Miami Dolphins Week 5 Report Card
As one would imagine, grades were very good at just about every position for the Miami Dolphins following their 43-17 victory against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5.
Quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick quieted the Tua talk (hopefully) the only way he could with a magnificent performance against the 49ers. Fitzpatrick completed 22 of 28 passes and none of the six incompletions included an ill-advised decision or a near-pick. Fitzpatrick also had a nifty 17-yard scramble. His touchdown pass to Preston Williams in the third quarter was some kind of impressive, coming as he did as he was about to get hit by blitzing defensive back Jamar Taylor. Grade: A
Running backs
Matt Breida continues to emerge as a factor in the offense, contributing a 12-yard run and 31-yard gain in the passing game against his former team. It was Myles Gaskin who again got the bulk of the work and he rushed for 57 yards and tied for the team lead with five catches. He also had a season-long 21-yard run. This was not a spectacular effort by the running backs by any means, but it was solid. Grade: B-
Wide receivers
Preston Williams broke out with his best outing of the season, catching four passes for 106 yards and that third-quarter touchdown. He produced his first career 100-yard game. DeVante Parker was rather quiet with two catches, but one of them was his touchdown on third-and-goal from the 22-yard line when he just ran by cornerback Brian Allen down the left sideline. Isaiah Ford had two catches on two targets, including a 15-yard reception that converted a third-and-11 situation. Jakeem Grant had one catch on three targets and dropped a third-down pass, and also lost 12 yards on a reverse when he tried to make something out of nothing. Grade: A-
Tight ends
The Dolphins played without Durham Smythe, which meant increased playing time for Adam Shaheen. He actually ended up with the most snaps at the position and scored his first touchdown in a Dolphins uniform. Shaheen, however, was called for holding in the second half. Mike Gesicki had a strong outing after two one-catch games, as he finished with four catches for 91 yards. His 70-yard catch in the second quarter set up a field goal. Grade: B
Offensive line
With Austin Jackson on injured reserve, the Dolphins unveiled their new-look line with Jesse Davis at left tackle and rookie second-round pick Robert Hunt making his first NFL start at right tackle. For the most part, the Dolphins offensive line had a solid outing. Fitzpatrick had good protection most of the game. He was sacked twice, but one of those was a coverage sack. The run blocking was not great, as evidenced by the fact no running back average more than 3.6 yards per carry. Ted Karras was called for a clipping penalty on a second-and-goal from the 1-yard line, though it was hard even on replay to see what he did to merit that flag. Grade: B-
Defensive line
Zach Sieler got the start in place of the injured Shaq Lawson and continued to show why he's been getting more and more playing time. Emmanuel Ogbah continued his strong start to the season with a sack and strip and more importantly playing the key role on the fourth-down stop in the first quarter when his ability to stand up the 49ers offensive lineman allowed for his teammates to come in and make the play. It was Christian Wilkins who came in to drop Jerick McKinnon for no gain on that key play and he later recovered the fumble that Ogbah caused. The 49ers did have some success in the running game, but it wasn't consequential in this game. Grade: B
Linebackers
Strong effort by a lot of guys here, starting with Jerome Baker. After playing his fewest snaps since 2018 against Seattle, Baker got a prominent role against the 49ers and made the most of it. In addition to leading the team in tackles, he had two greatly timed blitzes that resulted in a sack and the other in a hurried fourth-down incompletion. Andrew Van Ginkel also had a sack. Kamu Grugier-Hill was called for a roughing-the-passer penalty that, like Karras' penalty, was a bit on the questionable side. Kyle Van Noy was rather quiet and he missed a potential tackle near the line of scrimmage on Raheem Mostert's 37-yard run in the first half. Grade: B
Secondary
While Bobby McCain and Xavien Howard each got an interception, it's safety Eric Rowe who shined in the secondary for his work on George Kittle. Rowe ended up with two passes defensed on a day when Kittle had four catches on eight targets, this one week after he had 15 catches on 15 targets for 183 yards. Byron Jones looked very good in his return, as did Howard. San Francisco passed for only 170 yards and had no pass play longer than 20 yards, so it was a great performance by the DBs, though they did get a lot of help from the pass rush. The only blemishes were penalties on Jamal Perry and Nik Needham. Grade: A-
Special teams
Man, what more can we say about Jason Sanders? He had another outstanding outing, going 5-for-5 on field goal attempts for a second consecutive week. The Dolphins also get big points for the fake punt that produced a first down on the way to a touchdown that pretty much sealed the outcome. There were issues on special teams, though. Punter Matt Haack didn't have great results on his two punts with only a net of 33.5 yards. Grant muffed a punt at the Dolphins 12-yard line and had to fall on the ball at the 5-yard line. And Brandon Jones was flagged for a penalty. But the good outweighed the bad. Grade: B-
