Dolphins Trending Up, Trending Down After Week 11
The Miami Dolphins winning streak had to end sometime, right? It did against the Denver Broncos in a disappointing 20-13 loss that featured the much-discussed quarterback change early in the fourth quarter.
For the first time in several weeks, there are more players trending down than trending up.
TRENDING UP
-- Xavien Howard: Of course we have to start with Howard, who had another stellar game. It wasn't just his interception that was impressive; he had good coverage all game.
-- DeVante Parker: The Dolphins' only legitimate threat on offense, Parker is getting closer and closer to the player he was down the stretch last year. His touchdown catch was a thing of beauty.
-- Andrew Van Ginkel: The long-haired linebacker continues to make things happen on a weekly basis, this time with the great strip near the goal line to keep the Dolphins alive.
-- Clayton Fejedelem: The free agent acquisition had a really strong game on special teams, though he loses points for knocking an official out of the game by running him over while he was celebrating Howard's interception.
-- Nik Needham: It was another solid outing in coverage for Needham, who has become a genuinely good slot corner.
TRENDING DOWN
-- Tua Tagovailoa: Sorry, Tua fans, but there's no getting around it. After an efficient performance against the Chargers when little was needed from the offense, Tagovailoa took a step back against Denver. Worst of all, he looked flustered and overwhelmed by what Denver was doing.
-- Austin Jackson: It was a rough outing all around for the Dolphins offensive line, and Jackson might have been at the top of the list of players who had issues in pass protection.
-- Jakeem Grant: Like Tua, Grant took a step back against Denver when he caught only two of the six passes thrown in his direction. Grant also failed to get much separation on two of three long routes he ran.
-- Kyle Van Noy: Van Noy was dealing with a hip injury heading into the game, but 91 percent of the defensive snaps. Problem was he often found himself getting tangled with blockers as Denver running backs got loose for long runs. He also lost containment on a long run and missed a tackle in the backfield when he blitzed on a run play.
-- Eric Rowe: Rowe did not have a great day in run support and his coverage on tight ends wasn't as tight as it has been all season.
-- Ereck Flowers: The left guard was cleanly beat for a sack, and he and Jackson seemed to have communication issues on Denver twists up front that allowed a free rusher looping from outside to inside.
-- Solomon Kindley: Kindley wasn't able to finish the game because of the foot injury that had him on the injury report during the week, but before he left he was beaten for a sack.
