Who were the three biggest performers in Miami’s 16-12 road upset over the Indianapolis Colts? Here are our three stars of the game.
The Miami Dolphins’ defense was the star of yesterday’s win over the Brian Hoyer-led Indianapolis Colts. Is that in impressive feat? Maybe not for some teams in the NFL — but the Dolphins aren’t your average football team. The Dolphins’ roster is depleted by trades, injuries and financial decisions and the argument could be made that the Dolphins are the least physically talented football team in the NFL.
But they’ve now won two in a row — last week against the Jets courtesy of an explosive second quarter offensive show and now against the Colts after a stout defensive stand in the final seconds to force Indianapolis to turn the ball over on downs.
The momentum is real. The players are playing committed football and the Dolphins will still have their treasure trove of picks at the end of the day. This is a fun time to watch the Dolphins’ plan for player development come alive. Some of those developed players were the biggest contributors in Miami’s win — here are our three stars of yesterday’s win over Indianapolis.
3rd star – WR DeVante Parker
Parker let a ball slip through his fingertips in the end zone early in the game — a catch that could have pushed the Dolphins to an insurmountable early lead with the Colts’ back-up quarterback in. He couldn’t finish the play but more than made up for the missed opportunity with some clutch plays in the second half to help revive Miami’s offense.
Parker made several chunk gains, including catches to extend drives on third down. Parker finished the game with 5 receptions for 69 yards with a long of 21 yards — a very nice showing.
2nd star – LB Jerome Baker
Baker was everywhere against the Colts, shaking off an injury to return to the game and continue to impact the game within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage with his range. Baker finished the game with 7 solo tackles, a sack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble, continuing his strong stretch of play as Miami’s biggest impact defender.
Baker is thriving in his role as Miami’s emotional and verbal leader on defense — we’re now seeing the version of Baker that this coaching staff envisioned when he was receiving rave reviews over the summer.
1st star – CB Nik Needham
What a turnaround for Nik Needham. Needham had a pretty rough start to the season, but the staff seemed to see something in the youngster. They’ve stuck with him, even after a disheartening showing against the Pittsburgh Steelers in primetime just a few weeks ago.
Fast forward to yesterday and the Dolphins’ rookie cornerback made several critical plays, including a diving interception and the tackle on Colts TE Eric Ebron on Miami’s 8-yard line on Indianapolis’ final play, a 4th and 10 pass that came up a yard short.
Needham stepping up was critical to Miami’s defensive effort — now can he string some winning weeks together?
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