Things we learned in Miami Dolphins’ 29-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers
MIAMI GARDENS — The Miami Dolphins had a chance to erase the bitter taste of last week’s Houston loss out of their mouths with Sunday’s game against San Francisco at Hard Rock Stadium.
And the Dolphins did put a good taste in their mouths with their 29-17 victory over the 49ers in their home finale for the 2024 season.
The win keeps the Dolphins (7-8) alive in the AFC wild-card playoff picture.
The Dolphins have games remaining at Cleveland (Dec. 29) and at the New York Jets (Jan. 5). The hopes of a third consecutive playoff berth are slim, but still alive.
Here are some more takeaways from Sunday:
Tua vs. playoff teams … and non-playoff teams
We can almost close the book on quarterback Tua Tagovailoa’s performance vs. playoff teams in 2024.
Entering Sunday’s game, Tagovailoa was 1-4 against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended Sunday morning. Tagovailoa has a victory over the Los Angeles Rams and losses to Houston, Green Bay and Buffalo (twice).
In those five games against playoff teams, Tagovailoa is 128 of 167 (76.6 percent) for 1,144 yards, seven touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 91.0 passer rating.
Tagovailoa was 4-1 against teams that would not be in the playoffs if the season ended Sunday morning. Tagovailoa has victories over the New York Jets, New England, Las Vegas, and Jacksonville and a loss to Arizona.
In those five games Tagovailoa is 163 of 232 (70.3 percent) for 1,723 yards, 12 touchdowns, no interceptions and a 108.8 passer rating.
The Dolphins don’t have any playoff opponents remaining. But these numbers change a bit if Seattle makes the playoffs and the Rams don’t make the playoffs. Tagovailoa, of course, didn’t play in the Seattle game.
By the way, Tagovailoa reached 100 touchdown passes in the second quarter, becoming the fourth Dolphins quarterback to reach that mark joining Dan Marino, Bob Griese and Ryan Tannehill.
Tagovailoa ended Sunday 22 of 34 for 215 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 92.2 passer rating. — Chris Perkins
McDaniel loses yet another challenge … sheesh
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel lost yet another challenge in the first quarter Sunday, falling to 4 for 16 (.250) for his career and 1 for 3 this season.
McDaniel challenged a play in which he thought defensive tackle Benito Jones came up with an interception.
The ball was bobbled into the air by 49ers running back Isaac Yiadom. Jones appeared to grab it but the tip of the ball hit the ground.
Smith establishes records, and might be on way to Pro Bowl
Tight end Jonnu Smith (six receptions, 62 yards) established single-season franchise records for receiving yards by a tight end and receptions by a tight end Sunday.
Smith entered the game with 740 yards receiving, needing 52 yards to establish a single-season franchise record in receiving yards (792) by a tight end.
Smith reached 798 receiving yards in the third quarter.
Smith’s 75 receptions on the season eclipsed the previous mark of 73 established by Mike Gesicki and Randy McMichael.
Smith also entered Sunday’s game with six receiving touchdowns, needing two touchdowns to establish a single-season franchise record (eight) for touchdown receptions by a tight end.
Smith’s main competition for his first career AFC Pro Bowl are Las Vegas rookie tight end Brock Bowers and Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.
Raheem’s big-run skills reappear briefly
Running back Raheem Mostert had a 21-yard run in the second quarter. It was his longest run of the season. Mostert ended Sunday with 31 yards on eight carries.
Unfortunately, the era of the big run by Mostert, the Dolphins’ speedy, 32-year-old running back, ended last season.
Mostert, one of the classiest guys on the team, entered Sunday’s game with only two runs of 15 or more yards this season.
Mostert, who has battled rib and back injuries this year, got his first run of 20 or more yards this season.
Mostert feasted on big runs last season while rushing for a career-best 1,012 yards for the Dolphins:
– Last season Mostert had seven runs of 20 or more yards, including three runs of 30 or more yards, and two runs of 40 or more yards;
– Last season Mostert also had seven runs of between 15 to 19 yards;
– All told, Mostert’s 14 runs of 15 or more yards totaled 329 yards, or 33 percent of his rushing yards for the 2023 season.
Run game resurfaces but isn’t big difference-maker
The Dolphins’ run game, led by running back De’Von Achane’s 121 yards on 17 carries, came alive briefly Sunday as they rushed for 168 yards on 29 carries, fueled by Achane’s 50-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. But it wasn’t necessarily a forceful rushing performance.
As an example of how the Dolphins need to model their run game in 2025 consider these images:
– The Dolphins rushing for 139 yards in their 31-10 home loss against Buffalo;
– The Dolphins rushing for 149 yards in their 30-27 road loss at Buffalo;
– The Dolphins rushing for 193 yards in their 15-10 road win at New England;
– Ravens running back Derrick Henry rushed for 162 yards in Saturday’s 34-17 home victory against Pittsburgh.
The Dolphins gained yards Sunday, but they didn’t make a big impact on the game.
Still, the Dolphins are now 2-5 in games they’ve rushed for more than 100 yards this season.
Wynn, Eichenberg rotate at RG, and it’s insignificant
Right guards Isaiah Wynn and Liam Eichenberg rotated Sunday with Wynn, who was playing from scrimmage for the first time this season, got the start.
Neither did anything noticeable or memorable, which sometimes is a good thing for a right guard.
Dolphins in December/January games … and December games alone
The Dolphins are now 6-11 (.353) in December/January games, which includes playoffs, since 2022.
The Dolphins were 1-6 in December/January games in 2022, and 3-4 in December/January games in 2023.
The Dolphins are now 2-1 in December this season. The Dolphins are 5-7 (.417) in December games alone since 2022. They were 0-4 in December 2022, and 3-2 in December 2023.
Tyreek scores after rough start … and rough middle
Wide receiver Tyreek Hill, whose last target entering Sunday was the pass that was intercepted by Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., had a second-quarter touchdown after getting off to a rough start.
Hill dropped a third-down reception, and then had a pass from Tagovailoa in the end zone sail past his hands after it was slightly tipped. The pass was catchable.
But Hill made up for it in the second quarter with a 3-yard touchdown reception.
Of course, Hill dropped a potential touchdown pass late in the third quarter with cornerback Renaldo Green in tight coverage. Hill ended with three receptions for 29 yards and the one touchdown.
Sanders hits again and again and again …
Kicker Jason Sanders, who had five field goals against the 49ers, has hit a franchise-record 23 consecutive field goal attempts, including eight consecutive from 50 or more yards. Sanders hit a 54-yard field goal in the third quarter to give the Dolphins a 16-10 lead.
Sanders, who entered the game with 793 career points, eclipsed the 800-point mark Sunday. Sanders hit field goals of 44, 38, 54, 33 and 48 yards.
Handling Bosa and Floyd, and protecting Tua
Dolphins offensive tackles Terron Armstead (left) and Kendall Lamm (right) did a nice job protecting Tagovailoa from San Francisco pass rushers Leonard Floyd and Nick Bosa on Sunday.
Floyd was the team’s leader in sacks with 8.5. He often lined up across from Armstead.
Bosa, the St. Thomas Aquinas high school alum, entered the game with 7.0 sacks amid battling hip and oblique ailments. He often lined up across from Lamm although Bosa had a few snaps against Armstead in the third quarter.
The key is that Armstead and Lamm did well enough to allow Tagovailoa and the passing game to be effective.
The Dolphins didn’t allow any sacks.
The Dolphins still have some tough pass rushers on the schedule between Cleveland’s Myles Garrett (11.0 sacks) and the New York Jets’ Will McDonald IV (10.0 sacks).
Obviously, the Bengals need to beat the Broncos next week, but …
Assuming that, the Bills and Steelers absolutely also must win. That way, the Chiefs will have to play like they mean it in the season finale at Denver, trying to clinch the bye week. If Kansas City has homefield sewn up, they will sit most starters against the Broncos, probably paving the way for a Denver win. — Steve Svekis
Had Mostert’s usage falloff been a root cause of the Dolphins’ run-game evaporation
Entering Week 16, in the four games where Raheem Mostert had at least 10 touches, the Dolphins had rushed for 681 yards on 136 rushes, a spectacular 5.01 yards per carry. The other dozen games, they sputtered to 743 rushing yards on 227 runs for a putrid 3.27 yards per carry as Mostert fell short of that touch minimum. On Sunday, he had 10 more touches, and the Dolphins 168 rushing yards on 29 carries (5.79 a carry).
Is there a 30-year-old barrier in the NFL?
Sunday was Tyreek Hill’s 15th game since turning 30 (in the offseason), and the dropoff in his production, whether by pure coincidence or not, has mirrored a similar plummet by one-time AFC East dominator Stefon Diggs. In Diggs’ 15 games before turning 30 last year, Diggs had roared for 101 receptions for 1,222 yards (12.10 yards a catch) and nine touchdowns. In his 15 games since? A totally woodwork 81 receptions for 783 receiving yards (9.67 yards a grab) with only three touchdowns.
How does Hill compare? The 15 games to end his 2023 season, he was filthy dominant with 108 receptions for 1,606 yards (14.87 yards per reception) and 11 scores. His 15 games since? A respectable-but-inferior 70 catches for 834 yards and six touchdowns.
In the offseason, the Dolphins must figure out how to cover the tight end
The Dolphins have played four top notch tight ends in the Cardinals’ Trey McBride, the Raiders’ Brock Bowers, the Packers’ Tucker Kraft and, then on Sunday, the 49ers’ George Kittle. That quartet has combined for 40 catches for 434 yards.
Under-the-radar indictment of the Dolphins’ special-teams coaching
For any Dolphins fan who is at least 40, the words Leon Lett conjure feelings of warmth and great thanks, since his downfield touching of a deflected Pete Stoyanovich field goal attempt on Thanksgiving 1993. On that play, the 99 percent of the free world (which included Lett) who didn’t know the rule learned that any kick, even if touched by the receiving team on a block attempt, is not a live ball if it goes past the line of scrimmage unless it is again touched by the receiving team.
The Dolphins almost gave a possession to the Tennessee Titans after a punt deflected by Calais Campbell. Duke Riley attempted to grab the ball and was only bailed out when, upon review, it was revealed a Titan had touched the ball a fraction of a second before Riley’s touch, inoculating the Dolphins.
Then, in an instance that seemed more reckless than unknowing of a rule, last week, with 1:45 left and the Dolphins down 20-12 in Houston, a Texans punt was dying at the Miami 22. With the ball surrounded by Houston special teamers, Dolphins returner Malik Washington made a sudden rush toward the ball. He would have touched it, creating a hugely risky situation, had the Texans’ long-snapper, Jon Weeks, not grabbed the ball before Washington could touch it. What is the messaging from Danny Crossman to the players in these situations?
Why again did the Dolphins cut Teair Tart?
When the ex-Titan defensive tackle was picked up by Miami during camp, I made note of his high-impact rate of tackles for loss, with him at the time having grabbed 11 TFLs in his previous 446 snaps (40.9 snaps per TFL). By comparison, Zach Sieler had five TFLs (89.2) and Christian Wilkins (111.5) had four in that span. The Dolphins then cut Tart before the season opener.
Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers, apparently impressed with that production, snapped him up. Anyway, all that Tart has done is grab five TFLs in his 280 Chargers snaps (56.0 snaps per TFL), draw at least two penalties of 10 yards or more, block a field goal attempt, force a fumble, recover a fumble and intercept a pass. Sieler, for his part, has had a great year, with 11 TFLs in 576 snaps (52.4 snaps per TFL), and also a forced fumble, recovered fumble and interception. And Calais Campbell has been a standout, too. But, the third and fourth defensive tackles, Da’Shawn Hand and Benito Jones have COMBINED for eight TFLs in 846 snaps (105.8 snaps per TFL) with one forced fumble.
On deck: At Cleveland Browns, Huntington Bank Field, Sunday, 4:05 p.m.
The Browns benched mercurial quarterback Jameis Winston for their Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals after having thrown a spate of pick-six interceptions. While he had been hurting the team with his turnovers, his absence should allow Miami’s defense to suffocate the line of scrimmage against Dorian Thompson Robinson.
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