Miami Dolphins performance report – NFL Special Part 1
Miami Dolphins’ season is starting to get in shape. They enjoyed the bye in Week 7, having sweetly placed at second position in American Football Conference (AFC) East.
In this National Football League (NFL) special edition, we will evaluate Dolphins’ performance in the 2012 season.
It has been an up-and-down season for the Dolphins. After the first quarter of the season, Dolphins were standing dead last in their division with a 1-3 record.
Although Dolphins played well in their two consecutive losses in Week 3 and 4, they failed to retain the lead in the fourth quarter of those games.
However, things quickly changed after Dolphins managed to get two consecutive wins in their bag.
Week 1: Houston Texans
It could not have been more difficult for Dolphins rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill to play his first league game against the Houston Texans, who have one of the best defences in the league.
Even though Tannehill played well in the first quarter, the second quarter went awfully wrong for the Dolphins offence as they gave away four turnovers which included three interceptions thrown by Tannehill.
Texans went on to score three touchdowns in the second quarter after which the defence took care of the second half as it kept Dolphins offence under the hood and won the game 30-10.
It was a big lesson for the eighth overall pick, Tannehill, that playing in the NFL is not easy. He finished with 20 of 36 for 219 yards with no touchdown.
The output of running back Reggie Bush also remained limited in the game. He carried the ball 14 times for 69 yards.
Week 2: Oakland Raiders
After a slow start to the new season, Dolphins premiere running back Bush finally gave a breakout performance as Dolphins got their first win of the season 35-13 against Oakland Raiders.
Bush carried the ball 26 times for a massive 172 yards and also scored two crucial touchdowns.
Tannehill got his first passing and rushing touchdowns of his professional career. It was also the first victory for Dolphins first-year head coach Joe Philbin.
Dolphins offence picked up the gas in the second half and scored 28 points after falling behind in the first half.
Week 3: New York Jets
It was Dolphins’ first game against their division rival. Despite leading in the first three quarters, Dolphins lost the lead in the final quarter and lost 23-20 in overtime against New York Jets.
It was one field goal that set both the teams apart. Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter missed an attempt for the field goal in overtime which cost them big time.
Dolphins also saw their in-form running back Bush leaving the field with a knee injury. Tannehill had a quiet game as he failed to score a touchdown. He finished with 16 of 36 for 196 yards.
Dolphins’ passing game remained unimpressive throughout the game and was unable to score.
The passing defence also looked lacklustre as they gave away 17 easy points in the second half.
Dolphins got a 1-2 record after three games which could easily have been 2-1 if they had remained consistent.
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