Dolphins at Seahawks final score and immediate reactions

The Miami Dolphins and Seattle Seahawks have completed their Week 1 showdown, with Seattle coming out on top. The game was all about the defense for most of the contest, with neither offense ever appearing to find a rhythm.

Each week, I keep a running log of the plays and my reactions and thoughts throughout the game, forming our immediate reactions to the game. Below, you will find those running thoughts, as well as an overall immediate reaction to the game.

Final Score:

Seattle 12-10.

First half:

• Dolphins win the toss and defer to the second half. Seahawks will start with the ball.
• Arian Foster, Kenny Stills, Michael Thomas, and Jelani Jenkins all took a knee during the National Anthem.
  

• Dolphins in the nickel to start the game. Michael Thomas at cornerback. Makes sense and he was the best nickel corner during the preseason.
• Seahawks and Dolphins trade punts to start the game.
• Jarvis Landry handled the punt return for the Dolphins. Team not ready to trust Jakeem Grant with punts.
• DAMN! Overtime in Kansas City. Can this game please hurry up and end?
• Seahawks driving. Miami defense started well, but Seattle already starting to find a way to beat them.
• Field goal. Seattle. 3-0.
• 50-yard pass-and-run from Ryan Tannehill to Arian Foster! Short little swing pass and Foster made people miss. Good play.
• Dolphins going for it on 4th-and-inches. No good. Foster stopped up the middle for no gain.
• FINALLY! Kansas City game over and now the TV is over to the Dolphins. Of course, it’s just in time for the first quarter to end.
• Dolphins defense holds the Seahawks to a three-and-out on the next possession.
• Play clock goes down to 2 seconds and Ryan Tannehill is forced to call timeout. He was calling for the snap, but Anthony Steen could not hear him.
• Dolphins come back from the timeout and look DEEP. Kenny Stills all by himself and could walk into the endzone, but he drops the pass as it hits him in the hands. Just tried to catch the ball before it was even there.

• Dolphins now forced to punt.
• Isa Abdul-Quddus with the interception! Mario Williams and Cameron Wake with the pressure to flush Russell Wilson out of the pocket and he throws a ball up for grabs. IAQ went up and got it.
• Dolphins settle for a field goal after the turnover. Field Goal. Miami. 3-3.
• Dolphins force a Seattle punt. The Seahawks cannot seem to get into a rhythm today, and the Miami defense is swarming everywhere.
• Ryan Tannehill with the 11-yard gain on first down. Ran a beautiful read option.
• 3rd-and-5. Blitz right up the middle, and Laremy Tunsil misses it (assuming it was his responsibility - he slid over to help Anthony Steen and the blitz went straight up where he was). Ryan Tannehill has to throw it away and Miami is punting.
• Again, Cameron Wake gets after Russell Wilson and forces an incomplete pass. This defensive line might be no joke this year.
• Cameron Wake and Mario Williams get after Wilson again. The QB is getting out of the pocket, but they are not letting him set his feet and he throws it away again. Punt.
• Jakeem Grant back to get the punt and he is clothes-lined for the tackle. Ouch. But he is up right away.
• Ryan Tannehill throws the ball away from the defense, behind Jordan Cameron. Cameron adjusts and gets his hands on the ball, but drops it. 2nd down.
• Dolphins punting now after a Ja’Wuan James false start forces 3rd-and-15 and Miami cannot pick it up.
• Seattle getting the ball back with all three timeouts.
• Earl Mitchell has had to leave the game. Is being called questionable with a calf injury after being rolled into. Also had a calf injury all preseason.
• Several of the beat writers have mentioned that CenturyLink Field is loud in the press box, and it is closed off.
• Sack! Jason Jones and Jordan Phillips.
• The defensive line is still getting pressure, but Russell Wilson is starting to find his receivers now.
• Field goal. Seattle. 6-3. Halftime.

Second Half

• Dolphins get the ball to start the second half. Jakeem Grant shows his speed and cuts it back across the coverage to get the ball out to the 45 yard line.
• Arian Foster fumbles on first down, but recovers.
• Ryan Tannehill sacked.
• 3rd-and-16, pick up six on a Tannehill to Foster pass. Time to punt.
• Ndamukong Suh with the sack!
• Russell Wilson shaken up on the sack. Ouch...looked like Suh stepped on Wilson’s ankle as the quarterback fell down. Now, Wilson can barely move.
• Blitz comes straight up the middle on 3rd down, and Ryan Tannehill takes a hit straight to the chest and it drives him into the ground. He is slow to get up.
• Miami punting again.
• Wilson gets his ankle taped up and he is heading back into the game.
• Seattle finding a running game for the first time today. Dolphins defense needs to step up and shut this down.
• Seahawks going for it on 4th and inches. HUGE hit by IAQ and the Seahawks do not convert on an incomplete pass.
• Matt Darr on for his seventh punt of the day. Miami clearly was trying to find a running game on that drive, and Foster could not get going - other than a 15-yard penalty on Seattle for a late hit on Foster out of bounds.
• Wilson is clearly limping as he drops back.
• Wilson throws the ball away and the drive should be over. Cameron Wake called for the late hit, a hit that makes no sense. Wake was down on the ground, got up as Wilson threw the ball away, and then Wake hit him from behind. Maybe he thought Wilson pulled the ball down? Only way that play makes any sense. Free set of downs for Seattle.
• FUMBLE! Jordan Phillips blows up the middle of the offensive line, forces Russell Wilson to try to pitch the ball to Thomas Rawls, but it skips away. Kiko Alonso with the recovery.
• 3rd-and-10. AND WE HAVE A JARVIS LANDRY SIGHTING! Tannehill to Landry for the first down. Landry nearly breaks it for more.
• Bootleg from Ryan Tannehill to pick up five yards.
• Leonte Carroo with the first down conversion. 1st-and-Goal from the 5.
• Incomplete to Arian Foster on first down.
• No gain on read option on 2nd down.
• Nothing open for Tannehill on 3rd down. Ends up running out of bounds (K.J. Wright gets the sack).
• Field goal blocked. Andrew Franks kicked it low and Miami gets nothing out of the fumble.
• Mario Williams is being evaluated for a concussion. That could be bad for Miami.
• Reshad Jones just tried to take off Thomas Rawls’ head. The running back slipped just as Jones shot off the corner on the safety blitz and went to hit the back.
• Uh-oh. Miami looks like the finally figured out their rhythm. 16-yards Tannehill to Stills. 2-yards from Foster. 9-yards Tannehill to Landry. They are moving the ball.
• Tannehill to Landry for 28-yards.
• Tannehill to Damien Williams for 29 yards on the screen. They are threatening.
• TOUCHDOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ryan Tannehill runs it up the middle on the quarterback draw and the Dolphins lead! 10-6 Miami.
• Jordan Phillips down again. Earl Mitchell already injured and now Phillips down for the second time. Miami is going to have to look at defensive tackles on the free agent market this week (A.J. Francis?).
• Man, this is rough. Defense has to hold.
• 3rd-and-4. Need a stop. Ndamukong Suh with the pass defense.
• 4th-and-4. Need a stop. Nope. Wilson floats a ball to Doug Baldwin for the big gain (22 yards).
• Russell Wilson with the four-yard scramble.
• Seattle still moving the ball. Now 2nd-and-5 at the Miami 12.
• Doug Baldwin with another catch and now 1st and goal at the Miami 3.
• Touchdown Seattle. Wilson to Baldwin. 12-10 Seattle. Extra point blocked by Jason Jones.
• Dolphins can’t do anything with the ball and Seattle wins.

Instant Reactions.

Before the game, a loss 12-10 to Seattle would have seemed like an impossibility. Las Vegas had Seattle 10.5 point favorites and there were people talking about a 30 point blowout. It was much closer than that, obviously, and the Miami defense stepped up most of the game. At the end, however, they wore down and the offense, which did just enough to get the lead late in the fourth quarter, needed to do a little more earlier in the game to come away with this win. Instead, Miami will start 0-1 for the year, and now return to Miami to get ready for another road trip, this time to visit the New England Patriots.