Miami Dolphins 2022 Midseason Report
With the NFL season now consisting of 17 games over 18 weeks, this essentially marks the halfway mark for 2022, and all in all it was a very good first half for the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins arrived at that halfway point with a 6-3 record with eight games left along with their bye coming up in Week 11.
The Dolphins currently find themselves holding the sixth spot in the AFC standings, which would secure their first playoff berth since 2016.
It’s unfortunately been rare for the Dolphins to find themselves in this position at the halfway mark — it’s only the third time in 18 years they’ve had a winning record after nine games or after eight when the season was 16 games.
The Dolphins were 5-3 in 2020 on their way to a 10-6 finish; they were 5-3 in 2014 on their way to an 8-8 finish.
Let’s examine how the Dolphins got to this point in 2022.
TUA, TYREEK AND THE PASSING GAME
What clearly has grabbed the national attention all season has been the Dolphins passing game, and for good reason.
The Dolphins are second in the NFL in passing offense through the games of Sunday behind only the Kansas City Chiefs.
Tua Tagovailoa leads the NFL in passer rating at 115.9, as well as yards per gain (9.17) and touchdown percentage (6.9), with a brilliant touchdown-interception ratio of 15-3.
Tagovailoa is proving head coach Mike McDaniel right when he said from the moment he was hired that he could deliver in his offense, and living up to his draft status as the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.
Having said all that, it’s Tyreek Hill who’s been the most dominating player for the Dolphins, if not the entire league, and he deserves serious consideration for NFL MVP honors, even though it’s Tua who might end up having a better shot at the award given the annual bias toward quarterbacks.
But Hill has been sensational, worth every draft pick the Dolphins sent to the Chiefs to acquire him in March and so far worth every penny on that monstrous extension the organization gave him.
Hill has been that good, and he’s made everybody around him better.
Jaylen Waddle is below his pace of 2021 when he set the NFL single-season rookie record with 104 catches, but that’s been more than compensated for by a massive jump in his average — from 9.8 in 2021 to 17.3 this year. Oh, and Waddle already has matched his total of six touchdown catches from last season.
And we’d be remiss not to give major props to McDaniel for his scheme and play designs, all of which have helped maximize Tua’s skills as a passer and given him wide open receivers more often than not.
TERRON, THE TOE AND TOUGHNESS
If we’re talking offense, we also need to mention the impact of the addition of Terron Armstead to anchor the offensive line.
If you don’t think Armstead makes a big difference up front, just look at the two games he missed (technically one game and three quarters) against the Jets and Minnesota and the pass protection that haven’t been there in any other game.
Yes, Tua’s quick release has helped the pass protection at times, but it’s also very clear there was a huge difference without Armstead in the game.
And Armstead has done this all season with a toe injury he sustained in the opener against New England. He’s been able to perform at a high level despite limited practice time and despite being at less than 100 percent.
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GIVING THE DOLPHINS DEFENSE ITS DUE
The Dolphins defense is under some fire these days after giving 27 points against the Detroit Lions and 32 more against the Chicago Bears, but it’s only fair to make a couple of pertinent points here.
First, it’s on defense — and pretty much only on defense — that the Dolphins have sustained their significant injuries. The Dolphins have lost two starters to season-ending injuries this year: safety Brandon Jones and nickel corner Nik Needham. And then cornerback Byron Jones has yet to play because he remains on PUP.
Beyond that, let’s also not forget that of the six victories so far this season, we easily can attribute three of them to the defense and three to the offense.
Don’t believe it? In Week 1, the Dolphins scored a defensive touchdown and won 20-7; in Week 3, the Dolphins set up a 6-yard touchdown drive with a turnover and beat Buffalo 21-19; in Week 7, the Dolphins held off Pittsburgh, 16-10, after shutting out the Steelers in the second half.
The offense clearly was responsible for the Week 2 shootout win at Baltimore and the last two wins at Detroit and Chicago, but the defense most definitely is part of the reason the Dolphins sit at 6-3.
Yes, the offense has been more consistent and has the rankings to show for it (sixth in total yards, second in passing) and the defense doesn’t (22nd overall), but the defense has stepped up big at times.
CONCUSSION, QB CAROUSEL AND COMEBACK
Of course, no discussion of the first half of the 2022 Dolphins season would be complete without talking about the “C” word, which disrupted the team for about a month.
The Dolphins did lose the three games that Tua didn’t finish and who knows what their record would be without that scary injury at Cincinnati, though it should be noted that Teddy Bridgewater had the Dolphins in position to take a fourth-quarter lead at Cincinnati on that night before an interception where he and Mike Gesicki clearly weren’t on the same page and against Minnesota before Waddle fumbled around the Minnesota 30-yard line.
And the Dolphins also were in position to take a fourth-quarter lead against the Jets in Skylar Thompson’s first NFL appearance, after Bridgewater was yanked by a concussion spotter after one play, before things unraveled after Jason Sanders missed a 54-yard field goal attempt.
The Dolphins rebounded nicely from that three-game losing streak with their second three-game winning streak of the season that they’ll look to extend to four against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
The speed bump aside, it indeed was a very good first half of the season for the Dolphins.
THE DOLPHINS’ 2022 RESULTS
Week 1 — vs. New England W 20-7
Week 2 — at Baltimore W 42-38
Week 3 — vs. Buffalo W 21-19
Week 4 — at Cincinnati L 15-27
Week 5 — at N.Y. Jets L 17-40
Week 6 — vs. Minnesota L 16-24
Week 7 — vs. Pittsburgh W 16-10
Week 8 — at Detroit W 31-27
Week 9 — at Chicago W 35-32
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