Dolphins vs. 49ers: The Five Biggest Plays

The Miami Dolphins recorded a dominating 43-17 victory against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium in Week 5, and we break down the five biggest plays of the game.

1. Ryan Fitzpatrick's 47-yard pass to Preston Williams: Man, talk about a way to start! On the Dolphins' very first offensive snap, they produced their longest offensive play of the season when Ryan Fitzpatrick connected with Preston Williams down the left sideline for a 47-yard gain. The gain was more that half the yardage (89) Williams had in the first four games combined. Six plays later, the Dolphins were leading 7-0.

2. The Dolphins' fourth-down stop in the first quarter: It might not seem significant after a 26-point loss, but the defense created a huge momentum swing when it stuffed Jerick McKinnon for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Dolphins 44-yard line when Miami led 7-0. Christian Wilkins was credited for the tackle, but the player most responsible for the stop was Emmanuel Ogbah, who stood up the 49ers offensive lineman and allowed his teammates to get to McKinnon at the line of scrimmage.

3. Fitzpatrick's touchdown pass to DeVante Parker: Brian Allen started at cornerback for the 49ers in his first game since the 2018 season finale and the Dolphins targeted him until he was replaced. The most glaring example came on the 22-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal when Parker simply ran right by Allen down the left sideline and caught Fitzpatrick's perfectly thrown pass. The play capped a drive that featured a first-and-goal from the 3 before a tripping penalty on Ted Karras and a sack created the third-and-goal from the 22. The touchdown made it a 21-7 game.

4. Bobby McCain's interception: This actually is about the two interceptions late in the first half that helped the Dolphins take a 30-7 lead into halftime. The Dolphins led 24-7 when the 49ers began their drive at their 25 at the two-minute warning. McCain's interception came when linebacker Jerome Baker blanketed McKinnon down the field and Jimmy Garoppolo badly overthrew the running back right into the arms of McCain. Howard's interception on the ensuing possession ended Garoppolo's afternoon.

5. The fake punt: One week after taking the conservative route with the fourth-and-5 field goal against Seattle, the Dolphins got super aggressive after the 49ers made it 30-14 in the third quarter. Facing a fourth-and-1 from their own 34-yard line after a 15-yard completion from Fitzpatrick to Myles Gaskin on third-and-16, the Dolphins got the first down when up-back Clayton Fejedelem took the direct snap and snuck past the marker. After a 31-yard completion to Matt Breida and Fitzpatrick's beautiful 32-yard touchdown pass to Williams in the face of pressure, the Dolphins had restored their 23-point lead and the outcome pretty much had been sealed.

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