Jets Defeat Puts Phins in”3-Game Playoff”

Phins vs. Saints, Titans, and Pats is game, set, and match for the 2021 Season

The Miami Dolphins went into their home game against the Jets down star rookies Jaylen Waddle and Jevon Holland. Division games are rarely a walk in the park, and the loss of these two players helped make the walk in the park a bed of thorns. Despite four quarters in the briar patch, the Phins pulled out the win to earn a three-game, must win scenario… and that’s just the way I like it.

While the the extra adversity made made me nervous until the win was sealed, all the hard climb to the victory made it that much sweeter. There was good, bad, and ugly against the Jets, but the win give Miami a ton to lose in their upcoming game against the Saints. With a “W” meaning everything to the season, this game environment will reveal what this 2021 Dolphins team is really made of!

By the end of this three game stretch Phins fans will be clear on who this team is and how far they’ve come since 2019: Crystal clear!

The bigger the winner, the bigger the adversity they can overcome

The Saints just beat the defending Super Bowl Champs twice this season without a legitimate quarterback and are the perfect example of the team must be to finally leave the NFL cellar.

New Orleans won’t be an easy out…

…. But, that discussion is for another article.

Since the game isn’t until this Monday night, we can enjoy this six game win streak and the hard crawl from the dead at least until Christmas.

Let’s talk about what went right, wrong… and what’s being overhyped.

It was a wild, wild game, but plenty of good qualities were revealed in this team

You can bet with the best bookie service that the easiest way to pummel the 2021 Jets has been through the run game. Surprisingly, we actually took advantage of of this weakness! The loss of DT Futakasi was a huge boon for the Phins Oline, but they still had to get it done… and they did in a big way. Running Back Duke Johnson had an excellent day and Myles Gaskin did pretty good for himself as well. Now, before we hail this team as the 70’s Dolphins, let’s remember the Jets were giving up almost 140 yards on the ground per game. They also have the worst linebacker group in the NFL and with Futakasi missing, the LBs were even more exposed–as if that were possible.

I’m going to do an article later in the week breaking down the run game with a film study attached to really dig into why we had such a big day on the ground.

So, before we crown the O-line or Johnson, let’s see dig into the film and then see how they fare this week.

Still, the O-line and Duke shinned and were the key factor in getting this “W”.

Tua had a ‘Gunslingers Day’

Tua had a rough start, then bounced back and forth between excellent and ugly… until he drove down to notch the go ahead score. You could see he was uncomfortable early without Waddle in the lineup. This nothing abnormal for a young QB. Tua pressed too hard too early and paid the price… and hopefully learned through the process. He showed true grit to battle back and make the big plays needed to balance out his play.

While Tua doesn’t have Marino’s arm, he does have a similar daring as a passer. This means good moments and some ugly ones. The hope is the good will consistently outweigh the bad. Time will tell on that one. These ugly moments will come and go as he finds out what he can an can’t do. Again, this is normal for a young and aggressive QB. Tua won’t have the same luxury to be this sloppy this early against his next three opponents if he wants to pull out the win. This game was Tua’s mulligan, but he will be judged much harsher with the season on the line over the next three weeks.

No Holland… next man up is the name of the game for team defense

I was highly concerned over the loss of Holland and Waddle going into the Jets game. Early on in the game, the impact of Holland’s loss was readily apparent. Miami only ran a handful of pressure plays until they felt comfortable enough with Nik Needham as the single-high free safety to keep Zach Wilson from dropping a bomb over the top of the defense. Once Flores did feel comfortable though, he brought the normal waves of pressure. Now, the loss of George Fant was tremendous because his replacement Conor McDermott was a turnstile. McDermott getting beat like drum, the terrible first downs plays in the 2nd Half, and Wilson looking like a lost puppy gave all the confidence Josh Boyer and Flores needed to bring heavy pressure on a consistent basis and dominate the 3rd and 4th Quarter.

A 6-game win streak is nothing to sneeze at!

Enjoy this win Phins fans– and streak of six in a row. The Miami Dolphins are even at .500 with a 7-7 record and that took a ton of guts. Yes, it was against some incomplete teams, but they can totally change that narrative against their next three opponents. I’m going to think about that for now… instead, I plan to bask the good feeling for a few days… then I’ll focus on breaking down the Phins’ chances against the Saints! Go Phins!!!