Minnesota Vikings vs. Miami Dolphins: Full Report Card Grades for Miami
It was a wild, wacky game—one that the Miami Dolphins felt they needed to win to regain faith in themselves...one they felt they needed to hold onto their coach.
The Dolphins moved up to 8-7 with the 37-35 win over the Minnesota Vikings, and while they're eliminated from the playoffs, they can end the season above .500 for the first time since 2008 with a victory over the New York Jets next week.
How did this happen? Well, like we said, it was a wild and wacky game that featured a combined 31 points in the fourth quarter, two big turnovers on special teams by both teams and Ryan Tannehill's best day of the season.
Here's a look at the grades from Sunday's game—one that Dolphins fans will remember for years to come, although not all of them will remember it in a positive way if 2015 isn't a success.
Quarterback
1 of 10
Ryan Tannehill had an excellent day, despite playing behind an offensive line that never gave him much time.
He completed 74 percent of his passes for 396 yards, four touchdowns and one interception, which was the result of a great athletic play by Harrison Smith.
For all of the pressure Tannehill was under, he was only sacked twice, and his 74 percent completion percentage was far from cheap, as he had three passes go for 20 yards in the air.
Tannehill made some great throws throughout the day, but he did get lucky on a few passes. But most important, he gave the Dolphins the chance to win with a game-tying drive in the fourth quarter.
For those wondering about his passer rating: 118.8.
Grade: A-
Running Back
2 of 10
Good things happen when Miami runs the ball.
Lamar Miller carried the ball 19 times, gaining 92 yards and scoring a touchdown. He averaged 4.8 yards per carry, which is around his usual number.
Miller did plenty in the passing game too, with good blocking and by being a reliable receiver, catching five passes for 58 yards.
Damien Williams caught six passes for 50 yards and a touchdown to go along with three carries for 18 yards.
Overall, Miami's running backs had a great day and are deserving of a high grade.
Grade: A+
Wide Receivers and Tight Ends
3 of 10That play up there was emblematic of Miami's receivers on Sunday.
They fought for the ball and usually won those battles, and each of the receivers on the active roster caught at least three passes, except for one.
Brian Hartline was the lone catch-less receiver for Miami, but picking up his slack was Mike Wallace (five catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns), Jarvis Landry (eight catches for 31 yards), Brandon Gibson (two catches for 50 yards, including a 40-yard reception), Dion Sims (three catches for 35 yards) and Charles Clay, the best player all afternoon (six catches for 114 yards).
It was an excellent afternoon for the receivers.
Grade: A+
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Offensive Line
4 of 10
Is being serviceable a good enough reason to give the offensive line a high grade?
The unit blocked well in the run game, but when it came to the pass game, Ryan Tannehill was under pressure far too much. At times, he didn't have the time to pass the ball.
Despite this, Tannehill played well, and while there was a potential drive-killing penalty on Ja'Wuan James, in the long run it didn't hurt too much.
I still can't give this unit an A, though; the O-line is barely worthy of a B.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 10
No, despite the great effort on the final Vikings drive of the game (setting up the blocked punt), I can't give this unit credit for winning the game.
The defensive line almost lost the game for the Dolphins, getting dominated up front by the Vikings. The line didn't get to Teddy Bridgewater enough and allowed the Vikings to run the ball effectively.
It wasn't the unit's worst game, but that's relative to the last few games. This unit has lost its bite, and Sunday's performance only showed how much it has regressed over the course of the season.
Grade: D
Linebackers
6 of 10
The defensive line was bad, but the linebackers?
They were just as bad.
The unit—two-thirds banged up and one-third Philip Wheeler—had plenty of missed tackles.
Wheeler was the worst performer on the day, something that has been said in plenty of games. If faced with the chance of a tackle, he seemed to do everything in his power not to make it.
This unit is a weakness that Miami will have to work on this offseason.
Grade: D
Secondary
7 of 10
The secondary was the worst group on defense.
The Vikings had carte blanche to pass the ball up and down the field, as receivers had as many as five to 10 yards of space from the corners.
That's a schematic problem; however, the recovery could have been a lot better.
It didn't help that the Vikings receivers burned the Dolphins downfield, and that's not a schematic issue. That's a player execution issue.
It was a horrible day—not just for the secondary but for the whole defense.
Grade: F
Special Teams
8 of 10
I'm torn on this grade.
On one hand, it was a special teams play that led to the Dolphins winning the game, thanks to Terrence Fede's blocked punt.
On the other hand, Jarvis Landry's fumble on the kickoff return almost lost the game for the Dolphins, and neither Brandon Fields nor Caleb Sturgis had a spectacular outing.
This feels like a C day.
Grade: C
Coaching
9 of 10
It's rare when a victory demonstrates why a coach should be fired.
That's what type of game this was.
Thanks to a slow, listless start, miscues on special teams, bad penalties and poor execution, the Dolphins needed a miracle blocked punt to win.
Joe Philbin has to go, as only one coach had a good game with play-calling, and that's Bill Lazor.
Kevin Coyle's game plan just didn't work, and the players looked lost on defense.
If Philbin isn't fired, the Dolphins fanbase will likely be angry.
It's a good thing that Philbin likely will be fired though, because an F performance for this season seems deserved.
Wait, I misspoke apparently about Philbin getting the boot:
"Ross to reporters: "Here's a Christmas present. You don't have to ask me anymore. He has one year left on contract and is coming back"
— Andrew Abramson (@AbramsonPBP) December 21, 2014"
Never mind.
Coyle does have to go, though.
Grade: D
Final Grades
10 of 10
| Position Unit | Grade |
| Quarterback | A- |
| Running Back | A+ |
| Wide Receivers and Tight Ends | A+ |
| Offensive Line | B- |
| Defensive Line | D |
| Linebackers | D |
| Secondary | F |
| Special Teams | C |
| Coaching | D |
| Final Grade | C- |
Blame the defense and coaching for the low grade, as this game should show what the Dolphins have to change this season.
With Philbin being retained, that's one area that can only be repaired by his own improvement.
The defense, on the other hand, can be fixed with a good draft and possibly a new defensive coordinator (Ross never said anything about whether Kevin Coyle would be retained). The defense was the weak link in this game and, in my opinion, the weak link of the season.
Statistics provided by NFL.com.
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