Instant analysis from Dolphins’ win over Texans in Week 12
The Miami Dolphins defeated the Houston Texans on Sunday,_, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens to secure their fifth win in a row and eighth of the year.
While the score appears to be fairly competitive, the game wasn’t nearly as close as it would make one believe.
Miami was able to go up 30-0 in the first half due to some great defensive plays, including an interception by Andrew Van Ginkel and a strip sack by Bradley Chubb. Offensively, Tua Tagovailoa was able to find Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Trent Sherfield and River Cracraft with some consistency.
However, when left tackle Terron Armstead headed to the locker room before the half with a pectoral injury, Miami’s offense wasn’t able to do much of anything. Brandon Shell, who had gotten opportunities to start at right tackle while Austin Jackson was out with an ankle injury, moved off to the left side. He just wasn’t able to keep the pass rush off of Tagovailoa, which eventually led to head coach Mike McDaniel taking the quarterback out of the game.
Skylar Thompson, who assumed the backup role with Teddy Bridgewater out with a knee injury, went into the game in the third quarter and struggled to find any success.
From there, the Dolphins’ defense, which had looked amazing in the first half, began to falter. Allowing Houston to claw back into the game, cutting the lead to just 15 points with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter.
Luckily, undrafted safety Verone McKinley III sealed the game with an interception, earning Miami another victory. They remain atop the AFC East and in the mix at the top of the conference as well.
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Statistical Breakdown: How the Dolphins and Texans stack up before Week 12
