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The Miami Dolphins returned home today after two straight games in California, and they welcomed a California team into South Florida. The San Francisco 49ers made the cross-country trip to play in the 1pm time slot, a tough move for any west-coast team.
Before the game started, the Dolphins were in a bad situation with starting offensive linemen Branden Albert, Laremy Tunsil, and Mike Pouncey all included in the inactive players list. Albert is recovering from surgery following a dislocated wrist suffered two weeks ago, Tunsil has a shoulder injury he sustained last week, and Pouncey was also out last week as he deals with a hip injury.
The first half started with the Dolphins looking sluggish on offense and being out-played by the misdirection and read option in the 49ers’ offense. But, after an early touchdown from the 49ers, it was all Miami with the offense finding their rhythm and taking over.
The second half had a few moments of San Francisco trying to find their own rhythm, but it was once again Miami who dominated.
Below, you will find out traditional immediate reactions post. We start with the final score, then move to a running tally of thoughts and reactions from throughout the game. Finally, there are the immediate reactions to the game as a whole. This provides you with a rough, real-time reaction to everything the Dolphins did - and did not do - during the game.
Final Score
49ers 24 - Dolphins 31
First Half
- The Dolphins will get the ball first.
- Roll out from Ryan Tannehill and short pass to MarQueis Gray to start the game. Pick up five on first down.
- Jay Ajayi picks up 1.
- Miami three and out. Pressure gets to Tannehill. Ajayi drops the ball. Would have been short of the first anyway.
- Hard Rock Stadium gets LOUD with the boos as Colin Kaepernick comes onto the field.
- 15-yard gain from Kaepernick on a read option on first down. Cameron Wake crashed the fake handoff and would have had a tackle for a loss if the handoff had happened.
- Dolphins defense has not awakened yet. Carlos Hyde right up the middle for 11 yards.
- Kaepernick with the read option again, six yards. Wake again crashes on the fake handoff.
- Michael Thomas breaks up the pass in the endzone. Great hit. Ndamukong Suh blew up the offensive line and pressured Kaepernick on the throw.
- Touchdown. Kaepernick to Hyde for 11 yards. SF 7-0.
- Tannehill picks up 6 yards. Holding on the defense adds another five yards.
- Fade route to DeVante Parker. Underthrown to allow Parker to come back to it. Nice pass breakup. Incomplete.
- Ajayi 5 yards.
- Ajayi 8 yards.
- Ajayi -5 yards.
- Landry drops short pass.
- Tannehill to Damien Williams for 6 yards on the screen on 3rd and 15.
- Punt.
- Mario Williams chases Kaepernick and forces the throw away.
- Hyde up the middle for 5. Defense actually did well to wrap him up (Mario Williams) and keep it from being anything bigger.
- Kaepernick scrambles for 12 yards on 3rd-and-5. Commentators literally just talked about how he finds running lanes and averages 10 yards on scrambles.
- CB Lafayette Pitts has a back injury and is questionable to return.
- 3rd and 16. False Start on the 49ers. Now 3rd and 21.
- Wake tackles Hyde after six yards. Forces punt.
- Grant muffs the punt. Picks it up, but loses 1 yards for Miami to start at their 9.
- Ajay 4 yards.
- Ajay 0 yards.
- GORGEOUS! Tannehill to Parker for 46 yards on 3rd down. Tannehill laid it out in front and Parker went and got it.
- Another deep shot. Incomplete to Stills down the sideline. Good coverage.
- Ajayi -1.
- End of first quarter.
- 3rd-and-11 from SF 43. FIRST DOWN! Tannehill to Landry for 17 yards.
- Ajayi for 2.
- Tannehill to Stills for 14 yards.
- TOUCHDOWN!!!!!! TANNEHILL TO PARKER. 10 YARDS. TIE 7-7. Nope. Replay overturns the play. Parker did not get a second foot or his knee down.
- Tannehill to Landry for 8 yards. Just barely tackled before scoring.
- TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!! JAY AJAYI!!!!! Sweep toss for 2 yards. Now TIE 7-7.
- Let’s get that J-Train rolling!
- Damn. Dolphins defense does well on first and second down, set up 3rd-and-9. Kaepernick runs for 30. There was just no one on that side of the field.
- Hyde up the middle for 5.
- Kaepernick to Celek for 16 yards. FUMBLE! Byron Maxwell makes the hit, Bacarri Rambo forces the fumble. Kiko Alonso with the recovery!
- That trade with Philadelphia for Maxwell and Alonso has been great for Miami.
- Ajayi -1.
- Ajayi for 10
- Damien Williams for 7 on 3rd-and-1. Bobbled snap and it still works somehow.
- Tannehill to Ajayi for 11 yards.
- Tannehill on the read option for 17 yards.
- Rhythm. Found.
- Tannehill for 1 yard.
- Tannehill to Landry for 10 yards.
- Kenyan Drake for 9 yards.
- Tannehill to Gray for 7 yards.
- Tannehill to Parker for 7 yards.
- Tannehill to Gray for 7 yards. 1st and 10 at SF 13.
- TOUCHDOWN!!!!! TANNEHILL TO DION SIMS! 16 YARDS. MIA 14-7.
- Dolphins give up a first down, but then force a SF punt.
- 47 seconds and all three time outs. Do the Dolphins get aggressive?
- Tannehill to Sims for 7.
- Tannehill sacked. Line and Sims missed the blitz pickup.
- End of half.
Second Half
- The 49ers get the ball to start the second half.
- First play of the half. Interception! Kiko Alonso picks off the tipped pass after the Tony Lippett pass breakup!
- Tannehill to Stills for 15 yards.
- Ajayi -6.
- Tannehill to Stills. Broken up at the first down marker. Good defense.
- Tannehill to Parker for 11 yards on 3rd-and-16.
- Field goal. Andrew Franks. 24 yards. MIA 17-7.
- Kaepernick keeps for
- Hyde for 24 yards. Dolphins have struggled with the run today.
- Dolphins doing nothing to stop the 49ers on this drive.
- Touchdown. Kaepernick to Celek for 4 yards. MIA 17-14.
- Good play design on the touchdown. Faked the run, Celek blocks, then leaks out on a drag route for the score.
- Kenyan Drake! 67 yard kickoff return! Great response to the touchdown.
- Tannehill read option keeper for -2.
- Tannehill throws the ball to no one. Way over the head of Kenny Stills. Ugly pass.
- Tannehill sacked for -9 yards. No one was open, but he had to do something to at least keep them in field goal range.
- Punt.
- Hyde for 5. Holding on SF.
- 3-and-out! First one all day for SF. Bobby McCain lost his helmet on the stiff arm and still made the tackle.
- Ajayi for 0.
- Tannehill scrambles for 10 yards. Avoided the sack and just out ran the defense.
- Tannehill to Sims for 7.
- Tannehill scrambles, checks to make sure he isn’t under pressure, resets hips, and launches deep to Parker. Ruled a beautiful catch, but the replay shows may have touched out of bounds with his hand before a second foot touched. Parker was shaken up on the play, but the replay break could give him some time to get right.
- 3rd-and-3 after catch reversed.
- TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!! TANNEHILL TO STILLS FOR 43 YARDS!!!! MIA 24-14.
- SACK! Cameron Wake!
- SF punts.
- DeVante Parker is in the locker room after the deep pass. Landed on his tailbone coming down on the leap for the ball.
- Ajayi for 18 yards. Time to get him going.
- Tannehill to Sims short. Sims runs through the tackle and picks up 23.
- Ajayi for 2.
- Mario Williams questionable to return with an illness.
- Tannehill to Landry. Bootleg right. Picks up 12 yards.
- Ajayi -2.
- TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!! TANNEHILL TO LEONTE CARROO FOR 15 YARDS!!!! MIA 31-14.
- Holy crap this has been a fun time to be a Dolphins fan. Keep it rolling.
- Byron Maxwell called for pass interference on a receiver tripping on the turf. Seems about right for recent flags against the Dolphins.
- Kiko Alonso just laid out Colin Kaepernick on the A-gap blitz. There’s your Cuban education, Kaep.
- Delay of game on the 49ers. Did not even try to beat the clock.
- Kaepernick to Harper for 16 yards. Dolphins just did not cover the drag route and let him run all day.
- Kaepernick to McDonald for 35 yards. No one covering the tight end up the middle.
- Touchdown. Kaepernick to Torrey Smith. 1 yard. MIA 31-21.
- Strange kickoff. A knuckling kick that sort of skipped around, almost like an onside kick, but deeper than that. Kenyan Drake was hurt diving for the live ball. Miami does manage to recover.
- Tannehill incomplete to Landry.
- Tannehill for 2 yards.
- Screen to Damien Williams on the 3-and-out. Only took off about 1:30 off the clock. Punt.
- The Dolphins almost looked like they were in the hurry-up on their possession. The 49ers are taking their time between plays and the clock is just running.
- The 49ers are starting to speed it up a little, and they are finding success. 16 yard pass Kaepernick to Draughn.
- Kaepernick for 8 yards. Out of bounds to stop clock. 2nd-and-2 from Miami 10.
- Facemask on SF. Backs them up to the Miami 25.
- Field goal SF. Phil Dawson. 36 yards. MIA 31-24.
- Assuming an onside kick here. Nope. Deep kick.
- Miami needs to find the running game here.
- Ajayi 1 yard.
- Incomplete
- Ajayi 8 yards.
- Nope. Dolphins go three-and-out.
- Punt. SF 1st-and-10 at SF 38.
- Kaepernick incomplete.
- Kaepernick incomplete. Holding. No play.
- 2nd-and-25. Kaepernick to Hyde 4 yards.
- 3rd-and-21. Kaepernick to Hyde for 10 yards.
- 4th-and-11. Kaepernick to Smith for 17 yards. First down. Damn.
- 1st-and-10. MIA 48. Kaepernick to Draughn for 2 yards.
- 2nd-and-8. Kaepernick incomplete deep.
- 3rd-and-8. Kaepernick scrambles for 20 yards. DAMN!
- 1st-and-10. MIA 24. Kaepernick spikes the ball.
- 2nd-and-10. Kaepernick incomplete. Play under review. Reversed. Ruled a catch.
- 1st-and-10. MIA 6. Kaepernick incomplete.
- 2nd-and-10. Kaepernick runs for 4. Needed 6!!!! Suh ends the game!!!!!!!!!
Immediate Reactions
Miami started slowly, but found a way out of their funk pretty quickly. With Ajayi not able to get going for most of the game, Tannehill again put the team on his shoulders and made it happen. He also picked up 32 yards on five carries.
The defense struggled against the run again, but they did enough to allow the offense to take control. Alonso was a beast with a pick, a fumble recovery, 12 tackles, and two quarterback hits. Cameron Wake picked up another sack - which should almost be considered automatic at this point. The defense tried to give it away at the end, but Ndamukong Suh comes up with a stop two yards away from SF tying the game.
The Dolphins were not perfect, which seems like a statement I make every week, but they did exactly what they needed to do against a 1-9 team coming into the game, making them 1-10. It is the first time the 49ers have ever lost 10 games in a row and it is the first six-game winning streak for the Dolphins since 2005.