Dolphins Week 2 Complete Highlights and Lowlights
A look at the highlights and lowlights for the Miami Dolphins in their 2021 home opener against the Buffalo Bills:
DOLPHINS HIGHLIGHTS
FIRST HALF
-- Myles Gaskin got through a hole pretty quickly on a second-and-17 on the first drive to gain 6 yards.
-- Gaskin's second rushing attempt produced an impressive 18-yard gain, thanks to a great seal block by tight end Durham Smythe and a great cut outside by Gaskin to escape two Buffalo defenders in the open field.
-- Jaylen Waddle did a nice job turning a wide receiver screen into a 13-yard gain on third-and-15.
-- Jacoby Brissett's first play at quarterback produced only a 7-yard gain on a pass to DeVante Parker, but it was an impressive sidearm adjustment because of pressure.
-- The defense stopped Buffalo's momentum in the first quarter when Jerome Baker forced a fumble after a short completion to running back Zack Moss, and rookie safety Jevon Holland was there to pick up the loose ball after Brandon Jones initially recovered the fumble but fumbled himself.
-- Eric Rowe helped drop running back Devin Singletary for a 1-yard loss after blitzing from the edge.
-- Sam Eguavoen forced a third-down incompletion with a nice pass rush from the inside that hurried Allen.
-- Brissett converted a third-and-7 situation with a 19-yard completion to tight end Mike Gesicki, who later added a nice catch on a pass that was very low.
-- Xavien Howard came up with his first pick of the season with great coverage against Stefon Diggs and an even better play on the ball.
-- Jaylen Waddle showed great toughness to catch a pass over the middle for a 14-yard gain on third-and-16.
-- Great job by Elandon Roberts to fill the gap to help stuff Devin Singletary on a third-and-1 run late in the first half.
-- Brissett had a good third-down completion to Parker on the final drive of the half.
-- Christian Wilkins got his hand up to deflect a Josh Allen third-down pass late in the first half.
SECOND HALF
-- Rookie safety Jevon Holland forced a couple of incompletions when he got pressure on Josh Allen with blitzes.
-- Emmanuel Ogbah and Andrew Van Ginkel teamed to sack Josh Allen on third down in the third quarter.
-- Eric Rowe led the way with a well-timed blitz when the Dolphins stuffed Reggie Gilliam for no gain on a third-and-1 run.
-- Malcolm Brown had an impressive 12-yard run to convert a third-and-3, even though it came on the Dolphins' last drive of the game when the outcome long had been determined.
DOLPHINS LOWLIGHTS
FIRST HALF
-- Tua Tagovailoa was sacked on his first two pass attempts of the game when the Dolphins failed to pick up blitzers coming from the right side of the Buffalo defense. It looked as though Tua was looking for a quick slant on the first play but the Bills took away DeVante Parker with double coverage.
-- The Dolphins gave up a 20-yard punt return by Isaiah McKenzie after their first drive when Michael Palardy failed to get much hang time on his 47-yard punt.
-- The Miami defense was gashed up the middle on Devin Singletary's 46-yard touchdown run.
-- Left tackle Austin Jackson negated a completion to DeVante Parker when he went downfield too far and was penalized.
-- Right tackle Jesse Davis was beaten cleanly by A.J. Epenesa on a fourth-and-2 and he drilled Tua from the blind side to not only force an incompletion but knock the quarterback out of the game.
-- The pass rush couldn't get anywhere near Josh Allen on the 35-yard completion to Emmanuel Sanders that set up Buffalo's second touchdown.
-- The touchdown came on a 5-yard pass when Emmanuel Ogbah jumped on a pump fake after getting pressure on Allen, allowing the quarterback to move up and slide to his right. Xavien Howard then appeared to give up his coverage after Stefon Diggs fell in the end zone, allowing Diggs to eventually catch the touchdown pass.
-- Jacoby Brissett's first series at quarterback ended when the line gave up pressure again and he ended up getting sacked by rookie Gregory Rousseau.
-- The Dolphins' first scoring threat ended when Brissett was picked off when he loften a pass to Mike Gesicki after a double move, not picking up that deep cornerback Levi Wallace abandoned Waddle after spotting the spot, resulting in an easy interception.
-- The Dolphins' wide receiver corps had a horrible sequence on a second-quarter drive when DeVante Parker failed to catch a very catchable high pass from Brissett in the end zone, Albert Wilson had a bad drop of an easy throw on second down from the Buffalo 11 and then Jakeem Grant fumbled after catching a pass on third down.
-- The offensive line showed no ability to pick up the blitz in the first half and the last example was a 9-yard sack that followed Howard's pick.
-- The Dolphins went with an RPO run to Malcolm Brown on fourth-and-2 by a low tackle dropped after a 1-yard gain to spoil another great scoring opportunity.
-- The Dolphins were knocked out of field goal range when another blitz created pressure and Brissett was called for grounding on second down from the Buffalo 31.
-- Waddle made a costly mistake when he muffed the ball on his first punt return attempt in the NFL and Buffalo recovered the loose ball.
SECOND HALF
-- The second half began with the Dolphins allowing a 22-yard completion to Cole Beasley on the first play, setting the tone of what would become a horrible final two quarters.
-- Slot cornerback Justin Coleman gave the Bills a free 15 yards when he was called for a facemask while trying to fend off a block on a screen pass.
-- Brissett threw a swing pass behind Waddle on a second-and-2 on the first drive of the half and Waddle wasn't able to make what should have been a simple catch, leading to a punt two plays later.
-- Guard Robert Hunt was flagged for a false start on the play after the Waddle drop.
-- Though he had the pick in the first half, Xavien Howard was flagged for tugging the jersey of Stefon Diggs on a play that ended in offsetting penalties.
-- Brandon Jones had a really bad unnecessary roughness when he shoved Josh Allen at the end of a scramble when the quarterback was clearly out of bounds.
-- The Dolphins had their third failed fourth-down attempt of the game and this one might have been the worst because Preston Williams would have been tackled short of the marker on fourth-and-2 even had he held on a pass from Brissett on a crossing pattern.
-- On the drive that ended with Buffalo's fourth touchdown, Howard had a chance to come up with his second pick on a deep pass down the right sideline but couldn't hang on after coming over from the middle.
-- It was Emmanuel Ogbah's turn to get flagged for roughness when he hit Allen with the helmet after the quarterback released a shovel pass.
-- The Dolphins defense couldn't wrap up Zack Moss inside the 5-yard line on his first touchdown run.
-- On the drive after Buffalo made it 28-0, Brissett was sacked on second and third down after having to throw early because of pressure on first down.
-- Howard's rough second half continued when he gave up a 41-yard completion to Stefon Diggs despite being in position to make a play on the ball.
-- The Dolphins' last drive ended, fittingly enough, with running back Salvon Ahmed dropping an easy pass in the flat on a fourth-and-3.
