QBRyan Tannehill was OK. He did throw two awful throws that resulted in one INT and one that should have been a pick six, he missed a wide open Hartline in a crucial moment in the 4th quarter and again underthrew a w-i-d-e open Mike Wallace. That connection is just not working. Other than those 4 glaring bad throws he was soilid and finished 22of 35 for 268 yards and 1 TD and 1 INT. B
RB Much better. Running behind an O-line featurining only 2 players that were week one starters including a practice squad player and a backup center they did OK. Thomas had perhaps his best game of the year as he was running hard and gaining important yards in chunks of 6 and 7s. He finished with 57 yards on 10 carries and a TD. Miller only had 4 carries. B
WR The WRs played a solid game as the top 3 WRs caught 13 passes for 154 yards. The player of the game was TE Charles Clay that led the way with 6 catches for 90 yards including an incredible 39 yard TD when he took a 5 yard throw and broke tackles and ran by defenders for the game winning TD. B
OL The O-line starting unit was LT McKinnie, LG Sam Brenner (a practice squad player as late as Saturday), backup C Nate Garner and Jerry and Clabo. Somehow they did OK. The Dolphins ran for over 100 yards and Tannehill was sacked 4 times but two of them were not related to the O-line. B
LB The Dolphins LBs are not playing very well. They can not stop the run and they need to put Dion Jordan on TEs in order to get any kind of coverage. Having said that, they were a part of a unit that held Rivers to 16 points. B-
DL The D-line is not performaing according to their lofty credentials. They should not get their first sack in the 4th quarter. But, when the game was on the line they delivered. Odrick had a sack. Vernon had a sack that put Sd out of FG range and Wake had another crucial sacks to seal the game. B+
Secondary Brent Grimes was a huge off season pick up. He got his 3rd INT of the season and made the last pley of the game. He is just an excellent CB. The other parts of the secondary did not have great highlight plays but managed to keep Rivers in check and scoring only 16 points and that's what counts. A-
Special teams Fields saved the day. In the most crucial part of the game he had a 61 yard punt. He is right now the best punter in the NFL. The coverage teams were OK andThigpen did have one decision to fair catcha a pass with room in front. A- (Fields again...)
Coaching A solid game. The Dolphins looked prepared and their pass first game plan worked. They somehow managed to get the O-line ready to paly without 3 opening day starters. A very important win. B+
