Miami Dolphins vs. Jacksonville Jaguars: Full Report Card Grades for Miami
The old saying goes "alls well that ends well," which is the best way to describe the Miami Dolphins' 27-13 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The Dolphins started off the game sloppy, with an offense that couldn't get moving and a defense that couldn't stop the Jaguars from marching down the field.
As bad as that might seem, the Dolphins were saved on many of Jacksonville's first-half drives by Jaguar miscues. A blocked field goal by Olivier Vernon stopped Jacksonville's first drive, then later on in the half a Louis Delmas pick-six gave Miami the lead while keeping the Jaguars from scoring.
It was a lead that Miami wouldn't relinquish all day long. In the second half, the offense got it back in gear, save for wide receiver Brian Hartline, who was a disaster all afternoon.
Miami knows there's a lot to clean up for next week's tilt against San Diego, but for now they can savor a hard-fought victory over the Jaguars that has them over .500 for the first time since Week 1.
Here's a look at Miami's grades for the afternoon.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Man, was Ryan Tannehill bad in the first half.
He couldn't get Miami's offense moving, he seemed to rely too much on Brian Hartline (who dropped two passes) and he was doing everything wrong except committing turnovers.
Then came the second half, and the Ryan Tannehill we saw in Chicago made a return.
The calling card of the return was a 50-yard pass to Mike Wallace. On the pass, Tannehill threw it to just the right place, and Wallace was able to catch it and get his knee down in bounds.
That was the play that broke the Jaguars and where the Dolphins won the game.
Just three plays later, Tannehill would find Rishard Matthews for a three-yard touchdown pass, and after that, Tannehill was sharp, with the exception of an interception he threw on 1st-and-goal from the 6-yard line that was tipped prior to the pick.
This game was an inconsistent one, but the man hardest on Ryan Tannehill isn't going to be me, but Tannehill himself:
"Tannehill not at all happy with the way the Dolphins offense played. Uses the word "unacceptable."
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 26, 2014"
"Tannehill: "We didn't put those points up today. The defense put those points up."
— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) October 26, 2014"
Tannehill himself wasn't that bad, but the rest of the offense is a different story altogether.
Grade: B-
Running Back
2 of 10
You likely didn't notice Lamar Miller out there Sunday.
He didn't have a great fantasy day, with only 78 yards on 14 attempts, and he didn't score.
Those 78 yards were big, especially since the majority of them came in the second half. This includes a 30-yard run that came on the drive set up by Tannehill's long ball to Wallace.
Daniel Thomas got a few carries as well, running for 18 yards on four attempts. He also caught two passes for 12 yards.
As a unit, it wasn't great, but the running backs weren't bad, either, as they continue to show they're better than they were last season.
Grade: B
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
3 of 10
One player played so poorly against Jacksonville that he drags down the grade for the whole unit.
That player's not Mike Wallace, who didn't have his best game but did drag down a 50-yard reception from Tannehill that swung the momentum in Miami's favor for good. He'd get a B+ on his own.
It's not Jarvis Landry, who was quiet but caught passes thrown to him. On his own, he'd get a B.
It's not Rishard Matthews, it's not Charles Clay (who was disappointing), nor is it Dion Sims (who had a nice reception in the second half).
Nope, it was Brian Hartline, who in the first half dropped two passes that would've been first downs for Miami and looked lost out on the field.
He had one catch for 19 yards, but as usual, he caught the ball and fell down.
Hartline has been one of Miami's worst players this season, and it doesn't help that he has no problems antagonizing the city that he plays in and the fans of the team he plays for in the process.
Brandon Gibson should get some of Hartline's snaps, as should Rishard Matthews. Re-signing Damian Williams would be a good idea as well.
Grade: C-
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Why use a picture of a quarterback about to get hit in a piece about the offensive line?
Because that line looked nonexistent Sunday, allowing Tannehill to get sacked three times and hit seven times.
On the run game, they weren't much better, as the Dolphins had problems getting good push up front.
There were also bad penalties, like an illegal-formation penalty on Branden Albert in the first half that was inexcusable as Albert failed to line up on the line of scrimmage. That's the type of mistake I'd expect from Ju'Waun James, a rookie, not Albert.
I understand that Nate Garner got hurt, but he didn't start; Daryn Colledge did, and he was pretty bad while in the game.
Grade: D-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
How can you be disappointed in a unit that sacked Blake Bortles three times? (The fourth was Reshad Jones on a beautifully designed safety blitz.)
Simple: It should've been at least seven times. That's how many times, by my count, the Dolphins had Bortles pinned in the pocket, but they couldn't produce the sack.
On top of that, Denard Robinson ran roughshod over the Dolphins defense, and the defensive line was powerless to stop him, although they obviously weren't alone.
They still got a B, which is low for them, but I'm not impressed by their performance today compared to what we know they can do.
Grade: B
Linebackers
6 of 10
How much was Koa Misi missed today?
Denard Robinson's performance should tell you how much.
Just as I was disappointed with the defensive line, I feel the same way with the linebackers with one exception: They weren't 100 percent healthy.
On top of that, Robinson was the only player that really killed them. Jacksonville's receivers mainly picked on the corners, and Toby Gerhart couldn't get anything done out there.
Then there was the fumble forced by Jelani Jenkins, who continued his excellent play this season against the Jaguars.
They're worth a B.
Grade: B
Secondary
7 of 10
Was the secondary's performance worthy of an A?
On the downside, Allen Robinson had a good performance, and there were two pass-interference penalties.
The upside is how aggressive this team was. See, there are three types of pass-interference penalties. First there's the one that comes from being too aggressive, at least according to 2014 standards. In that case, in 1994 you'd be fine, in 2004 you might be fine, but in 2014, it's too close to call, and the offense gets the advantage.
Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain got those calls against them at least twice per season, and you really don't mind them much. Jamar Taylor was called for one of those.
The second type is the touchdown-saving penalty, for which Brent Grimes was called early in the game. He got beat, then held Cecil Shorts—it's a touchdown if he doesn't.
The third kind is the stupid type. None of those were committed.
In that aspect, you can overlook the penalties.
What you should look at are the turnovers, specifically the two touchdowns scored by Brent Grimes and Louis Delmas. Those scores kept the Dolphins ahead even though Jacksonville had dominated the game.
Add in good play by Cortland Finnegan and great play by Reshad Jones, and you have a solid day by the unit, an A-day, if you will.
Grade: A
Special Teams
8 of 10
Well, they weren't horrible today.
No missed field goals, no bad punts.
Two bad penalties, though, an offsides on what would've been a missed Jacksonville field goal and an illegal-procedure penalty on a punt.
Got to clean that up, guys. Got to clean that up.
Grade: B-
Coaching
9 of 10
You know I'm not very kind to the Dolphins coaching staff.
You know I've given them bad grades even in dominant performances, and I'm likely their biggest critic on Bleacher Report.
I'm not happy with the Dolphins coaching staff, and likely never will be.
So let me tell you why they got a B this week.
The game plan wasn't the problem. The only thing Jacksonville did was take advantage of the defense's aggressiveness. The fact that the defense was aggressive was the good thing to glean from that, and it paid off for them in the long run.
On offense, the play-calling was mostly right, but the execution was off.
There was some bad luck thrown in there, too, like that 1st-and-goal play call. If Tannehill's throw isn't tipped and then picked, it's a touchdown.
Overall, I approved of everything the coaches did in this game, and I would like to see this translate to a game in which the players perform for all 60 minutes as well.
Grade: B
Final Grades
10 of 10| Position | Grade |
| Quarterback | B- |
| Running Backs | B |
| Wide Receivers/Tight Ends | C- |
| Offensive Line | D- |
| Defensive Line | B |
| Linebackers | B |
| Secondary | A |
| Special Teams | B- |
| Coaching | B |
| Final Grade | B- |
Yes, they won by two scores, but this isn't anything better than a B- performance against an F team.
The Dolphins are better than this, and this time around, it wasn't the coaches making mistakes—it was the players.
It got better in the second half (a lot better), but you can't have a first half like they had against Jacksonville against any team on their upcoming schedule.
If they play this way next week against the Chargers, it's a blowout. Same the week after against the Lions, or against the Bills the week after that.
Against Denver, this type of play means Peyton Manning likely sets some new touchdown record within the first five minutes of the game.
This has to be cleaned up. It's great they're 4-3, but they have to play better to turn that into 10-6 or better (which they are capable of doing).
Statistics provided by NFL.com.
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