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Dolphins Defeat Jacksonville — The Five Biggest Plays

Breaking down the five plays that decided the outcome in the Dolphins' 31-13 victory against the Jacksonville Jaguars
Alain Poupart|
Dolphins Defeat Jacksonville — The Five Biggest Plays
Dolphins Defeat Jacksonville — The Five Biggest Plays

The Miami Dolphins recorded their first victory of the season when they defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars, 31-13 at TIAA Bank Field, and we break down the five biggest plays of the game.

1. Ryan Fitzpatrick's touchdown pass to Preston Williams: This was merely the final play of the Dolphins' first drive of the game and though it was one of the shortest gains on the drive, it had major significance. For one, it converted the only third-down situation on the drive. For another, it took a perfect throw from Fitzpatrick to get the ball to Williams because there wasn't a lot of separation there in the back of the end zone.

2. Jakeem Grant's 29-yard run in the first quarter: This was the biggest play of the second touchdown drive and the Dolphins took advantage of an over-aggressive Jacksonville defender who lost containment on the outside when he bit on the fake handoff. That allowed Grant an easy path to the outside, where he was able to use his speed and move the ball from the Jaguars 35 to the 6-yard line.

3. Fitzpatrick's one-yard scramble on fourth down in the second quarter: On the third touchdown drive, the key play came when Fitzpatrick kept the ball and was able to gain two yards to gain the first down. We also should give credit to Brian Flores for going for it on that fourth-and-1 from the Jacksonville 49-yard line. That showed a lot of confidence in his offense, and that offense certainly had earned that confidence to that point in this game.

4. Kamu Grugier-Hill's sack in the second quarter: The Dolphins pass rush was justifiably criticized after two games, but it really came alive against Jacksonville. And nowhere was that more important than on the fourth-and-6 from the Miami 36 near the end of the first half. Grugier-Hill took advantage of a nice blitz call by the Dolphins that left the offensive line vulnerable and he simply overpowered Gardner Minshew II to the ground to preserve the Dolphins' 21-7 lead heading into halftime.

5. Kyle Van Noy's triple play in the third quarter: This is also known as the Jason Taylor special, a sack-strip-fumble recovery. This was a big-time play from Van Noy, who was a factor all game and simply wouldn't give up on the play after Minshew started scrambling out of the pocket. The turnover gave the Dolphins the ball at the Jacksonville 5-yard line and set up the Fitzpatrick touchdown run that basically iced the game.

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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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