This is the most impressive and exciting regular-season win since the 1985 Bears game nearly 40 years ago
The new WRs and RBs tandem won this game for us. No way—I mean no way on earth—we win a game like this with Preston Williams and Isiah Ford and Patrick Laird. No disrespect to those guys, but they are not stars.
Funny you mention the 1985 Bears game. I watched that game and it’s the game that made me a Dolphins fan for life. I’m in the Chicago area, but hated the Bears. I fell in love with Marino and the dolphins orange and aqua colors that game. Been a huge fan ever since.
Jimbo I was born and raised in Chicago and in ’85 we were at my uncles to watch that game. We were huge Bears fans back than. There were about 50 people over for the Monday night game and it was like a funeral in there! Of course that was the only game the Bears lost that year! Anyhow in ’87 we end up in south Florida and become Dolphins fans!
Absolutely amazing comeback! This game says a lot about the Head Coach, Tua, and the team in general! First Coach McDaniel. He MUST have said something inspiring in the locker room at halftime! Because when they came out in the second half they were a different team, especially on the offensive side of the ball! Tua looked the same as he did last week and last season during the first half. Two picks hurt bad and it looked like it was going to be a long day! Then the second half came and what a difference in Tua’s play! He was playing out of his mind! It all slowed down for him in that half and his ability to forget the interceptions and score was admirable. Finally got to see him connect on the bombs we’ve been waiting for! The first one was badly under thrown and the second was a thing of beauty! Defense came back in the fourth by not allowing a TD in the fourth. It’s going to be fun to watch the offense get better as the season goes on! I think the defense will be solid most of the year, but let’s enjoy this win! The Bills game is coming, and that will tell a lot!
Sorry this is Justin.
I remember some kid at school the next day saying the only reason the Bears lost was because Marino got lucky, etc. We told him to shut up. Bears vs. Dolphins Super Bowl was a sure thing that year, except the Phins forgot to show up for the AFC Championship and lost to a New England team that had no business being there.
Impressive seems like an understatement to what we witnessed. First we saw Tua with all day to pass the ball. Yes there were some blocking breakdowns here and there but for the most part he had very good protection from the line. Additionally, when there were breakdowns we saw Tua escape the pocket with ease and extend the plays while keeping his eyes downfield. He isnt playing scared like we saw last year. It looks like things have slowed down a step for him. There is so much to digest and talk about and I’m sure we will during the week but one thing I have been really critical about for a long time is coaching but it may be time to start having some confidence with this staff. This team had no quit in them. Get this the only 3 and out the Dolphins had was in the 4th quarter when they scored in 3 plays! Now thats the way to do it! The defense showed up big, yes they gave up some big plays but they were playing one of the best big play teams. You have to admit some of those balls that Jackson was tossing had Dan Marino mesmerized! This was the game we hoped by the end of this year the Dolphins could win. One where you take the other teams best punch and see if you can get back up. The Dolphins have failed to go toe to toe with the best teams for decades but this was a statement game 10 games earlier than we could have hoped. What happened? Yes experience and weapons for Tua but I think we have to go back and analyze the quality of our coaches too! Great win, feels great when 3rd and 3 doesn’t seem like a 50/50 anymore!
Yep agreed and as I said in the previous comments we need to stick that negative QB talk in the closet. Tua has proven that he can be a starter in this league so enough is enough…
Flyer I think this was Tua and the Dolphins coming out party. I have a feeling the Bills are going to be rethinking their game plan for next week!
Yeah, even if we didn’t win or put up 42 points, the LACK of 3-and-outs this year is very noticeable. The talent is better, but McDaniel’s playcalling has been superb. We started a handful of drives inside our own 10 yardline this season, and we always moved the ball.
I’ll point out three key things to me that happened and those were some big turning points in the win over the Ravens. Again, there are other plays in the game that people can point out and I wouldn’t say anybody is wrong. But I’m just listing three things that was a big factor to me.
1. At the Dolphins goal line, Lamar Jackson fumbling the handoff from his center on 4th down.
2. Stopping the Ravens on 4th down on the Dolphins 41yrd line.
3. At the start of the 4th quarter, you could tell that the Ravens defense was wearing down and as time went on, they couldn’t stop the Dolphins running or throwing attack.
Good point about the ravens defense. I think they had some guys injured but there defense was in the field almost 10 min longer than the dolphins defense! That’s a lot of plays! Miami ram a lot of offensive plays and there guys trying to cover hill and waddle we’re burnt by the 4th! Hopefully we can wear out Buffalo in the south Florida heat next week!
I was thinking the same thing. The Ravens D was gassed by the 4th. It was a fairly hot day in Baltimore and the Dolphins practice in the heat and humidity every day. And yes, I hope we can wear down Buffalo in the Miami heat.
Bills continue to look strong. I noticed on MNF that their defense was pressing to stop the run, because they don’t fear any of the Titan WRs. I don’t think that Bills defense is built to stop a speedy, complicated offense. Just ask the Chiefs from last year.
That is my hope because the Bills are the only team in the AFC East that can stop the Dolphins from taking the division IF we constantly play the way we have see the last two weeks. Admittedly, in the past we have all see two good games, even three in a row only to be totally disappointed by the remainder of the season but doesn’t this FEEL different? It does to me. I see so many fundamental things that have been corrected. Blocking, route running, pocket presence, play calling etc.
Yeah, I think the play calling has been exceptional this season, so that’s a big step. The Bills might beat us and they might even destroy us. But it won’t be because of stupid plays like in the past. (For example, we ran the ball on 2nd down like 99.9% of the time the last few years). McDaniel seems to get it.
Amen! That was part of what was so frustrating. I mean it seemed like every week there we were, a bunch of guys who have no business sounding smarter than the teams coaching staff, sounding smarter than the teams coaching staff! Every first down was a pass for incomplete or 3 yards if we were lucky. Second down a run to the right most of the time, stopped at the line or worse than 3rd down some 5 WR set with no protestation and almost nothing good every happened out of that formation!
Yes, good points. I also add in some Dolphin luck, that we usually don’t get. In the 4th quarter, Tua hit Waddle in the numbers, but he muffed it and bounced the ball right to a Raven. I think 2 guys deflected it, and no one could bring the ball in. LIke Phil said, that D was exhausted and usually makes that play. We’ll take it !
You know ADMIN, all of Dolfans have been feeling nothing but disappointment after disappointment game after game after game. Its about time we have something to feel good about when it comes to the Dolphins. We needed a miracle like that. I don’t know what may happen in the Bills game but, no matter what, the happiness from the game between the Dolphins and the Ravens Sunday will last us Dolfans for awhile.
Yes, it was like a total 180 from Dolphins of the past. No meltdowns. No gut-wrenching turnovers. We had several chances to screw it up, but it never happened. And this is only the second week in the new system. Lots of hills to climb still, but it certainly feels good this week,
Wow, we are at #6 in the latest power poll: https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nfl-power-rankings-the-0-2-bengals-look-like-a-super-bowl-hangover-victim-033320975.html
A few other highlights from the game that I think are worth a notable mention was the 3rd quarter TD catch that Gesicki made in the back of the endzone elevated about nine feet in the air! That was one hell of a catch. The way he got his feet down reminded me of some of the catches Oronde Gadsden made routine around here! The second thing and what really turned out to be (in my opinion) the game winner was the early goal line stand from our defense! That wasn’t the Falcons or Texans out there, it was the Baltimore Ravens (Lamar Jackson had a perfect QB rating) and our defense STOPPED them on the goal line and got the ball back. That is impressive.
Admin mentioned in a comment above that the Bills might beat us this week, and badly. He said that in the contact of saying that “…. it won’t be because of stupid plays like in the past. (For example, we ran the ball on 2nd down like 99.9% of the time the last few years). McDaniel seems to get it.” That said a lot of people think that Buffalo will come to Miami this week and beat the Dolphins because so far this year Buffalo has played near perfect on both sides of the ball. They crushed the Rams who have a pretty good team and coaching staff and than they ran the Titans out of the building in week two. Also lets talk about the elephant in the room, THE DOLPHINS HAVE LOST THE LAST 7 GAMES AGAINST THE BILLS! However lets look at the line on this game. DraftKings has the Bills as 4.5 point favorites if you factor in the 3 points Miami gains for Home Field it means the oddsmakers over there see Buffalo (The team most think will go to the super bowl out of the AFC) as just about one touchdown better than Miami. Well last week we saw how quickly Miami can score those touchdowns which in my hopinon (Yes that hope and opinion in one word) means we have a shot and breaking the losing streak and taking the top of the division early! How fun is this?
After seeing the game again, a few things stuck out to me, that I didn’t see as well the first time. The play of both our LT (Armstead) and our RT (Little) (Tua’s blind side) – was superb. They both have the tough task of trying to handle the edge rushers, every week. I think Greg Little is an upgrade from (the injured) Jackson.
Also, I noticed Tua did a way better job of looking over the entire field, and NOT just going to the primary WR. He is even doing a lot more pump fakes (which I love to see) – and it’s very noticeable now, how much more comfortable he is, the game slowing down for him.
Buffalo had a lot of injuries in their game, and they will be playing on a short week. This next game will tell us a lot about how far the fins have come this year.
Yeah, somehow the line looks better with Little than Jackson. They did an amazing job. The Bills have a vicious defense, and it will be interesting to see what Mike McD schemes up. Gotta figure they will try to take Hill and Waddle out of their game, which means Tua will need to find the 2nd-level WRs quickly before their pass rush gets him.
This Sunday is the real test of our team. As mentioned, Buffalo is the team favored to win the Super Bowl. To me, if we lose, and say, keep it “respectable” by 7 points or less, I will be content. Just my $0.02.
I read a comment that the constant WR motion also helped wear down the DB’s. Added a ton to their mileage on field and in the end they were spent. People don’t realize this is also a factor not just creating mismatches and getting off the line.
Hey Admin we used to receive emails when someone responded but I’m not getting them anymore. What do we need to do? It’s helps to stay in the loop.
Thanks I should be on chat this weekend too much action last week!
I switched web hosts over the summer, and something might have got messed up. I just tried to re-apply the email settings, so maybe there is a button that says something like “click here to subscribe to comments” or something? I’ll keep plugging away..
Ok thanks Admin a notify button did pop up underneath will see if it works.
Can’t wait to see all those thousands of crazy Dolfans in the stands with hundreds of them wearing those outlandish Dolphin outfits this Sunday against the Bills at Hard Rock Stadium!