Ten thoughts on Miami Dolphins’ 45-15 win against Washington

Nine-and-three.

Whee-e-e-e.

The Dolphins did the expected with a fun dismantling of Washington, 45-15, to go ahead of Buffalo by three games in the AFC East. This one was over early, as the Dolphins sent out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter.

1. Player of the Game: Tyreek Hill. Again. He got behind Washington’s defense twice in the first half for touchdown passes of 78 and 60 yards. The first TD came on the Dolphins’ third offensive play of the game on a third-and-2 play. Were you (like me) saying the Dolphins needed work on their short-yardage game?  Mike McDaniel had an answer: Run an empty backfield and have Tua Tagovailoa throw deep to Hill. Good plan. His had four catches for 152 yards at half and added another for 5 yards early in the second half before taking the rest of the day off. Hill, as I’ve said before, is the MVP of the league this year. It’s not just that he leads the league with 12 receiving TDs. He has five games now over 150 yards receiving. He now has 1,499 yards receiving with five games remaining, meaning his stated goal of 2,000 yards looks in good shape if he stays healthy.

2. The Dolphins took the No. 1 seed in the AFC on Sunday, even if it’s probably only for hours. If Kansas City beats Green Bay on Sunday night and Jacksonville beats Cincinnati on Monday night, the Dolphins would move back to the No. 3 seed. Even with a similar 9-3 record, the Dolphins would lose first tie-breaker of head-to-head games to Kansas City and the third tie-breaker of strength of opponents to Jacksonville. The Dolphins did move ahead of Baltimore, which had a bye on Sunday. That playoff seeding could be decided by their Jan. 1 game in Baltimore.

3. How do you replace Jalean Phillips? Andrew Van Ginkel had a pick-6 and a half-sack in the first quarter. Emmanuel Ogbah had a sack early in the second quarter. So while Phillips had become a force in the month before his Achilles injury, the Dolphins at this edge-rushing position is rare for an NFL team. Van Ginkel has blossomed into a player who makes impactful plays this year in Vic Fangio’s defense and had five sacks (four solo) on Sunday. That said …

4. Linebacker Jerome Baker suffered a knee injury in the second quarter tnat was serious enough for several teammates and McDaniel support him as he was on the field. So, for the second straight week the Dolphins look like they lost a starter for the second. First, Phillips. Now, they lost the important role in today’s game of a fast linebacker to help in coverage who could play all downs. Baker has been a guy you could write in the line-up, too, missing just one game in his six seasons. With him out, defensive coordinator Vic Fangio used Duke Riley in a role Sunday and he immediaely broke up a pass.

5. Stat of the game: 0 turnovers. Considering they had seven turnovers the previous three games and tied for 23rd with 19 turnovers on the season, that’s a nice number of some progress. Then again, all praise on Sunday has to be filtered through a Washington defense that’s the worst scoring defense in the league.

6. That’s about as safe a game as Tagovailoa (18-24, 280 yards, 2 TDs) has had this year even with left tackle Terron Armstead leaving with an ankle injury in the first half. That’s due in part to the offensive line holding up well and another part to Washington trading away its top two pass rushers. The line continues to have some nagging issues. Robert Hunt returned at right guard after his hamstring injury, but left the game after it remains a problem. Armstead was a game-time decision with quadriceps and knee injuries. Add ankle to the list now. Kion Smith took his place Sunday with regular reserve Kendall Lamm not playing (but active) with a back injury. My solution remains the same: Sit Armstead until they get him healthy until he’s needed started against Dallas.

7. Running back De’Von Achane returned to the lineup and, as importantly, put in a full day’s work. Seventeen carries for 73 yards. Three catches for 30 yards. Two touchdowns. The knee that was a concern looked OK. He injured it Oct. 8 against the New York Giants and returned only for a play two weeks ago against Las Vegas before appearing to re-injure it. We’ll have to see how he comes out of Sunday, but the fact he got that much action gives this offense an added gear down the stretch.

8. It’s time for McDaniel to change the process he challenges replays. Three plays into Sunday’s game, he challenged a sideline catch by Jahan Dotson at the Washington 39 for a first down. The catch was confirmed on replay, meaning McDaniel is now one-for-four on challenges his season this season. McDaniel said some undivulged change to the process was made after going one-for-six last year on challenges. The simple guess is that person/people reviewing replays and telling him to challenge them changed. Looks like another change is in order.

9. Quick Hits:

McDaniel smartly began replacing starters to the point much of the fourth quarter was full of reserves. Tagovailoa (18-24, 240 yards, 2 TDs) gave way to Mike White midway through the fourth quarter.

Defensive tackle Zach Sieler had 1.5 sacks on Sunday and now has 6.5 for the year.

Hard to believe, but New England lost to the Chargers, 6-0, and is now 2-10. It looks like the end of Bill Belichick in New England.

During the game, Washington honored Jackie Taylor, the daughter of former University of Miami and Washington star Sean Taylor. She’s a star athlete herself at Miami Gulliver High.

10. Next Week: Tennessee at Dolphins. The run against the dregs of the league continues with Tennessee coming to Hard Rock Stadium. To be fair, Tennessee isn’t in the low-level department that the New York Jets and Washington are. They can have good games like this Sunday’s against Indianapolis. Ryan Tannehill practiced last week for the first time since suffering an injury in early October. Will Levis started Sundays game against Indianapolis and the Titans probably go with the young player at this point to see what they have.