Dolphins 30, Texans 15
The Texans stood no chance against the Dolphins. They mustered just 32 net yards of offense in the opening half, which paled in comparison to Miami’s 287. The Dolphins dominated on both sides of the ball, with Tua Tagovailoa torching Houston’s defense mercilessly, and the Miami defense scoring on a Jordan Akins fumble return for a touchdown. Miami went into halftime up 30-0 in one of the most lopsided affairs of the year despite what the final score says.
The final score says the Dolphins prevailed 30-15, but Houston’s 15 points came in garbage time. The Dolphins sat Tagovailoa when the game was 30-0 in the third quarter, which made things uncomfortable for those who bet the Dolphins to win by more than two touchdowns. Fortunately for those people, the Dolphins hung on to the cover by the thinnest of margins.
Tagovailoa finished 22-of-36 for 299 yards and a touchdown. He was very accurate on most of his throws, though he was lucky that he wasn’t intercepted in the end zone during the second quarter. He was also victimized by some drops, so his stat line could have been better, even when considering that he was pulled so early in the afternoon.
Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle didn’t fare too poorly, considering that neither played into the fourth quarter. Both had 85 receiving yards, with Hill getting there on one more catch (6-5). Waddle dropped a pass early on, but made up for it with a 34-yard leaping catch.Big things were expected from Jeff Wilson Jr., but he was a huge disappointment. He was restricted to just 39 yards on 13 carries, though he bailed out his fantasy owners with a touchdown. Wilson got hurt in the third quarter, as Hill had to drag him off the field. Despite this, the injury didn’t seem too serious.
It’s useless to discuss Houston’s stats because most of what the Texans did occurred in garbage time. For example, Kyle Allen finished 26-of-39 for 215 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions, but he was just 10-of-16 for 49 yards and a pick in the opening half. The interception was an ugly floater.
