OCTOBER 28, 2017 Dolphin Digest 9Tale of two halves
This truly was a remarkable comeback
by the Dolphins, who showed very little in
the first half — either on offense or on de-
fense. Things turned around quickly in the
second half as the offense found its rhythm
and the defense tightened up. It certainly
helped that the Dolphins had the ball first in
the second half, though it wouldn’t have
mattered had they not responded with a
touchdown drive.Finding a way
The Dolphins had developed a mojo
over the past two seasons of seemingly al-
ways finding a way to win the close games.
This made it 11 consecutive victories in
games decided by seven points or less,
which is a franchise recored and three shy
of the NFL record (Indianapolis Colts,
2008-09). Sure, the Dolphins were helped
by Matt Ryan’s ill-fated decision to throw
into tight coverage on first down from the
Miami 26, but give credit to the Dolphins
defense for coming up with the game-sav-
ing play — Cordrea Tankersley for getting
his hand on the ball, Reshad Jones for
being at the right place at the right time.Brendel to the rescue
Perhaps one of the most interesting as-
pects of the comeback is that the Dolphins
scored on all four of their second-half pos-
sessions (not counting one final kneel-
down after Jones’ interception) with Jake
Brendel — and not Mike Pouncey — at
center. Brendel was forced into action
when Pouncey left late in the second quar-
ter because of a concussion and the offen-
sive line didn’t seem to miss a beat. Now,
this isn’t to suggest that Brendel was the
reason for the offense coming to life be-
cause this was a total team effort, starting
with the receivers doing a better job of
catching passes.THE 5 DECISIVE PLAYS
- The interception: This was just
another example of the Dolphins coming
up with the big play when they needed to
have it. - The roughing-the-passer penalty:
There is no question it was the right call,
and it also had nothing to do with the in-
terception. So instead of Atlanta getting
the ball leading 17-7, the Dolphins got a
first down and cashed it to make it 17-14. - The pass interference penalty:
Based on replays, that one wasn’t nearly as
obvious as the roughing call, but the DPI
on the second TD drive was equally impor-
tant because it helped convert a third-and-
from midfield. - The fourth-down pass to Damien
Williams: The Dolphins faced a fourth-and-
1 on their first touchdown drive and easily
converted with a nice play fake, followed by
an short pass from Jay Cutler to Damien
Williams. - The botched snap: The Dolphins
had to drive only 21 yards for the game-
tying field goal in the fourth quarter after
the Falcons couldn’t perform a simple
snap in punt formation. As a result, the
Dolphins began their drive as their own
48-yard line.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
20
DOLPHINS
GAME 5
17
FALCONS
Michael Thomas brings down Atlanta punter Matt Bosher after he was forced to run
because of a botched snap in the fourth quarter.The Dolphins got several outstanding per-
formances as they were making their comeback
against the Falcons, but running back Jay Ajayi
was solid from beginning to end.
Ajayi rushed for a season-high 130 yards, in-
cluding back-to-back 18-yard runs in the fourth
quarter to helped set up Cody Parkey’s game-
winning 38-yard field goal.
Ajayi averaged an impressive 5.0 yards percarry and his numbers were spread pretty
evenly between the two halves, with 71 yards in
the first half and 59 in the second.
It was the sixth career 100-yard rushing per-
formance for the third-year running back from
Boise State and his second this season. Ajayi
rushed for 122 yards in the Dolphins’ delayed
season opener against the Los Angeles Chargers
at StubHub Center.GAME BALLS- S RESHAD JONES — Jones had seven
tackle and, of course, the big interception the
final minute. - LB LAWRENCE TIMMONS — Tim-
mons had a team-high eight tackles. - DE CAMERON WAKE — Wake had a
sack and another quarterback hit.
Player of the game: JAY AJAYI