What We Saw: Week 17

Series Navigation

Dolphins @ Titans

Final Score: Titans 34, Dolphins 3

Writer: Ryan Radel (@RadelFF on Twitter)

I’ll keep it short and sweet – I hope you had luck this season and we were able to help you win a championship!

Miami Dolphins

Quarterback

Tua Tagovailoa: 18/38, 205 yards, INT, 4 Sacks, 3 Fumbles (1 lost) | 2 carries, 1 yard

If the statline didn’t give it away, this was a downright hideous game and Tua needs to have a short memory. The Titans pass rush was in his back pocket from the first whistle which made Tua look rattled for the entirety of the game. It was a combination of awful decision making by Tua and his receivers not doing a whole lot to help him out. Tua certainly never got into any sort of rhythm against the Titans. The Dolphins offensive line was overwhelmed and Tua spent a lot of the game running for his life or chasing after his own fumbles. The sooner he forgets about this outing, the better. Another year to develop is going to do wonders for Tua.

INT! 😁 @David__Long

📺: Watch #MIAvsTEN on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/xxxVOBFt5o

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) January 2, 2022

Running Back

Duke Johnson: 7 carries, 49 yards | 3 targets, 2 receptions, 16 yards

Myles Gaskin: 5 carries, 23 yards | 1 target

Phillip Lindsay: 2 carries, 1 yard | 1 target, 1 reception, 8 yards

Considering what Duke Johnson did just a couple of weeks ago, this was a pretty disappointing showing even with the enticing opportunity of garbage time. The Dolphins almost abandoned the run at times as they were playing from behind. The offense struggled on third down while playing from behind, which basically eliminated short runs from the playbook for the majority of the game. Duke did have a nice 16-yard run, but outside of that, this group was quiet for basically the entire game. It’s hard to get rolling (doing great) when your quarterback looks like he forgot how to play football.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Mike Gesicki: 7 targets, 4 receptions, 51 yards

Jaylen Waddle: 7 targets, 3 receptions, 47 yards

DeVante Parker: 13 targets, 4 receptions, 46 yards

Durham Smythe: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 37 yards

Mack Hollins: 1 target

Isaiah Ford: 2 targets, 1 reception

Rookie wideout Jaylen Waddle needed just six catches to tie the rookie receptions record of 101. Unfortunately for Waddle, he ended the game with three receptions on seven targets, falling short of the record. He did however cook the defense for 45 yards on a deep pass from Tua, which was easily the biggest play on the day. Mike Gesicki brought in four of his seven targets for 51 yards but was otherwise quiet. DeVante Parker was targeted a whopping thirteen times, but only managed to secure four of those for 46 yards. Many of those incompletions were Tua’s fault, but Parker wasn’t doing his QB any favors. A few of those targets need to go to Waddle in my opinion. The rest of the receiving group was lackluster as the QB failed to provide accurate passes for his playmakers throughout the game.

.@Tua 🚀 @D1__JW

📺: Watch #MIAvsTEN on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/lHWhSCpEWm

— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) January 2, 2022

Tennessee Titans

Quarterback

Ryan Tannehill: 13/18, 120 yards, 2 TD, Sack, Fumble | 4 carries, 7 yards

Ryan Tannehill didn’t need to do much outside of manage the game for the Titans. He did just that in a blowout in which his running backs ran 36 times for nearly 200 yards. Tannehill capitalized in the red zone by tossing two scores over the defense after they continuously got sucked in by the play-action. The one they call “Tannethrill” certainly is fun to watch, even when he isn’t called on to do much.

Firkser Football 😍

📺: Watch #TENvsMIA on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/XIkm0ZxYbK

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) January 2, 2022

Running Back

D’Onta Foreman: 26 carries, 132 yards, TD

Dontrell Hilliard: 8 carries, 45 yards, TD | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 33 yards

Jeremy McNichols: 2 carries, 14 yards

It’s curious as to why D’Onta Foreman hasn’t caught on elsewhere before steamrolling his way to the top of the depth chart after Derrick Henry’s injury. With a similar run style, Foreman bullied his way to over five yards per carry on 26 carries, which is utterly bananas for an NFL statline. The Titans knew they had an advantage on the ground against the Dolphins, and they were not afraid to push that advantage the entire game. The Dolphins simply couldn’t stop Foreman, and if it isn’t broken, why fix it? Dontrell Hilliard contributed a 39 yard touchdown run of his own to go along with a 28 yard reception, showing his big-play ability. These two have combined to make a formidable one-two punch.

Run The Dang Ball @D33_foreman

📺: Watch #MIAvsTEN on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/ifnVIGNOAP

— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) January 2, 2022

Wide Receiver/Tight End

A.J. Brown: 5 targets, 2 receptions, 41 yards

Anthony Firkser: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 24 yards, TD

Chester Rogers: 2 targets, 2 receptions, 13 yards

Geoff Swaim: 3 targets, 3 receptions, 9 yards, TD

Nick Westbrook-Ikhine: 2 targets

When your run game is averaging five yards per carry, it’s pretty easy for your play-action to fool the defense, and the Titans did just that. Tannehill executed some beautiful play-action passes in the red zone, resulting in touchdowns for both of his tight ends (Anthony Firkser and Geoff Swaim.) The rest of the group was supplemental to the run game, basically there to keep the defense honest. With the run game doing the work, this group didn’t need to do much of anything outside of run-blocking.