What more do you want? The Dolphins were up 30-0 before the 2nd quarter expired and Tua should have hit the showers at halftime. Of course, the boys were going to take their foot off the gas and execution would falter. Of course, the Texans were going to try to save face in the 2nd half and make the score more respectable. The same thing happened in 2015 when Ryan Tannehill and Lamar Miller had 4 touchdowns scoring big plays of 50+ yards in the first half and jumped to a 41-0 lead. The final score ended up being 44-26. That’s the nature of these things. Did you really think Miami would come out in the 2nd half and be equally dominant and win the game 60-0? You might want to tune in on Saturdays to college football for a score line like that. Miami is at the point now where they can rest starters two series into the 3rd quarter like we used to in the old school days of the dress rehearsal third preseason game.
Game Summary
The offensive and defensive execution in the first half of the Texans game was top notch but the most encouraging aspect of it was the fact that McDaniel was not satisfied. Despite the fact that this is the first time since 2009 that the Dolphins have scored 30+ points in four straight games, McDaniel and Tua saw many opportunities for improvement and cleaning up things execution wise, which prompted Coach McDaniel to not want to pull Tua out at halftime or at the very beginning of the third quarter. This is considering that Tua had thrown for 300 yards and was up by 30 in the first half. However, after Tua took a few scary looking shots and without the protection of Armstead who left the game with a pectoral muscle injury, it was clear to everyone in the stadium that Tua did not need to be in the game any longer. We all held our collective breaths when Tagovailoa was folded backwards like a pretzel with his legs caught under him. Thankfully Tua was unscathed, and Skylar Thompson eventually made his way into the game.
East Coast Niners
Now we turn our attention to the San Francisco 49ers. Two teams who look at each other and see mirror images of themselves. McDaniel versus his former boss Kyle Shanahan. So many players on the Dolphins are former 49ers. From Jeff Wilson to Raheem Mostert, Trent Sherfield, River Cracraft to name a few. The coaching staff as well with Mike McDaniel, Wes Welker, and Jon Embree have ties to coaches and players in San Francisco. There’s lots of familiarity between the two teams. You could say the Dolphins are the east coast version of the 49ers except Tua is slinging it at an MVP level and the Dolphins are on pace to have two 1500-yard receivers for the first time in NFL history with the Waddle and Hill tandem. In fact, Tyreek Hill is only 7 yards away from his total receiving yards that he obtained last season with 6 games to go.
Legitimate MVP Contender
Tua is number 1 in the NFL in total quarterback rating. He has the best QBR against man defense, the best QBR against zone defense, the best QBR while under pressure, the best QBR in the pocket, the best QBR outside the pocket, the best QBR in the red zone, the best QBR in the 4th quarter, and the best QBR on 3rd downs. Some of those categories are not even close and Tagovailoa is leading by a wide margin. Those are all the money moments that you want your trigger man to be elite in and Tua is leading the whole league in every single one of those categories. Mike McDaniel was mic’d up against the Texans, and you can hear him mumbling under his breath about Tua being a “bleeping savant” because of his ball placement and reads. Tua is showing that off in spades this season and I don’t think McDaniel was just playing it up because he was mic’d up. You can tell McDaniel is truly appreciative of the talent that the Samoan Gladiator possesses. McDaniel and Bevell have brought the best out of Tua and now we are seeing Alabama Tua is back with a vengeance. If the Dolphins offensive line can protect Tua, then Miami will give themselves a good chance to win this game. That will be a big ask though with both of Miami’s starting tackles being injured. Armstead is saying that he will play through the muscle injury in his pectorals, but I am of the belief that the team needs to sit him out this week and see if he can go for the road AFC matchups against the Chargers and the Bills.
Running and Gunning
The Dolphins have the superior passing attack, but the 49ers have the superior running game. The 49er’s defense has also been dominant all season whereas the Dolphins defense has been dominant at home but a bit porous in the 1st half in road games all season while getting back to their roots in the 2nd halves. The Dolphins do have a consistently good run defense and it will be a challenge to see them try to stop the rushing attack of San Francisco. If the Dolphins can stop or slow down the running game, then the Dolphins will be giving themselves a great chance of winning the game. The 49ers remember the last time the Dolphins came to the bay area and ran them out of Levi stadium 43-17 in October of 2020. San Fran will want revenge for that debacle. Usually, the NFL alternates home and away matchups between teams, so it is surprising that the Dolphins have to be the road team and go to Santa Clara again instead of the 49ers coming to Miami.
Premonitions
This game should be a fun matchup and some people not named Bart Scott seem to think that this could be a preview of the Super Bowl. Bart Scott, an unapologetic Dolphin hater, seems to believe that the Dolphins have no chance in this game and that the Dolphins will have 5 losses in their next 6 games and will be fighting for their playoff lives in the last game of the season against the Jets at home on January 8th, 2023. We will see how it all plays out, but I believe the Dolphins are squarely in the hunt for the AFC East division title. Steffon Diggs clearly has the Dolphins on his mind (even though he is denying it) but first things first, we have a big-time matchup with the 49ers first.
