What We Saw: Week 5

The What We Saw team recaps everything you missed from Sunday's games

Ben Brown
What We Saw 2 Years Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Colts @ Broncos
Giants @ Packers
Steelers @ Bills
Chargers @ Browns
Texans @ Jaguars
Bears @ Vikings
Lions @ Patriots
Seahawks @ Saints
Dolphins @ Jets
Falcons @ Buccaneers
Titans @ Commanders
49ers @ Panthers
Eagles @ Cardinals
Cowboys @ Rams
Bengals @ Ravens

Dolphins @ Jets

Final Score: Jets 40, Dolphins 17

Senior Writer: Benjamin Haller (@benjaminhaller1 on Twitter)

 

“These are not the Dolphins you are looking for! Move along!” Mike McDaniel and the Miami Dolphins could not paper over the cracks any longer as an early injury to Teddy Bridgewater meant a baptism of fire for seventh round rookie quarterback Skylar Thompson in the 40-17 defeat to divisional rivals, the New York Jets. On the other sideline, however, it was all smiles and dancing at the Jets earned their second straight win with a dominant fourth quarter performance on both sides of the ball. Rookie cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner had a breakout game in the Jets secondary as second-year quarterback Zach Wilson once again showed his qualities as the potential future face of the franchise. Head Coach Robert Saleh, who was facing the chopping block a couple of weeks ago, could not contain his relief and excitement.

 

Miami Dolphins

 

Quarterback

 

Teddy Bridgewater: 0/1

Skylar Thompson: 19/33, 166 Yards, INT, 1 Fumble (Lost)

 

Disaster struck early for the Dolphins as Teddy Bridgewater, standing in for an injured Tua Tagovailoa, was knocked out of the game on the first play of the Fins’ opening drive. A blitz from the Jets’ fourth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft Sauce Gardner wasn’t picked up and the young corner inflicted a heavy hit on Teddy, who released the ball from his own end zone and it landed nowhere near any receiver. It was judged a safety, but more importantly Teddy was taken out of the game with elbow and head injures. He would not return despite being found to be not concussed – as part of the NFL’s new protocol, Teddy was required to sit the rest of the contest.

Still, it was a monster hit from the Jets’ young defensive star!

 

So, that left us with seventh round rookie Skylar Thompson out of Kansas State. When I signed up to cover this game, I thought it would be Tua versus Wilson. We were suddenly a long way from that tasty sandwich. Thompson was completely out of his depth, which was not surprising, and the large chunk of his measly 166 yards passing came through defensive pass interference calls – 95 of them to be exact. His largest completion was a 16 yard connection with Tyreek Hill. Yikes! There were at least two throws that could have been intercepted if it hadn’t been for the receivers breaking them up in contest situations.

Thompson stared down his first reads and forced throws all day, which meant by the fourth quarter the Jets were expecting every throw and could easily blitz and play man-to-man. His interception came at a key moment in the second quarter around midfield. Thompson was late on a throw to the sideline on first down allowing Jets’ pass-rusher John Franklin-Meyers to get a hand on his arm as he released the ball, forcing it to loop up for Sauce to nab it in front of wideout River Cracraft. It was a series of rookie mistakes on a single play that proved costly.

 

After that, McDaniel had to force the run game more and that proved to be much more effective. The Dolphins stayed in touch going into the fourth quarter, training by just two points, 19-17. Jason Sanders then missed a 54-yard field goal and everything unravelled. After the Jets responded with a game-opening touchdown, Thompson couldn’t answer back. He held onto the ball for too long once again and lost himself in the pocket allowing Carl Lawson to force a strip sack fumble that Quinnen Williams took inside the Miami 5-yard line. The Jets scored again and Thompson failed to convert on two fourth down opportunities to turn the ball over on downs twice before the end. It’s unlikely we see him again unless injuries consume Tua and Teddy going forward.

 

Running Back

 

Raheem Mostert: 18 Carries, 113 Yards, TD | 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

Myles Gaskin: 4 Carries, 9 Yards | 5 Targets, 3 Receptions, 24 Yards

Chase Edmonds: 1 Carry, 1 Yard | 2 Targets

 

The lone bright spark for the Dolphins was Raheem Mostert, who followed up last week’s confident showing with a hard-fought, determined performance on the ground once again. Mostert averaged 6.3 yards per carry and took a hold of the starting running back role after out-touching Chase Edmonds a staggering 19-1. He scored on a nice jet-sweep play in the second quarter just as it looked like the day could get away from Miami. Mostert gave them hope.

 

Mostert was then crucial in engineering the Dolphins’ second touchdown of the day late in the first half. He touched the ball five times, including a good 24-yard run, on an 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that featured plenty of designed runs and short passes out of the backfield. Mostert is the back to have going forward in this offense.

https://gfycat.com/acclaimedagitatediaerismetalmark

 

Worryingly for some fantasy managers, it could be all over for Edmonds in this offense with Mostert now taking a 36-8 lead in carries over the past two weeks. Myles Gaskin also appeared to takeaway touches late in the second half but it could be that the game was gone by that time and McDaniel was just protecting his players.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Tyreek Hill: 2 Carries, 13 Yards | 7 Targets, 7 Receptions, 47 Yards

Mike Gesicki: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 30 Yards

Jaylen Waddle: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 23 Yards

Cedrick Wilson Jr.: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 20 Yards

Durham Smythe: 1 Carry, 1 Yard, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards

Trent Sherfield: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 5 Yards

River Cracraft: 1 Target

Tanner Conner: 1 Target

 

Due to the limitations at quarterback it was difficult for Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle to produce their usual explosive outputs. Hill at least posted a respectable score and was also the reason behind a couple of big pass interference penalties. He also converted a nifty reverse for a first down prior to Mostert’s touchdown run.

 

Waddle was less fortunate, as he just saw three looks from Thompson all day and despite catching all three balls just couldn’t find his way into the game in the second half. He did force a 34-yard defensive pass interference penalty but also pulled up on a route in the third quarter and was held out late when the Dolphins knew the game was gone. Waddle’s sore groin is something to monitor for next week’s game against the Vikings. It’s a worrying situation as beyond Hill and Waddle this receiving corps did little today to suggest they can accomodate for one of these playmakers missing time. Even Mike Gesicki was once again irrelevant bar a 30-yard catch in the final drive of the game as the Jets were allowing cheap yards to run the clock down.

And here’s something that helps no fantasy manager whatsoever – a trick sneak play from blocking tight end Durham Smythe for six. These Dolphins…sigh! Let’s hope Tua is healthy for Week 6.

 

New York Jets

 

Quarterback

 

Zach Wilson: 14/21, 210 Yards | 4 Carries, 2 Yards, TD

 

Welcome to a winning team, Zach Wilson. The second-year Jets quarterback was unspectacular but efficient. And he wasn’t really required to push things past conservative after the Jets went up 12-0 early and found a lot of joy in the ground game. Wilson was happy to check down to the tune of 112 yards through the air from Breece Hall and Michael Carter, most of that coming on a blown coverage from Dolphins that Hall took 79 yards to the Miami goal line.

 

Wilson only connected with his talented top three receivers six times in total, and none of Corey Davis, Elijah Moore or exciting first round rookie Garrett Wilson topped more than 38 yards. Boo! Still, when his team needed him to make a play and put his body on the line, Wilson came up with the goods. It’s a trait that can galvanize a team, and in this contest it did. Wilson had no hesitation in diving for the score on third down to put the Jets up by two scores prior to the two-minute warning in the first half.

 

Running Back

 

Breece Hall: 18 Carries, 97 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 100 Yards

Michael Carter: 10 Carries, 21 Yards, 2 TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 12 Yards

 

This running back room is quickly becoming one of the top double teams in the league. There are clear roles for both rookie Breece Hall and second-year team-player Michael Carter as the stats suggest. The game script will not always be this friendly to Carter, but Hall looks to have a volume play for fantasy purposes. His 197 total scrimmage yards included a tough run for a game-deciding touchdown in the fourth quarter. A well deserved accolade for another impressive showing.

 

Hall was brought down twice inside the Dolphins’ 5-yard line and twice was overlooked for the carry to take the ball in. Carter the beneficiary both times. The first time started the second quarter on the right tone for the Mike LaFleur‘s intiguing offense.

https://gfycat.com/idealfriendlyheterodontosaurus

 

The second time around Carter cheekily rubbed salt in the wounds of the maimed Dolphins fans by breaking out the waddle celebration. Ballsy! Outside of his goal line carries, Carter is mainly used on short yardage situations and as a breather for when Hall steps out.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Corey Davis: 4 Targets, 2 Receptions, 38 Yards

Garrett Wilson: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 27 Yards

C.J. Uzomah: 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 12 Yards

Jeff Smith: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 11 Yards

Elijah Moore: 4 Targets, 1 Reception, 11 Yards

Braxton Berrios: 1 Carry, 15 Yards, TD | 1 Target, 1 Reception, -1 Yards

Tyler Conklin: 1 Target

 

Jets fans will be ecstatic but fantasy managers will be a little more tempered after yet another mediocre set of scores from this young, exciting receiver group. Garrett Wilson seems to have taken a secondary role since Joe Flacco was replaced by Zach Wilson. He only has five catches for 68 yards and no touchdowns in the two contests Wilson has started at quarterback. There is no doubt he is a focal point of this offense for the future but as it stands his recent involvement is concerning as Wilson settles back in as the signal-caller.

Corey Davis and Elijah Moore were almost non-existent for large portions of this game and Moore hauled in just one of his four targets – a worrying trend with Wilson that goes back to 2021 as the two don’t seem to have the chemistry we would like to see by this stage of their development.

Much like the Dolphins, the Jets also pulled a “that helps nobody” fantasy touchdown with gadget slot guy Braxton Berrios rushing in for a late fourth quarter nail in the coffin.

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Series Navigation
Introduction
Colts @ Broncos
Giants @ Packers
Steelers @ Bills
Chargers @ Browns
Texans @ Jaguars
Bears @ Vikings
Lions @ Patriots
Seahawks @ Saints
Dolphins @ Jets
Falcons @ Buccaneers
Titans @ Commanders
49ers @ Panthers
Eagles @ Cardinals
Cowboys @ Rams
Bengals @ Ravens

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