Texans vs. Dolphins: Miami Grades, Notes and Quotes

It's been a long time since the Miami Dolphins sent their fans home from Sun Life Stadium this happy. 

The Dolphins dominated at the line of scrimmage throughout the first half to go up 41-0 and finished with a 44-26 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday. 

It's Miami's first victory over the Texans and also moves the Dolphins to 3-3 in the season, as well as gets them out of the AFC East basement for the first time since Week 1. 

While it did appear like the Dolphins took their foot off the gas in the second half (which the score would indicate), most of that had to do with dialing back the game plan to be more conservative, as well as the decision to rest Lamar Miller and Jarvis Landry. 

Another reason for dialing it back in the second half: a looming Thursday night game against the division-leading New England Patriots. 

Here's a look at Miami's effort on an afternoon that can't be described as anything less than outstanding. 

Position Grades for the Miami Dolphins

Joel Auerbach/Associated Press

Position	Grade
Quarterback	A+
Running Backs	A-
Wide Receivers	A+
Tight Ends	A-
Offensive Line	A
Defensive Line	A
Linebackers	A
Defensive Backs	A
Special Teams	B
Coaching	A+

I apologize for nothing if you're wondering why the team graded out as high as it did after the second-half performance. 

The reason for the lackluster second-half performance was the decision to rest players and play conservatively. Considering that Miami's depth has always been a weakness, that shouldn't be a surprise. 

As for why everyone got an A except for special teams, blame a few bad penalties and bad returns for that, along with a missed extra point. 

Ryan Tannehill can't be graded any lower than A-plus. He finished completing 18 of 19 passes for 282 yards and four touchdowns with a quarterback rating of 158.3 (which is a perfect grade). 

The game's offensive MVPs were Lamar Miller and Jarvis Landry, two players who didn't play in the second half. 

Miller had 14 carries for 175 yards and an 85-yard touchdown run along with three receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown reception. Landry finished with five catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns, including a 50-yard touchdown reception that belonged in a video game. 

On defense, the front seven was aggressive throughout the first half, with four sacks, seven tackles for loss, 10 pass deflections and a pick-six by Reshad Jones. It's surprising that Miami forced so few turnovers considering the way the Dolphins dominated the Texans. 

Ryan Tannehill Sets NFL Record

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

How great was Ryan Tannehill this afternoon? 

Historic. 

He completed 18 of 19 passes, and his only incompletion came on his last pass of the game, one that Dion Sims should have caught. 

That set a Miami Dolphins record for most consecutive completions in a game, but it gets better than that. 

Tannehill also completed his last seven passes of last week's win over the Tennessee Titans, which means until Sims dropped that pass, Tannehill had set an NFL record for most consecutive completions, per the NFL on CBS Twitter. 

Based on the box score you might think this was Tannehill's best performance. He did grade out at A-plus; however, I will nitpick a little bit and bring up the four sacks. 

Those were his fault; he locked eyes on a receiver and missed open men and outlets to run. 

Other than that issue, Tannehill was spectacular on Sunday. 

Reshad Jones Continues His Push to the Pro Bowl

Joel Auerbach/Associated Press

Reshad Jones had another tremendous game Sunday, which will get lost in the shuffle of how dominant the Dolphins were. 

He once again led the Dolphins in tackles, with eight, and also had a pass deflection and a pick-six. 

It was almost a clone of his game last week against Tennessee, but we also saw how important he is to the team. 

Jones barely played in the second half, a good decision considering the short week prior to a game against New England. In his place was Michael Thomas and Walt Aikens, and the drop-off was stark. 

Jones is Miami's MVP on defense, and it would be devastating if the Dolphins were to lose him. 

2-0 in the Dan Campbell Era, but on to New England

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

The Dolphins are back at .500 and are 2-0 in the Dan Campbell era, but there is still a lot of work to do. 

Next week it's the Patriots, and saying next week feels wrong since the game is on Thursday. 

It will be a challenge for the Dolphins to compete with New England, but it should be a great game to watch. 

Especially if the first-half Dolphins show up. 

As for why the Dolphins didn't play as well in the second half, Dan Campbell explained that he tried to rest guys in the second half to prepare for New England, per Hal Habib of the Palm Beach Post.

"Probably the Funnest First Half I've Been a Part Of"

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press

Miami was up 41-0 at halftime. 

This is something that has never been done in Miami Dolphins history, and Jarvis Landry perfectly described it. "Probably the funnest first half I've been a part of," he said, per Josh Baumgard of CBS Miami/560 WQAM.

The first half saw the Dolphins score on four plays of 50 yards or more and set a franchise record for most points in the first half. 

It wasn't just fun, it was euphoric, especially for long-suffering Dolphins fans. 

Landry was a major reason for the fun as he had two touchdowns in the half (one for 50 yards, one for 10). 

Another interesting factoid: The last time Miami scored 40-plus points in a game before this 41-point first half was on Thanksgiving 2003 against the Dallas Cowboys. 

"That's What Happens When You Get the Ball to Your Playmakers"

Joel Auerbach/Associated Press

How did Ryan Tannehill wind up playing as well as he did? His teammates. This isn't just my opinion, but that of Tannehill's as well.  

"That's what happens when you get the ball to your playmakers and they do something with it," he said, per Omar Kelly of the Sun-Sentinel. "I didn't do much."

Take a look at Tannehill's four touchdown passes. All of them were short passes that the receivers turned into big gains. 

All Tannehill had to do was get the ball to the receivers, but he did it well. Now it's on him to continue getting the ball to his teammates—and for his teammates to continue to do great things with the ball in their hands. 

"I Thought Marino Walked out on the Field"

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

There's not a lot to add to this Dan Campbell quote, but it's a pretty awesome one considering the context. 

Per Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, this was Campbell's reaction to the chants of "Dan!" from the crowd: "I thought Marino walked out on the field."

Right now, Campbell is the second-most popular Dan among Dolphins fans, who also screamed out his last name in a manner that was audible on both the television and radio broadcasts. 

Campbell and his charges must feel on top of the world right now, and they should, but the true test is yet to come. 

Statistics provided by NFL.com.