The Miami Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots in their Week 8 meeting, as Mike McDaniel’s team walked out with a 31-17 victory.
Miami’s offense fought through several injuries on their offensive line to earn this victory. Terron Armstead and Isaiah Wynn are on injured reserve. Center Connor Williams is battling a groin injury that kept him from playing Sunday.
Then, in the game, Miami lost Robert Hunt, who never returned, and Kendall Lamm, who came back in the second half.
Still, Tua Tagovailoa completed 66.6% of his passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns with a 100.6 passer rating. He also threw one bad interception where Kyle Dugger tricked him into throwing it to his spot.
The impressive part is they won this game without much of a running game. The trio of Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson Jr. and Salvon Ahmed combined for just 70 yards on 3.5 yards per attempt. Mostert did, however, find the end zone for his league-leading 10th rushing score.
On the other side of the ball, the Dolphins defense was solid. They allowed New England to set up for 17 points, surviving two offensive turnovers. Part of it was the strong play of Jalen Ramsey, who recorded his first interception in his debut.
Justin Bethel got burned on a slant route by Kendrick Bourne that resulted in a touchdown and a defensive miscommunication between Eli Apple and Brandon Jones resulted in their other score.
Miami got after quarterback Mac Jones in the second half, recording three sacks, as Christian Wilkins, Bradley Chubb and Jaelan Phillips all got to the quarterback at some point.
Vic Fangio’s unit wasn’t great against the run, allowing 4.4 yards per carry between Rhamondre Stevenson and Ezekiel Elliott. Still, the lead kept Bill Belichick’s team from committing to running the ball.
The victory secured Miami’s season sweep of New England, as Tagovailoa remains undefeated against the Patriots.
They’ll head into next week’s matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs with a 6-2 record.