Yesterday, the Miami Dolphins went to Minnesota and won against a team that hadn't lost at home since Mr. Favre became their quarterback. Yes, the Dolphins are now 2-0 and have 2 road victories to show for it. The offense is still learning how to play together, but the defense is not only playing together, but they are playing at a very high level. Last week, we talked about the 3 keys to the game for the Dolphins. The Dolphins achieved all 3 keys en route to victory:
Key #1 - Win turnover battle
The Dolphins harassed Brett Favre all day. They sacked him 3 times and intercepted him 3 times. On one sack, Cameron Wake forced a fumble in the Vikings end zone and Koa Misi recovered for a touchdown. The Dolphins turned the ball over twice. Unfortunately, Ricky's came on the Dolphins own goal line and Ronnie's came as the Dolphins were trying to run the clock down. Overall, forcing 4 turnovers and giving away 2 means the Dolphins won the turnover battle.
Key #2 - Run Ricky and Ronnie
The Vikings have had the most formidable run defense in the NFL for the last 3 or 4 years, but the Dolphins not only managed to run often, but they ran productively. Ronnie Brown took a handoff, when the Dolphins were in the shadow of their own goal line, and dashed 51 yards. This play, in my opinion was one of the biggest in the game because it completely changed field position. The Dolphins ran for 120 yards and averaged 4.1 yards per carry. Granted, 51 yards of that was on one run, but the Dolphins stayed committed to the run, mostly to run the clock.
Key #3 - Pressure Favre
As we mentioned in Key #1, the Dolphins were in Favre's face most of the day. Koa Misi and Cameron Wake were disruptive and getting hits on Favre even after he threw. Randy Starks and Tony McDaniel were able to bat down a few balls when they were unable to get to Favre. The pressure, combined with Favre's gunslinger mentality, accounted for 3 int's and a 4th which would have been if not for Benny Sapp jumping offsides.
Great win for the Dolphins, 2-0 atop the AFC East alone!!! Bring on the Big Mouths from NYC!
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