: B-
The defensive line had a solid day, as the pass rush constantly caused pressure on Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. New England averaged 4.1 yards per rush Sunday, which brings the defensive line grade to a B-.
Christian Wilkins had five tackles and a key sack while Zach Sieler had three tackles and two quarterback hits.
Linebackers: A-
Jaelan Phillips may have had his best game of the season, as he led the team with eight tackles and one sack.
Bradley Chubb also made a strong impact on the game, recording a sack and two quarterback hits.
Andrew Van Ginkel was uncharacteristically quiet, but he did have one quarterback hit.
Jerome Baker and David Long Jr. were solid in pass coverage and against the run, as Baker had five tackles and Long had four.
Cornerbacks: A
The cornerback group looked reborn with the addition of Ramsey in the secondary. He made an early impact with a forced fumble after his hit on running back Ezekiel Elliott that was called back due to an offensive penalty.
Ramsey made another highlight play when he intercepted Mac Jones in the red zone toward the end of the first half.
Kader Kohou impressed on Sunday, as he was good in coverage and recorded a tackle for loss.
Safeties: B
Brandon Jones returned to the starting lineup, with Jevon Holland absent. Jones was second on the team in tackles with seven and almost had an interception before wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster hit him.
DeShon Elliott made a positive impact with six tackles and a pass defensed.
Miami’s secondary will be exciting to watch going forward with Holland and cornerback Xavien Howard coming back from injury soon.
Special Teams: B+
Punter Jake Bailey had a great day with three punts for 146 yards. His longest punt went 63 yards, and two of his punts landed within the Patriots’ 20-yard line.
Jason Sanders made all five of the kicks that he attempted, including one field goal.
