Hyde10: Holland’s big play, Tyreek’s odd day — 10 thoughts on Dolphins’ 20-17 win over Jaguars

MIAMI GARDENS — It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t what you’d expect in many cases. But the Miami Dolphins came back from a 10-point deficit at half to win the opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-17, on Jason Sanders’ 52-yard field goal as time expired.

Here are 10 thoughts on the game:

1. Play Of The Game I : With Jacksonville leading 17-7 late in the third quarter and running back Travis Etienne looking to be running in for a touchdown, safety Jevon Holland knocked the ball loose and it rolled into the end zone where Dolphins cornerback Kader Kohou fell on it. There was the kind of play the Dolphins needed, a big one that changed the day. Instead of Jacksonville going up by a dominant 24-7, the Dolphins got the ball at their 20-yard line. And …

2. Play of the Game II : On the next play after that fumble, Tyreek Hill became the kind of headline you expect in the opener with an 80-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa. Tyreek Hill’s day began in handcuffs. That’s not the kind of sentence you want a couple of hours before kickoff, but a minor traffic incident outside Hard Rock Stadium escalated into a dispute with police officers. Hill was released before it turned into a full Scottie Scheffler-going-to-jail incident, but it will be looked into, the police said. It’s hard to know how much being put on the ground and handcuffed affected his day, but it had to affect his preparation. He didn’t forget it, either, as after that 80-yard touchdown catch he put his hands behind his back in mock-handcuff pose.

3. Give a game ball to new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver. No one knew what to expect of a defense with five new starters and a new system. But the Dolphins shut down Jacksonville in the second half and had the big turnover by Holland to allow the offense to find a way to win. Some stats of note: Jacksonville had 267 total yards, was 2 of 10 on third-down opportunities and quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed 12 of 21 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown. It also had a fourth-down stop on …

3. Second-guess of the day : What was Jacksonville coach Doug Pedersen thinking? Fourth-and-1. Ball at your 32. You have the lead, 17-14. You’ve been playing conservative al day and you do this? The Dolphins defense was ready for running back Travis Etienne’s run around left end – and then ready when he reversed field around right end. Loss of two yards. The only reason this didn’t become a focal point of the day is the Dolphins didn’t take advantage of that. Getting the ball at the Jacksonville 30, they gained only the 7 yards on De’Vone Achane’s first-down run. Sanders then missed a 42-yard field goal.

5. Jacksonville had a lot of time to prepare defensively for this game and looked like it made the most of it. The outside-zone run, the slant across the middle, the quick toss for an end-around – such staples of the Dolphins offense didn’t surprise Jacksonville. The Dolphins averaged 135.8 yards rushing last season to rank sixth in the league but didn’t have 30 yards rushing entering the fourth quarter. Still, while it started slow, the Dolphins offense finished in form. Hill and Jaylen Waddle both finished with more than 100 yards receiving. Tagovailoa completed 23 of 37 passes for 338 yards, a touchdown and a 101.0 rating.

6. Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips was an uncertain factor Sunday coming off his Achilles injury late last year. He didn’t start Sunday, but did something more important. He finished. He had come close on a couple of sacks earlier in the game, but then followed up Emmanuel Ogbah’s sack of Lawrence late in the fourth quarter with a third-down sack to force a punt with less than three minutes in the game.  We’ll have to wait to see the number of plays Phillips had Sunday, but he played throughout the game in limited fashion and was there at the end. That can only mean good things going forward.

Related Articles

• Miami Dolphins | How to watch Thursday night’s Miami Dolphins-Buffalo Bills game
• Miami Dolphins | Dolphins Deep Dive: Dave Hyde, Chris Perkins break down Miami’s come-from-behind win over Jaguars and talk Tyreek Hill | VIDEO
• Miami Dolphins | Dave Hyde: ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ — Dolphins star ponders police stop before season-opening win
• Miami Dolphins | Chris Perkins: Dolphins’ special teams do their (game-winning) thing in season-opening victory
• Miami Dolphins | Jevon Holland’s forced fumble flips fortunes for Dolphins in win over Jaguars

7. McDaniel had two fourth-down decisions in the first half and did what you’d expect if you’ve watched his two years. He went for them. The opening drive left a fourth-and-8 at the Jacksonville 42. Tagovailoa threw incomplete to Braxton Berrios up the middle on fourth down. Later in the half, there was a fourth-and-3 at the Jacksonville 45-yard line. Tagovailoa again threw incomplete to Berrios on fourth down. You can make a case for punting in those situations and playing a field-position game. That’s just now how McDaniel does it and it’s worked for him for the most part. It just didn’t work Sunday. Then again, with the game on the line, McDaniel didn’t press that final possession and left Sanders with a 53-yard field goal that won the game.

8. If you like punting, this was your game. Both punters had big days. The Dolphins’ Jake Bailey had two field-position winners: a 45-yard punt in the second quarter that went out at the Jacksonville 4; a 57-yarder in the second quarter that went out at the Jacksonville 12; and a 43-yarder in the third quarter that went out at the Jacksonville 3. Those were three of Bailey’s four punts on the day (a 49.5-yard average). Meanwhile, Jacksonville’s Logan Cooke had six punts for a 51.8-yard average, including a 67-yarder.

8. Quick Hits:

*Fullback Alec Ingold had two third-and-1 carries up the middle for first down. Just in case you’re keeping score of short-yardage plays.

* Rookie Chop Robinson’s speed drew a false start on veteran tackle Cam Robinson in the second quarter.

* Tagovailoa called the Dolphins’ third and final timeout of the first half with 5:34 left. Not ideal.

* Durham Smythe had a tough first half with two dropped passes and a false start on third-and-1 at the Jacksonville 12 that turned into a third-and-6 (it was converted).

9. The actives/inactive decisions showed a sketch of a few positions and some needs at special teams. All four tight ends were active. Undrafted rookie cornerback Storm Duck was made active over second-year Ethan Bonner. Veteran running back Jeff Wilson was made active over rookie Jaylen Wright. We’ll see how this all plays out, but that’s the coaches’ statement of where things stood entering the first game.

10. Next game: Buffalo at Dolphins on Thursday night . It’s just a five-day turnaround for another game that could have AFC East or playoff tiebreaker implications. This is the measuring-stick opponent for the Dolphins since Buffalo has won the past four AFC East titles and Josh Allen is 11-2 against them since coming in the league in 2018. Each of those Dolphins wins came at home with Allen throwing a could-be game-winner in the final seconds his rookie year. Buffalo beat Arizona on Sunday, 34-28.

Dolphins Deep Dive: Dave Hyde, Chris Perkins break down Miami’s come-from-behind win over Jaguars and talk Tyreek Hill | VIDEO

Miami Dolphins place kicker Jason Sanders walks off the field with the ball after kicjking the winning filed goal against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. (Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun Sentinel)