The Miami Dolphins begin the 2022 season at 1-0 after handling the New England Patriots 20-7 on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium.
This was the fourth straight victory Miami has had over Bill Belichick and the Patriots, as they’ve now won eight of their last 10 home games against New England. Mike McDaniel recorded his first head coaching win and during the post-game locker room celebration, was dowsed with a Gatorade pour from a few 12 ouncers in lieu of the full cooler.
While the offense showed signs of potency, there’s still work to do on the offensive line as well as the running game as a whole. Thankfully, the defense was the prescription for Sunday’s clinic, as they proved that they’re more the unit from the second half of last season as opposed to the first half.
Miami won the turnover battle three to zero, and the tone was immediately set when cornerback Xavien Howard defended an end-zone-bound pass intended for former Dolphins wide receiver DeVante Parker, which fell into the waiting hands of star sophomore safety Jevon Holland.
Here are some other notes from Miami’s season-opening win.
Newly acquired pass-rusher Melvin Ingram recorded a defensive touchdown Sunday. The last Dolphin that scored a defensive touchdown in a season opener came on Sept. 11, 2005, vs. the Denver Broncos, when Jason Taylor took an 85-yard fumble return for a score. That fumble return is still the longest in franchise history.
Jaylen Waddle scored yesterday on a beautiful fourth-and-7 play and has a touchdown in three of his last four games played. He’s also scored in each of the three times he’s played New England so far in his career.
Safety Brandon Jones picked up where he left off last season, as the reigning defensive back sack champion starts the season off with a strip-sack leading to six points.
Rookie cornerback Kader Kohou forced a fumble in the fourth quarter that was recovered by linebacker Jaelan Phillips. Kohou became the first rookie undrafted free agent to force a fumble in a Week 1 game since New York Giants defensive back Bruce Johnson did so on Sept. 13, 2009, against Washington.
Miami is 8-2 in their last 10 home games against New England
The Dolphins have held opponents to 400 total yards or less in 13-straight contests, their longest since a 26-game streak from Oct. 30, 2005 to Dec. 31, 2006.
By holding New England to just 193 passing yards, Miami has held their opponents to less than 300 passing yards in 11-straight contests, which is the team’s longest streak since a 13-game stretch from Sept. 24, 2017 to Dec. 17, 2017.
Sunday’s win was Miami’s fourth season-opening victory in the past six seasons and seventh in the past 10.
According to the Associated Press, McDaniel became the second coach in NFL history to win a game against a coach who has at least 321 wins more than him. The other was Dave Wannstedt (12 wins), who defeated Don Shula (334 wins) and the Dolphins on Nov. 13, 1994, while coaching Chicago.
McDaniel is the fourth Miami Dolphins head coach to win their opening game with the team, joining Nick Saban (2005), Dave Wannstedt (2000) and Jimmy Johnson (1996).
Howard deflected a pass in the endzone that was intercepted by Holland on New England’s first possession. It was Howard’s 37th pass defended since 2020 – most in the NFL in that span – and Holland’s third career interception in just his 17th career game.
Defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah got to Mac Jones for his first sack of the season. He’s led Miami in each of the past two years in sacks with nine in both 2020 and 2021. He’s part of just a trio AFC players, including Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt and Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett, with at least nine sacks in each of the past two seasons.
