Dolphins-Raiders Week 11 Complete Observations

Checking out the key moments from the Miami Dolphins' 20-13 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium

Here's what caught our eye before and during the Miami Dolphins' Week 11 20-13 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday.

-- We'll start with the inactive list, which was very noteworthy from the standpoint that every single player on it came from the offensive side of the ball.

-- The only healthy inactive player was RB Jeff Wilson Jr., who was kept out of the lineup because of the return of rookie RB De'Von Achane after Achane was activated off injured reserve Saturday.

-- Along with the players who already has been ruled out Friday, the Dolphins also made inactive two others who had been listed as questionable: TE Durham Smythe (ankle) and WR Braxton Berrios (hamstring). They joined G Robert Hunt (hamstring), OL Robert Jones (knee) and WR Chase Claypool (knee), with Skylar Thompson again designated as the emergency third quarterback in case of injuries to both Tua Tagovailoa and Mike White.

-- To make up for the absence of Berrios and Claypool, the Dolphins elevated WR Robbie Chosen from the practice squad Saturday after re-signing him.

FIRST QUARTER

-- The Dolphins, as they seem to do every game, won the coin toss and elected to defer.

-- The first play was not good as Jaelan Phillips bit hard on a play fake and allowed tight end Michael Mayer to get behind him for an easy pitch-and-catch that resulted in a 17-yard gain.

-- The Dolphins then forced a punt after a holding penalty on first down when guard Dylan Parham grabbed a hold of Jerome Baker's jersey and refused to let go.

-- The Dolphins appeared to have a touchdown after Andrew Van Ginkel punched the ball out of Mayer's hands on a short third-down completion and Jevon Holland took the fumble to the end zone, but it was overturned by replay (every touchdown is subject to review).

-- The Dolphins' first possession ended in a turnover when linebacker Luke Masterson ripped the ball away from Tua at the end of a scramble on third-and-4. The officials ruled Tua down, but the Raiders challenged and got the play overturned.

-- The defense allowed a first down on a 12-yard completion on third-and-7 on a play that looked a tad like a pick, but the Raiders got flagged for OPI on the very next play when it didn't look nearly as bad from their standpoint.

-- Xavien Howard smelled out quickly a wide receiver screen to Davante Adams and tackled him for a 1-yard loss, which led to the Raiders having to settle for a Daniel Carlson field goal and a 3-0 lead after the turnover.

-- The Dolphins regained the lead on their next possession after a third-down sack, where Terron Armstead was beat cleanly by Malcolm Koonce, was nullified by a defensive holding penalty.

-- The key plays featured Tua passing to Tyreek Hill, first an 18-yard gain on a deep in and then for a 38-yard touchdown when Tua hit the speedster between four defenders and Hill's speed did the rest.

-- It didn't take long for the Raiders to reclaim the lead, starting their next drive with a 17-yard completion to T.J. Tucker with Howard playing very soft coverage.

-- Two plays after a 9-yard run by Josh Jacobs, the Dolphins let Adams behind the secondary to catch a 46-yard touchdown pass from Aidan O'Connell. Adams ran a deep crosser and got behind safety DeShon Elliott, who was beat once he lost his footing.

-- The first quarter ended with Mostert gaining 10 yards on a run, but news that Achane was questionable to return because of a knee injury.

SECOND QUARTER

-- The Dolphins moved the ball again as they continued the drive, though they couldn't finish it.

-- A 21-yard completion from Tua to Hill on third-and-7 moved the ball into Las Vegas territory, the two hooking up again on their bread-and-butter, the deep throw at or between the numbers.

-- The Dolphins then got a facemask penalty to get a first down at the Raiders 12, but a false on third-and-5 hurt. It was called on Austin Jackson, but there actually were several linemen who moved.

-- As they've done many times this season, the Dolphins went for it on fourth-and-1 from the Raiders 3, but the play went awry when Raiders defender Isaiah Pola-Mao got inside the block attempt of River Cracraft and immediately got to Tyreek Hill on a pass behind the line of scrimmage. Hill never had a chance and was tackled for a 4-yard line. Worse, he then went into the locker room with an apparent arm injury.

-- The defense responded by pitching a three-and-out.

-- Kader Kohou tackled Hunter Renfrow for a 2-yard loss after a high throw and Bradley Chubb's pressure then forced a third-down incompletion.

-- With Hill out of the game, Tua directed an impressive 63-yard touchdown drive where Jaylen Waddle played starring role, catching passes of 9, 12 and 15 yards.

-- The touchdown pass came on a 11-yard connection to Salvon Ahmed after he was left wide open in the flat and was able to waltz in.

-- Tua was 5-for-5 for 58 yards on the drive, which gave the Dolphins the lead again at 14-10.

-- Better yet, Hill was back on the sideline as the Dolphins finished off the drive.

-- The defense pitched another three-and-out on the next series when the Raiders decided to run three straight times, with Chubb dropped Jacobs after a 1-yard gain on third-and-4.

-- The Dolphins then called a timeout to set themselves up for a chance to add to their lead before halftime.

-- After a 10-yard run by Mostert, the Dolphins committed their second turnover of the game when rookie tight end Julian Hill was stripped at the end of a 10-yard completion and Ellis Hobbs recovered for Las Vegas.

-- For the second time, the defense held and forced Las Vegas to settle for a field goal, this one a 47-yarder, after Kader Kohou broke up a third-down pass. The kick made it 14-13 at the half after Tua threw a 30-yard pass to Robbie Chosen as time expired.

THIRD QUARTER

-- It was a third turnover for the Dolphins on the first play of the second half when Tua tried to go deep to Waddle even though the Raiders had a deep safety behind him. The result was a pick by Pola-Mao.

-- The defense once again came up big by forcing a three-and-out with two Jacobs runs that combined for minus-1 yard. The second one came on third-and-1 and Christian Wilkins defeated his blocker to drop him for a loss.

-- The Dolphins moved into Raiders territory again on their next drive, thanks to a 32-yard completion to Hill where he turned CB Marcus Peters around and created 7 yards of separation on a deep out.

-- But the drive stalled when Tua got pressure on third-and-7 and his pass to Cedrick Wilson Jr. fell incomplete.

-- Jason Sanders then was wide left on a 50-yard field goal, continuing his long-distance struggles but worse giving the Raiders the ball at their own 40-yard line to start their next drive.

-- It didn't matter because on the very next play, Jalen Ramsey showed why he's considered an elite cornerback as he read a deep in route, undercut the receiver and dove to make his second interception in three games.

-- The Dolphins then converted a third-and-2 when Tua moved a bit to his left and found Waddle wide open for a catch-and-run of 19 yards.

-- The drive ended with a 41-yard field goal by Sanders that made it 17-13 after linebacker Robert Spillane dropped a potential interception when Tua tried to hit Waddle in traffic.

-- It was another three-and-out for the defense after that despite an 8-yard completion on first down.

-- The defense again stuffed Jacobs on a run, allowing 1 yard on second down, and then Ramsey provided deep coverage on a third-and-1 flea-flicker intended for Davante Adams to force an incompletion on a play where Chubb drew a flag for holding.

-- The Dolphins added a field goal on their next drive, thanks mostly to another long completion to Hill, who once again turned the defense around and was wide open for a 25-yard gain.

-- After a 9-yard completion to Alec Ingold made it second-and-1 at the Vegas 33, the drive stalled when the Dolphins failed on two pass plays.

-- The first came on a busted screen pass when the Raiders sniffed it out and the second when Tua underthrew his receiver after rolling to his left and also missed spotting River Cracraft running behind the Raiders secondary.

-- Sanders ended his drought of 50-yard field goal when he nailed a 51-yard attempt to make it 20-13 before Josh Jacobs ended the quarter with a 6-yard run.

FOURTH QUARTER

-- The Raiders got a first down on the drive, but it ended with a third-down sack by Jaelan Phillips after Bradley Chubb made him move up in the pocket.

-- The Dolphins proceeded to go three-and-out after a second-down incompletion where Tua threw the ball away under pressure and a third-down pass to Salvon Ahmed that came up way short.

-- Making matters worse, Jake Bailey mis-hit his punt and it went out of bounds at midfield after traveling only 34 yards. 

-- That would set in motion the first of three fourth-quarter Raiders drive that reached and ended in Dolphins territory.

-- On the first play of this drive, Raekwon Davis' pressure forced an incompletion on a play that easily could have been ruled intentional grounding. The official announced there was no foul because Davis hit OConnell's arm even though replays showed he hit his body.

-- On a first-and-10 from the Miami 38, Kader Kohou blew up an end-around by getting into the backfield, and Jevon Holland came up to tackle Tre Tucker for a 7-yard loss.

-- The Raiders appeared to have a big gain on the next play with a 23-yard completion to Tucker, but Mike McDaniel threw the challenge flag and the ruling was overturned after replays showed Tucker's foot landing out of bounds.

-- After a 14-yard completion on third-and-17, the Raiders decided to go for the first down on fourth-and-3 from the 31, but O'Connell made the curious choice of throwing deep down the left sideline to Jakobi Meyers with Jalen Ramsey in man coverage. Ramsey sealed off Meyers and actually was the one closest to the ball when he dropped harmlessly into the end zone.

-- The Dolphins offense gave the ball away quickly with another three-and-out, largely because of a holding penalty on Terron Armstead that wiped out a Mostert run on second down that would have been good for a first down.

-- Bailey redeemed himself with a 65-yard punt that DeAndre Carter fielded at his 2 and returned to the 13.

-- Xavien Howard was beaten by Meyers on an out move for a 24-yard gain on a play where he was flagged for defensive pass interference.

-- Two plays later, O'Connell hit Hunter Renfrow in the middle of the field and he zigzagged his way down the field for a 31-yard gain. Remarkably, it was Christian Wilkins working his way down the field after rushing the pass who ended up making the tackle.

-- After Phillips recorded his second sack, the Raiders faced a fourth-and-6 from the Dolphins 24 and again went for the first down. After not finding anybody open, O'Connell suddenly found himself with Wilkins bearing down on him and he threw the ball up as Wilkins was about to tackle him (because a sack would have ended the drive anyway). It went straight into the arms of Phillips, who now had himself his third big play of the quarter.

-- The Dolphins got a first down on the next series, but couldn't close out the game when Tua threw the ball away after being pressured on third-and-5.

-- On fourth-and-5 from the Raiders 45, Connor Williams slightly rocked his body in an attempt to draw Las Vegas offside for a free, game-clinching first down, but he wound up getting called for a false start.

-- A good high punt by Bailey forced the Raiders to start their next, final drive at their own 7, needing 93 yards for a touchdown to tie the score (or potentially go for a two-point conversion and the win).

-- On second-and-4, Adams beat Ramsey with a stop-and-go move, but the Raiders missed the chance for a big gain when O'Connell overthrew him down the left sideline.

-- Completions of 19 yards to Tucker and 20 yards to Adams moved the ball to the Dolphins 39-yard line with 36 seconds left.

-- After a first-down incompletion, O'Connell decided to go deep to Tucker in the middle of the end zone with Elliott in deep coverage, but Ramsey also was there and he jumped in front of the pass to make the acrobatic interception, falling on the ball as he landed. For some reason, Tucker slapped the ball out of Ramsey's grasp after the play and Meyers put up his hands to signal "touchdown" — like he actually thought that was going to work.

-- The Dolphins needed one Tua kneel-down to complete the hard-fought 20-13 win that moved their record to 7-3.

Defense Saves the Day Against Raiders