The Good, Bad & Ugly from the Miami Dolphins Week 11 win over the Las Vegas Raiders

The Miami Dolphins are once again in the winner’s column after defeating the Las Vegas Raiders 20-13 at home in week 11 of the NFL season.

It wasn’t a pretty or perfect game from the guys in aqua in orange, as Miami once again suffered multiple turnovers thanks to a Tua Tagovailoa interception and two fumbles — one by rookie tight end Julian Hill, and one by Tagovailoa.

While the offense was once again sluggish (while somehow still gaining 422 yards), it was Miami’s defense that led the way against Las Vegas — allowing just 13 points to a team that boasts weapons like receiver Davante Adams and running back Josh Jacobs.

Thankfully, those weapons are led by rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell who threw three interceptions in South Florida on Sunday — one by EDGE rusher Jaelan Phillips and two taken in by Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey. More on those in a moment.

No, it wasn’t the dominating victory that most Dolphins’ fans would have preferred, but a win is a win, and as a result, Miami sits at 7-3 after ten games played this season. They remain in first place in the AFC East.

Now, let’s take a deeper look and dig into the good, bad and ugly from Miami’s victory over Las Vegas at Hard Rock Stadium this past Sunday.

GOOD

Jalen Ramsey pulls in two interceptions including the game sealing pick

Jalen Ramsey has been everything the Miami Dolphins could have hoped he would be and more in his limited action this season.

In just his third game with a dolphin on his helmet, Ramsey nabbed two interceptions against the Raiders — including the game sealing pick with Las Vegas driving deep into Miami’s territory as the clock ticked down.

Ramsey allowed just two catches for 23 yards on seven targets on Sunday. He had a pass breakup in addition to his two interceptions.

In three games with the Dolphins, Ramsey has a total of three interceptions — a number that leads all Dolphins’ defenders on the year.

With Miami’s offense struggling as of late, their defense will need to pick up the slack. On Sunday, thanks in large part to Jalen Ramsey’s stellar performance, they did just that.

BAD

Miami’s offense continues to shoot themselves in the foot; turns the ball over three times against Raiders

The Miami Dolphins offense has a turnover problem. They have given the ball to the opposing defense a total of 16 times on the year — nine interceptions and seven fumbles lost. For the season, the team has a -4 turnover differential.

On Sunday against the Raiders, turnovers nearly cost them the game.

As mentioned above, Miami turned the ball over three times against Las Vegas — two fumbles and one interception.

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was responsible for two of the turnovers — losing a fumble early and then throwing an interception on a deep ball to receiver Jaylen Waddle in the third quarter.

It wasn’t too long ago that Tagovailoa was one of the least picked off quarterbacks in the league. With Miami’s offense becoming more aggressive, that has changed for the young signal-caller this year as he has been intercepted a total of eight times through ten games.

It’s a slippery slope to ask Tagovailoa to dial it back a bit on the aggressiveness considering the Dolphins are among the league leaders in explosive plays this year. However, if the Dolphins are going to achieve their goal of a deep playoff run this season, they’ll need to take much better care of the football.

UGLY

De’Von Achane leaves game early with knee injury; does not return to game

After a four week injured-reserve stint for rookie running back De’Von Achane, the electric speedster finally made his return to the playing field this past Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

Unfortunately, his return was brief as the youngster left the game in the first quarter with an injury to the same knee that previously caused his four game absence.

Thankfully, he was never officially ruled out of the game and according to head coach Mike McDaniel, Achane was pleading with his coaching staff to allow him back onto the field.

However, McDaniel erred on the side of caution as he often does, and did not allow Achane to return.

We’ll keep an eye on the injury reports this upcoming week to see if the rookie will be available for Miami’s Black Friday contest against the New York Jets on the road or if he’ll be forced to ride the bench for another game.

Honorable Mention: THIS TEAM NEEDS TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO CONVERT SHORT YARDAGE OPPORTUNITIES!

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Despite the turnover riddled performance on offense, the Dolphins defeated the Las Vegas Raiders by a full touchdown on Sunday to maintain their lead in the AFC East. How do you feel about their upcoming matchup with the New York Jets and their vaunted defense? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter at @MBrave13. Fins up!