The Dolphins allowed the Oilers to jump out to a 14-0 lead in Houston today, but struggled back to win 23-20 on a last second field goal by Joe Nedney. This was a tough, hard-hitting, well played game on both sides, but Dan Marino and the Miami defense were a little too much for the Oilers this afternoon.
The game started with the Oilers taking the opening kickoff at their 35 and using a wide open style of offense, including a double reverse to Willie Davis, they moved down to the Dolphins 8 yard line, mostly on a series of dump passes to Eddie George and Ronnie Harmon.
A coverage sack by Stubbs on first down moved the ball back to the 9 and on the next play, Stubbs got into the backfield and disrupted a handoff to Harmon, allowing Louis Oliver to come in and nail Harmon for a 9 yard loss. However, on 3rd and goal from the 18, there was no pass rush and Chandler found Russell in the endzone for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Dolphins only got out to their 14 and from there, on first down, Marino was sacked on first down and after an incompletion and a short pass to Hill, the Dolphins punted from their own 15 to the Oiler 38, where Mel Gray made a fair catch at the Oiler 38.
From there, the Oilers put together another drive, mostly on 10-15 yard passes to Sanders, Davis and Harmon that moved them down to the Miami 15. From there, on second down, Chandler hit the tight end Wycheck with a short pass at the 10, but Singleton missed the tackle and Wychek went into the endzone for a touchdown to give the Oilers a 14-0 lead.
At this point, it looked like it was going to be a blowout of the Dolphins by the Oilers. The first two Houston drives had gone for touchdowns, but they wouldn't get any more touchdowns this day.
On the kickoff, Irving Spikes made a nice runback to the Dolphin 41, where the Dolphins started on offense for the second time. A couple of short runs by Abdul-Jabbar were followed by an 8 yard reception by Barnett and a pass interference call on Houston that moved the ball down to the Oiler 29 yard line. However, at that point, the drive stalled and a 3rd down reception by Barnett was stopped short and Miami was forced to try a field goal from the Oiler 21. However, Nedney's kick sailed wide left and the Dolphins ended the first quarter still down by the score of 14-0.
Also on this drive, Keith Sims sprained his knee on the astroturf and left the game. Jeff Buckey filled in for him for the rest of the game.
The Oilers started the second quarter at their 29 after the missed field goal, but went 3 and out after two great plays by Stubbs and Emtman and a defensed pass by Terrell Buckley on third down. The Oilers kicked to McDuffie who made a fair catch at the Dolphin 35. From there, Karim carried for 4 yards, but on 2nd down, James Brown complete missed the Oilers defensive end J.Roberson, who came at Marino completely untouched and hit him, causing a fumble. Fortunately, Drayton recovered the ball for Miami, but the Dolphins were faced with a 3rd and 23 from their 22 after a 17 yard loss.
A short pass to Parmalee only got 8 yards back and the Dolphins were forced to punt to the Oiler 24. From there, the Oilers used a draw to Harmon and a screen pass to Eddie George to move out to the Dolphins 49, but after 2 incompletions and a stop of George in the backfield, the Dolphins held and on 4th and 13, the Oilers were forced to punt.
However, on the punt, Kirby Dar Dar lined up on the right side of the Dolphin defensive line and ran right at Reggie Roby. An Oiler player almost got a block on Dar Dar, but actually pushed him back towards Roby and Dar Dar fully blocked the punt, which rolled back to the Oiler 31, where Robert Wilson recovered.
The Dolphins wasted no time in taking advantage of the situation, moving down to the Oiler 10 yard line on a pass to Barnett and some nifty running by Irving Spikes. There, faced with a third and one at the 10, Marino stepped back to pass and Irving Spikes circled out of the backfield, getting behind Michael Barrow in the left side of the endzone. There, Marino hit Spikes with a bullet for Miami's only offensive touchdown of the game.
The Dolphins kicked off to the Oilers, but good coverage by Kirby Dar Dar stopped Mel Gray at the Oiler 15 and after a great play by Emtman and Bowens on first down stopped Thomas for a 3 yard loss, the Oilers could only manage one completion to Wychek before they were forced to punt from their 17.
The Dolphins took the ball at their 34 after a short runback and even though Marino threw 3 incompletions in a row, the Dolphins got a first down on a defensive pass interference call. A completion to McDuffie and some nice runs by Abdul-Jabbar moved the ball down to the Oiler 17, but a holding call on James Brown moved the ball back to the 29 and two passes to McDuffie could only get the ball back to the 16. From there, the Dolphins were faced with a 4th and 9 and Joe Nedney kicked a field goal with time running out in the half to close the gap to 14-10 in favor of the Oilers.
The Dolphins took the second half kickoff out to their 29, but couldn't complete a third down pass to Scott Miller and were forced to punt after 3 and out. The Oilers took the punt at their 27 after a short return, but a fumble on the snap on 1st down and a great play to jar the ball loose from the receiver on third down forced to the Oilers to go three and out and they punted back to the Dolphins.
The Dolphins' OJ McDuffie had a nice punt return back to the 35 and from there, a 12 yard pass to Drayton, followed by some nice runs by Abdul-Jabbar and a great 21 yard pass reception by Barnett, in which he wrestled the ball away from a Houston defender, brought the ball down to the Oiler 26. However, a false start on James Brown and two incompletions left the Dolphins with a 3rd and 14 at the Oiler 31 and a short completion to Parmalee couldn't get the yardage for a first down. With a 4th and 9 at the Oiler 26, the Dolphins settled for a Joe Nedney field goal and a 14-13 score.
During the preceding series, Chris Gray was the second Dolphin lineman injured in the game and came out with a sprained ankle or knee. Everette McIver went in for Gray and played the remainder of the game for him.
The Oilers took the kickoff, but after a great tackle by Dar Dar at the 21, the Oilers began a drive that moved from their 21 down to the Miami 12, mostly on short passes to Davis, Sanders, Wychek and 2 short runs by George. However, starting with a 1st and 10 at the Dolphin 12, the Dolphins blitzed the Oilers on every play, getting pressure on Chandler and forcing him into throwing 3 bad incompletions. This left the Oilers with a 4th and 10 from the Dolphin 12 and they settled for a field goal and a 17-13 lead.
The kickoff was taken by Dar Dar out to the 31, but after an incompletion on first down and a sack of Marino by a blitzing linebacker on second down, the Dolphins again tried the short dump pass to Parmalee on third and long, and again came up short, ending the third quarter facing a 4th and 10 from the Dolphin 31.
On the first play of the 4th quarter, the Dolphins lined up in punt formation facing a 4th and 10. However, the ball was snapped directly to Larry Izzo, who was lined up in the short blocking position. The Oilers were caught completely off guard and, behind a block from Zach Thomas, Izzo vaulted over a downed player and rambled right up the middle for 26 yards and a first down at the Oiler 14.
This play put the momentum back on the Dolphin's side and Abdul-Jabbar ran for 18 yards on the next 2 plays, followed by a quick pass to McDuffie, who juked his way down to the Oiler 5. There, on a first and goal, Marino handed off to Abdul-Jabbar, who ran around the left end and avoiding a couple of tackles, dove for the endzone. However, the ball was knocked out of his hands at the one and the fumble rolled into the endzone, where it was recovered by the Oilers.
This appeared to crush the Dolphins' comeback hopes, but on the very next play from the Oiler's 20 yard line, Chandler tried to hit Wychek on a crossing pattern, but Trace Armstrong had come around the right side and was bearing down on Chandler. Under pressure, Chandler threw slightly behind Wychek, where Zach Thomas was in coverage. Thomas picked off Chandlers pass and raced 26 yards through the Oiler offense to the endzone for a touchdown. Nedney's point after gave the Dolphins a 20-17 lead.
In the space of two plays, the Dolphins had gone from a fumble on the goalline to an interception return for a touchdown. It was as big a turnaround in emotion as I've ever seen.
Following the kickoff to the Oiler 15, and a holding penalty to move the ball back to the 8 yard line, a fired up Dolphin defense stuffed the Oilers, forcing them to go three and out and getting a coverage sack in the process. The Oilers punted to the Dolphins, who let the ball roll to the their 30.
From there, the Dolphins had 9:08 remaining to a victory and began moving the ball with a nice dump pass to Abdul-Jabbar. However, a holding call moved the ball back to the Miami 20. But a pass to McDuffie on the next play got th Dolphins a first down after McDuffie put a good move on the Oiler covering him. With a first and 10 at the Dolphin 43, Spikes ran for 5 yards on first down, but when Marino hit McDuffie with a short pass on second down, McDuffie had the ball stripped from him at the Oiler 45 yard line.
With 7:05 remaining and the Oilers down by 3, Eddie George had his best run of the day, getting 24 yards on first down to the Miami 31. However, after a short run by George and a pass to Wychek moved the ball down to the Miami 21, Trace Armstrong nailed George for a 2 yard loss on 1st down. Then, an incompletion to Harmon left the Oilers with a 3rd and 12. When Chandler went back to pass on 3rd down, the pocket collapsed around him and his receivers were covered and he was forced to scramble to the Dolphin 16, 5 yards short of the first down.
With 3:20 remaining and facing a 4th and 5, the Oilers elected to take the field goal and a 20-20 tie. However, as any good Miami fan knows, that's more than enough time for Dan Marino.
The Oilers made a squib kick on the kickoff, which was taken by Dar Dar on the 10 and returned to the 25. From there, Abdul-Jabbar ran twice for 2 yards on 1st down and for minus three yards on second down. Faced with a third and 11 at the 24, Marino hit OJ McDuffie for 20 yards and a first down at the Dolphin 44 as the clock ran down to the two minute warning.
After a pitch out to Abdul-Jabbar was stuffed at the line of scrimmage, the Dolphins faced a 2nd and 10. On the next play, Marino noticed that the Oilers outside linebacker Michael Barrow was coming on the blitz, leaving Troy Drayton uncovered. As Barrow charged, Drayton ran a quick out and Marino hit him at about 7 yards with a quick pass. However, with no one to cover him, Drayton turned and ran up the left sideline and after a block from OJ McDuffie knocked down two Oiler defenders, Drayton was off to the races. He was finally dragged down from behind at the Oiler 5.
The Dolphins now had a 1st and goal at the Oiler 5 with 1:06 remaining. The score was tied at 20-20 and the Oilers only had 1 timeout remaining, having used one earlier in the 4th quarter and one immediately following Drayton's catch. The Dolphins ran Spikes on first down, but he was nailed for a 4 yard loss. The Dolphins then allowed the clock to run down, forcing the Oilers to use their last timeout. After that, Marino knelt down twice to use up the clock and Miami then called timeout with just 2 seconds left to allow Nedney one chance to kick the game winner.
My heart was in my throat as the ball was snapped, but Nedney hit the 29 yard field goal right down the middle and the Dolphins won the game 23-20 on the last play, just like the last time the Dolphins met Houston.
Overall, this was a very tough game, but the Dolphins played hard and really worked to make the plays, especially when it counted. They didn't fold in the face of adversity and battled back against a quality opponent on the road. This is the kind of game that the Dolphins must win in order to continue to advance to the playoffs.
The best thing about this game was the fight that the Dolphins put up. Unlike the game against the Patriots, they didn't fold under adversity in the second half and the continuously battled back, regardless of the situation. One of the things that distinguishes championship teams is their endurance and toughness under adversity and the Dolphins demonstrated that this afternoon.
The Dolphins passing game was pretty good today, although it could have been better. However, when going against one of the better set of defensive backs in the league, the receivers worked to get open and Marino was threading the ball into their hands with pinpoint accuracy. That will only get better.
The running game was inconsistent, but I thought that they did a pretty good job against the best run defense in the league, especially after Gray and Sims went out.
After the first quarter, the pass defense did it's job, too. The coverage was good and there was some pressure on Chandler, especially on some key situations. Zach Thomas's interception was caused in part by Trace Armstrong's rush on the passer. The longest reception of the night for the Oilers was 18 yards and they finished the game with only 164 total yards passing.
The run defense was superb, with the exception of the one 24 yard gain by Eddie George in the 4th quarter. Even with that run, George had only 60 total yards rushing and Harmon had just 11. The Dolphins' run defense forced the Oilers to rely on the pass for most of the game. The special teams were, once again, terrific and really are the most obvious improvement in this Dolphins' team. They held Mel Gray, who is widely regarded as one of the best return men in the game, in check. But more importantly, they blocked a punt and converted a fake punt on 4th and 10.
Also improved this week was the play calling. There were several places where appropriate and innovative play calling saved the day, especially on the fake punt and on some of the blitz reads.
The biggest flaw in the Dolphins' performance today was the two crucial turnovers in the 4th quarter. Granted, Houston plays tough, hard-bitting defense, but that doesn't excuse two critical turnovers in two important situations. That can't happen and must be addressed.
Also, the pass rush still needs work. The Dolphins got only two sacks today and both of them were coverage sacks. There was some pressure on Chandler, especially in key situations, but there needs to be more consistent pressure.
I have praised the play calling and, for the most part, I think it was good, but I do have to ask why so many of third and long calls were dump passes to Bernie Parmalee out of the backfield. I don't think that one of these attempts netted enough for the first down, but it was tried at least 3 times. Perhaps it was Marino who was at fault for not going downfield more, but when you face a 3rd and 12, a 4 yard dump pass is not going to get it done against a good defense like the Oiler's.
There were so many important individual performances today that it's hard to know where to start. But let's start at the top...
Marino completed 21 of 28 passes for 237 yards and 1 touchdown. Thats a QB rating of 111.8.
Troy Drayton only caught 2 passes, but one of them was the 51 yard reception on the final drive of the game that set up the winning field goal. He also recovered a Dan Marino fumble after a sack.
Karim Abdul-Jabbar had 18 carries for 59 yards and 1 catch for no yards, but fumbled at the goal line in a crucial situation.
Irving Spikes had 5 carries for 12 yards, but more importantly he caught a touchdown pass for the Dolphins' only offensive touchdown.
OJ McDuffie caught 8 passes for 86 yards and made most of those yards himself while running after the catch. However, he had a crucial fumble towards the end of the game that allowed the Oilers to come back and tie the game. On the other hand, his block on Drayton's 51 yard reception at the end of the game was a key contribution to the play.
Fred Barnett caught 5 passes for 53 yards, including one which he had to wrestle away from the defender.
On defense, Zach Thomas once again lead the team in tackles with 8 total, but more importantly intercepted Chris Chandler and ran it back for a huge touchdown.
Daniel Stubbs had a couple of tackles and a sack.
Trace Armstrong had 4 tackles and Steve Emtman had 3 tackles and they shared a sack. Armstrong also had some nice quarterback pressures, one of which happened on the play where Zach Thomas made his interception.
Tim Bowens was second on the team in tackles with 4 solo and 2 assist.
Louis Oliver had 6 total tackles and a pass defensed.
On special teams, Joe Nedney missed his first field goal, but made his next three including the game winner with 2 seconds remaining. He also put the ball on the goalline on most of his kickoffs. John Kidd continues to punt well, averaging 44.7 per kick.
Larry Izzo ran the fake punt 26 yards for a 1st down and also had a special teams tackle.
But it was Kirby Dar Dar who was the special teams star of the night, blocking a punt, making two special teams tackles on Mel Gray and returning 4 kickoffs.
Keith Sims was taken off the field with a sprained knee and Chris Gray sprained either a knee or an ankle. Everette McIver filled in for Gray and Jeff Buckey stepped in for Sims. Both played fairly well under the circumstances.
Neither Sims' nor Gray's injuries looked very serious, but we won't know until tomorrow how serious they are.
If you've read my stuff before, you know that I hate games like this. I prefer games where the Dolphins go out to a big lead and just keep making it bigger, until they win by at least 25 to 30 points.
However, a last second win is better than a loss any day and I'll take the victory over the Oilers today and be happy for it. The Dolphins went into a tough Houston Astrodome against a hard-hitting playoff contender and beat them on their own turf. It was a test of the Dolphins' mental toughness and they passed.
There are still a few areas where the Dolphins need work, but they cleared another hurdle today and are still in the hunt for a playoff spot.