Finsmob Unleashed

The Dolphins went into the Meadowlands to face the NY Jets at MetLife Stadium on the NFL’s very first Black Friday Game. I loved it because it was our Dolphins we got to watch with no distractions from any other NFL games being played. While the NY Jets aren’t a winning team, they have the type of defense that has given even elite opposing offenses trouble, so my feeling is this was a somewhat a measuring stick game for our team. Could our offense play well against a strong defensive team? The answer was mixed, a little of YES and a little of NO. Our running game was a bright spot, both starter Raheem Mostert and backup Jeff Wilson had success against the Jets. Mostert tallied 20 carries good for 94 yards and a 4.7 YPC average which is a bit below his season average, but excellent considering it was against the Jets defense. Jeff Wilson added 11 carries for 56 yards and a nice 5.1 yards per carry. QB Tua Tagovailoa played well most of the game with the exception of 2 bonehead throws, he finished 21-30, 243 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT’s, one of them a costly pick six. If not for the heroic 99 yard INT return by S Jevon Holland, that pick 6 could have had more impact on this game, but in truth, the Hell Mary pick six took the wind out of the Jets aircrafts wings.

To be fair, the Jets offense was not in a good place coming into this game. The Jets brass finally pulled the plug on QB Zach Wilson, and one could question the timing of the move. Believe me, I’m not advocating for Zach Wilson, but they could have made the change much earlier if they didn’t believe in him, and at 4-6, the Jets were not out of it. I find it hard to believe many Jets fans were looking to Tim Boyle to be the savior of their season, but that’s precisely the position the Jets put him in. In 2022, it was Zach Wilson that beat the Dolphins at MetLife 40-17, so maybe one more game wouldn’t have been such a bad idea. It’s possible Aaron Rodgers has so much influence on what the Jets do that they put his understudy in for this game. Tim Boyle wasn’t all that bad, and you could make the case that the Hell Mary was just a stroke of bad luck, mainly because it was. I don’t think either Jets QB would have won on Friday, because the real hero was the Dolphins defense, the one we have long waited to see.

We all know OLB Jaelan Phillips is done for the season with a torn achilles injury, yet another non-contact season ending injury for the NFL to ponder. Before Jaelan Phillips exited the game, he left his mark with 4 tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed, 2 QB hits. Phillips was really coming on and playing his best football, so it’s with sadness that we say goodbye to him before finishing out the season. The blessing is that we do have a couple of capable players behind him to replace him. I know most of us are down on Emmanuel Ogbah, and of course his playing time could still be limited because of Andrew Van Ginkel, but this really is a great opportunity for Ogbah to reclaim his status as a professional pass rusher. Ogbah does have 4 sacks this season with only 10 total tackles, this while playing only 21% of the snaps on defense. He’s as fresh as he will ever be, and this is a perfect chance to resurrect his career. It absolutely hurts this team to lose a rising star like Jaelan Phillips, but having Andrew Van Ginkel and Emmanuel Ogbah as depth is wonderful.

Let’s get back to the defense. The Dolphins secondary at this very moment now looks to be one of the top units in the NFL. The Jalen Ramsey effect is startling. 4 games, 3 INT’s. The pass rush seems so much better when receivers aren’t getting open lickety split. Xavien Howard is healthy, and CB Kader Kohou now looks like a beast again playing the slot, and of course, it’s fantastic to Jevon holland healthy along with DeShon Elliott. This great secondary absolutely transforms the pass rush. QB’s now facing this secondary can’t really throw to either side confidently, and while Kader Kohou might have shown some holes out on the boundary, he looks more than comfortable to be back on the inside where he made hay last season. The Dolphins were relentless Friday afternoon, tormenting the Jets with 7 sacks, 8 tackles for loss, 2 INT’s (one for a TD), and 1 forced fumble. THAT’s how you impose your will. It was something to see, and hopefully this continues to trend, especially against the teams that actually are a threat offensively. No offense to Breece Hall of Garrett Wilson, both who are excellent players, but Tim Boyle was not the answer, especially burdened by their porous offensive line. I feel for both Hall and Wilson who must be so frustrated, but only so much.

I’m not going to focus on next weeks quite yet, that happens Friday, but just enjoy this victory. Although not all the things we wanted to see, for example see our offense play at a high level against a top NFL defensive unit, we got most of it. Tua Tagovailoa wasn’t bad, he just wasn’t great, maybe not even good. If you’re throwing to the flat, and I’ve seen some great QB’s make the same throw, same mistake, you had better put some mustard on that throw when the defender is within 5 yards and closing. I didn’t hate the playcall, I hated the execution. It looked like a lazy throw as if there weren’t a defender for 10 yards near the receiver, but it’s just one throw. As it turned out, as I’ve already mentioned, Jevon Holland stepped up and made the play of the day, the 99 yard Hell Mary pick six TD INT. It was glorious! Great win, and a great team win. This how good teams win in the NFL, if one unit doesn’t get it done, the other unit picks it up and takes the W.

GO DOLPHINS!!!