Things we learned in Miami Dolphins’ 45-15 victory over the Washington Commanders

The Miami Dolphins, playing without safety Jevon Holland, got their first December win under coach Mike McDaniel and extended their lead in the AFC East on Sunday with their 45-15 victory over the Washington Commanders.

Miami (9-3), which got two long touchdowns from wide receiver Tyreek Hill and an interception return touchdown from linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel in the first half, took a 31-7 halftime lead and cruised from there.

The Dolphins were 0-4 last December, losing at San Francisco, at the Los Angeles Chargers, at Buffalo and against Green Bay. It was part of a late-season five-game slide. 

But things are different in 2023.

Miami opened play Sunday as the No. 4 seed in the AFC playoff picture.

Baltimore (9-3), the No. 1 seed in the AFC, had its bye on Sunday.

Buffalo (6-6), the second-place team in the AFC East, also had its bye on Sunday.

Here are some more takeaways from Sunday’s game: 

Dolphins start 8th different OL combination, and they’re still effective

Miami started left tackle Terron Armstead, left guard Liam Eichenberg, center Connor Williams, right guard Robert Hunt and right tackle Austin Jackson.

Armstead, who left last week’s Jets game with a quadriceps ailment, vowed Friday he’d be on the field Sunday.

Almost regardless of who the offensive line puts on the field they’re effective, which is a huge credit to both the players and offensive line coach Butch Barry. The offensive line was considered the weak link on the team entering the season.

Miami didn’t allow any sacks Sunday and rushed for 123 yards on 34 carries. Miami began play Sunday allowing just 18 sacks, third-fewest in the league. Miami was also second in rushing at 145.2 yards per game. Both are due largely to the offensive line.

But we must keep an eye in the injury situation. — Chris Perkins

Terron Armstead leaves game … again

Armstead, now in his 11th season, many of them recently injury-shortened, was replaced by Kion Smith in the second half due to an ankle injury. Armstead left last week’s New York game with a quadriceps injury. Armstead’s normal replacement, Kendall Lamm, has been battling a back injury.

Armstead, who has missed an average of 5.3 starts per year for the past seven years, has missed six games this season and left two games that he started with injuries.

Hunt left the game in the third quarter with a hamstring injury, perhaps an aggravation of the injury he’s been battling recently. He was replaced by Lester Cotton.

Miami has two more “easy” games — vs. Tennessee on Monday Night Football, and vs. the Jets on Dec. 17, before that daunting season-ending three-game stretch vs. Dallas, at Baltimore and vs. Buffalo.

Tyreek 2K

Wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who has a season goal of an NFL-record 2,000 receiving yards, is The Man. He ended with five receptions for 157 yards and two touchdowns.

Hill had a 78-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter, Dolphins’ longest offensive touchdown of the season (its longest touchdown was Holland’s 99-yard interception return touchdown last week against the Jets).

In the second quarter Hill had a 60-yard touchdown reception.

On both plays he simply outran the defense and got behind his defenders.

Hill ended the first half with four receptions for 152 yards and two touchdowns.

Hill began play Sunday with a league-leading 1,324 yards per game, a pace that put him on track to surpass his goal of an NFL-record 2,000 yards receiving.

Hill played sparingly in the second half ending with one reception for five yards.

Tua does it again

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was special Sunday, ending 18 of 24 for 280 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 141.0 passer rating. He had a perfect 158.2 passer rating in the first half after going 12 of 15 for 215 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Tagovailoa began play Sunday fifth in passing yards (3,177), fourth in passer rating (103.7), and third in touchdowns (22) and completion percent (69.8%),

Both of his touchdown passes to Hill in the first half were on the mark, allowing Hill to complete the plays for touchdowns.

Backup quarterback Mike White ended the game as Tagovailoa got a rest.

McDaniel makes early challenge, loses, now 2-for-10

Coach Mike McDaniel threw a challenge flag on Washington’s first possession on a play that was ruled a 12-yard completion to wide receiver Jahan Dotson on third-and-8 from the Commanders’ 27-yard line.

Officials ruled in favor of Washington.

That’s no surprise. McDaniel entered Sunday’s game 2-for-9 on challenges.

Another game, another interception return TD

Van Ginkel’s 32-yard interception return touchdown in the first quarter marked the second consecutive game the Dolphins had an interception return touchdown because Holland had a 99-yard interception return touchdown last week against the New York Jets just before halftime.

Miami’s defense has become a playmaking unit. It has forced eight turnovers in the past five games, scoring twice.

Oh, and the defense had 17 sacks in that same five-game span, boosted by a seven-sack performance last week at the Jets.

Dolphins win turnover margin

Miami won the turnover battle, 1-0, on Sunday thanks to Van Ginkel’s interception and the offense not committing any turnovers. 

Miami opened play Sunday at minus-5, the same as Kansas City and Detroit, which was tied for 23rd in the league.

Third-and-short offense does well

The Dolphins had a good day on third-and-short, going 3 for 3, highlighted by wide receiver Hill’s 78-yard touchdown receptions on third-and-2.

The Dolphins entered Sunday’s game 12th in the league on third-down conversions at a respectable 42.3%. But it was a different story on third-and-2 or fewer when the Dolphins chose to pass.

Miami entered Sunday’s game 4 for 12 (33.3%) when it passed on third-and-2 or fewer. Miami entered Sunday’s game 3 of 7 (42.8%) when it chose to run on third-and-2 or fewer.

The Dolphins passed twice on third-and-2 on Sunday, both to Hill, and ran once with rookie running back De’Von Achane (17 carries, 73 yards, two touchdowns) gaining 15 yards on third-and-1.

Overall, Miami was 7 for 13 on third downs Sunday.

Dolphins pass rush fares well, AVG stands out

Miami’s pass rush, playing without edge rusher Jaelan Phillips, did pretty well with three sacks and a huge touchdown.

Van Ginkel, Phillips’ replacement, had the 32-yard interception return for a touchdown, and that was after recording a half-sack along with edge rusher Bradley Chubb. 

Early in the second quarter linebacker Emmanuel Ogbah, another Phillips replacement, recorded a sack. However, one play later Ogbah failed to establish the edge, something Phillips did well, and running back Brian Robinson Jr. broke off a 29-yard run, a play that was instrumental in the touchdown drive that allowed Washington to cut its deficit to 17-7.

Defensive lineman Zach Sieler had the other sack to bring his season total to a career-best 6.0. 

Washington quarterback Sam Howell had been sacked a league-leading 55 times entering Sunday’s game.

Defending Commanders WR Terry McLaurin went incredibly well

Washington wide receiver “Scary” Terry McLaurin was shut out against the Dolphins. That’s right, four targets, no receptions for no yards. Credit cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Jalen Ramsey for much of that work. It was only the second time in McLaurin’s career he had no receptions.

McLaurin, one of the league’s top wide receivers, is struggling this season statistically with 60 receptions for 694 yards, which would put him at fewer than 1,000 yards for the first time in the past four seasons and only the second time in his career aside from his 919-yard rookie season of 2019. It’s not his fault. His quarterback, Howell, has been sacked a league-leading amount of times.

Will the Dolphins set their franchise record for sacks before Christmas Eve?

After hunting down Sam Howell behind the line three times on Sunday, the Dolphins, at 41 sacks, are only eight sacks short of tying the team record for a season (49). With the next two games upcoming against Titans rookie Will Levis and the Jets, against whom they piled up seven sacks on Black Friday, the Dolphins could hit 50 sacks by Christmas Eve. They also came into Landover on pace for 392 yards on their sacks. The club mark is 380, set in 2021. — Steve Svekis

Tagovailoa huge McDaniel/Hill-era passer-rating games keep rolling on

Heading into 2022, the Dolphins’ quarterback’s high mark for passer rating had been 122.3 (vs. Arizona in 2020 in his first road start). Sunday’s 141.0 against the Commanders became his eighth game of his past 24 where he was at at least 123.8.

Tagovailoa had a clean ball-security game

For the first time in the past nine games, Tua Tagovailoa had a game with no interceptions or fumbles. It joins the Broncos 70-20 rout in that category.

Tagovailoa winning the MVP with double-digit interceptions and double-digit fumbles wouldn’t be unprecedented

Ten years ago, Peyton Manning won the Most Valuable Player award with 10 interceptions and 10 fumbles with the Broncos. So, if the Dolphins quarterback, also with 10 picks and 10 mishandlings of the ball, has a clean finish, there would be past history of such an MVP selection.

Updating the Dolphins’ 2024 opponents

The Dolphins, safely ensconced in the first-place position in the AFC East, if the season ended after Week 12, this is the opponent docket Miami would be facing next season (apart from the home-and-home series against the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and New England Patriots): Home — Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs (team finishing in same place in AFC West as the Dolphins do in the AFC East). Away — Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens (AFC North), Detroit Lions (NFC North). If those matchups hold up, it would give the Dolphins two chances to play on Thanksgiving, either in Detroit for the day’s first game, or in the night game.

On deck: Tennessee Titans, Hard Rock Stadium, Monday, 8:15 p.m.

Headed into Week 13, the Titans offense was on a three-game streak of gaining fewer than 265 yards as the franchise has made rookie Will Levis its starting quarterback. Tennessee’s defense has been solid, not having allowed more than 282 yards in any game, but, it also hasn’t been a forceful defense, grabbing only eight takeaways in the first 11 games.