Hyde10: Tua plays, defense dominates — 10 thoughts on Dolphins' win over Jets

The win wasn’t in question. The Dolphins went up, 21-0, in the second quarter and ... well, the New York Jets were on the other side.

But the Dolphins didn’t dominate in the second half like you would like — at least offensively — and the big story was Tua Tagovailoa entering the game near the end.

The 24-0 win gave the Dolphins a 3-3 record and put them ahead of the New England Patriots (2-3) in the AFC East race.

Here are 10 thoughts on the easy win:

1. Stat of the Game: Seven three-and-outs. That’s how many the Dolphins defense inflicted on the Jets' offense. Give the Dolphins credit for making a bad offense reflect its awfulness. The Jets' backfield of Joe Flacco and Frank Gore might have contended in 2012. But you wanted to put WD-40 on their joints in the huddle. Arizona’s defense held the Jets to 10 points last week. The Dolphin defense went under that. Way under.

2. With 2:27 left in a 24-0 game, Tua Tagovailoa finally was inserted into the game. Brian Flores had the chance to do it in a 42-17 blowout against San Francisco last week. He did Sunday when he took over at the Dolphins' 7-yard line.. Tua’s plays went:

First-and-10: Hand-off up the middle to Matt Breida for 1 yard. (remarkable handoff)

2nd-and-9: Rollout under pressure, complete to Patrick Laird for 2 yards

3rd-and-7: Complete to Jakeem Grant for 7 yards.

1st-and-10: Breida run up middle for 4 yards

2nd-and-6: Breida run for 5 yards.

End of game.

Hey, it’s a start. And he got a standing ovation from the socially-distance, sparse crowd.

3. When cornerback Xavien Howard took a pass from Jets receiver Jeff Smith in the second quarter, that was the fourth straight game he’d had an interception. It was a little mystifying why Joe Flacco kept throwing Howard’s way. He has shown, when healthy, he can play as good as anyone at cornerback. The stretch of an interception in four games is second in Dolphins history to Dick Westmoreland’s streak of five straight games in 1967.

4. Myles Gaskin finished an interesting week with xxxxx. The Dolphins were in the Le’Veon Bell Derby until Kansas City got him. Gaskin posted a highlight reel of his best Dolphins runs on social media as if to suggest he was good enough. He did fine on Sunday. Look, he’s not dynamic, but he’s productive. Gaskin has proven to be the best Dolphins back this year. He had 18 carries for 91 yards against the Jets. He also had four catches for 35 yards.

5. Stat of the Game II: Into the fourth quarter, the Jets were 0-for-12 on third downs and the Dolphins were 0-for-7. It was an easy win for the Dolphins, but let’s not pretend this was pretty football being played out there. The sheer number of third downs for the Jets tells you how they had no big plays. The Jets finished 2-for-17 on third downs and the Dolphins did one-for-nine.

6. Speaking of gradations of pretty, Preston Williams had one odd touchdown dance.

7. When the Dolphins traded in July for Chicago tight end Adam Shaheen, it seemed a little-for-little trade. The former second-round pick had 26 catches for 249 yards and four touchdowns in three years with Chicago. One Sunday' doesn’t change that. But after catching a 3-yard touchdown in San Francisco, the 6-7 Shaheen had a big-play Sunday. He first caught a 4-yard touchdown in the flat to open scoring on Sunday and then a 43-yard pass down the middle to set up a second-quarter TD that made it 21-0. And who caught that touchdown? Tight end Durham Smythe, who was uncovered in the flat for a 4-yard score. the second tight end, you see, was open a lot this game.

8. Why would the Jets fire Adam Gase? The only way to salvage this season is go 0-16 and be rewarded with Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the draft. That’s a real possibility, too. Here’s the Jets' remaining schedule: Buffalo, at Kansas City, New England, at Los Angeles Chargers, Miami, Las Vegas, at Seattle, at Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo, Cleveland, at New England. Would you pick them to win one game in all of that or go winless against the field?

9. Old friend Ryan Tannehill helped his old team on Sunday. The Dolphins have Houston’s top draft pick from the Laremy Tunsil trade. That sits at seventh according to Tankathon.com, thanks to their stronger strength of schedule compared to the other 1-5 teams. Houston fell Sunday thanks to Tennessee’s comeback and overtime win, 42-36. Tannehill completed 30 of 41 passes for 364 yards for four touchdowns and one interception (122.4 rating).

10. Next week: It’s the bye week for the Dolphins. As part of schedule changes from the Coronavirus, the Dolphins' by week moved up to Oct. 25. The Los Angeles Chargers were originally scheduled for next weekend, meaning it would’ve been a Justin Herbert Watch Party. That game is pushed back a week to Nov. 1 at Hard Rock Stadium.

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