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Dolphins Handle Chargers: The Five Biggest Plays

Breaking down the five plays that most helped decide the outcome in the Dolphins' 29-21 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers
Alain Poupart|
Dolphins Handle Chargers: The Five Biggest Plays
Dolphins Handle Chargers: The Five Biggest Plays

The Miami Dolphins improved their record on the season to 6-3 with a convincing 29-21 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers at Hard Rock Stadium in Week 10, and we break down the five biggest plays of the game.

1. Xavien Howard’s interception

The game was starting to get a little uneasy early in the fourth quarter with the Chargers having the ball and down by six points, but Howard changed it all with an absolute Pro Bowl play. This was a simple case of a cornerback reading the route the whole way and then using his physicality to beat the receiver to the spot. Once that happened, Howard will make the catch way more often than not. The 28-yard return was just a bonus. The pick set up the Durham Smythe touchdown that made it 26-14.

2. Andrew Van Ginkel’s punt block

This one was a bit of a gift to set the tone early, compliments of Chargers punter Ty Long’s inability to handle a perfectly reasonable snap. Van Ginkel got good penetration regardless, though it's questionable whether he would have gotten to Long quickly enough without the bobble. In any event, Jamal Perry recovered the loose ball at the Chargers 1-yard line and on the next play the Dolphins had a quick 7-0 lead.

3. The fourth-down stop

The Chargers still had a chance at a comeback midway through the fourth quarter when they faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 46, but Emmanuel Ogbah took care of that when he got his hand on Justin Herbert’s short pass toward Keenan Allen. The Dolphins followed the stop with another field goal but more importantly a lot more time off the clock.

4. The Chargers offside on the field goal attempt

This bad mistake by the Chargers gave the Dolphins a first down when they were ready to settle for a 28-yard field goal attempt on fourth-and-1 from the Chargers 10-yard line. Instead, the penalty allowed the Dolphins to keep alive their second touchdown drive, which ended with a 3-yard pass from Tua Tagovailoa to Jakeem Grant and gave the Dolphins a 14-0 lead instead of 10-0.

5. DeVante Parker recovers the onside kick

We have to mention it because that play clinched the victory, even though the new rules have made it almost impossible for a team to recover an onside kick when the opposing team is expecting it.

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of Miami Dolphins On SI and host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press and the Dolphins team website. In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books, such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.

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