The Real Keys to the Dolphins Victory

That the Miami Dolphins would be able to win on the road against the Atlanta Falcons was unexpected to most given their horror show of a performance at Cleveland.

That they did in such convincing fashion was downright shocking.

But there it was, the Dolphins' most complete performance of the 2025 season and yet one devoid of big plays outside of Tua Tagovailoa's 43-yard touchdown pass to Jaylen Waddle late in the third quarter when it already seemed obvious Miami was going to leave Mercedes-Benz Stadium with its second victory of the season.

This overall, though, was more methodical than explosive.

It was the kind of football that wins a lot of games.

The headlines will focus on Tagovailoa's four touchdown passes (particularly considering he had to wear a visor after waking up Sunday with a swollen left eye), the running game and the defense shutting down Bijan Robinson, all of which makes sense, but they were mostly window dressing.

THE REAL KEYS TO THE VICTORY

Stopping Robinson — or, better yet, making sure he didn't wreck the game for Miami — obviously was job one for the embattled defense and the defense earned high marks in that regard.

But it went beyond that, to the ability to create pressure and harass Kirk Cousins enough to make him look like an older veteran who hadn't played and was out of rhythm.

Offense sells, as the saying goes, and it's too easy to get caught up in Tua's TDs or the success of the running game, particularly from fans who had been clamoring to see Mike McDaniel stick to it longer, but it was that defense that led the way.

The Dolphins took a 17-3 lead into the locker room at halftime following a brilliant two-minute drive that ended with Tagovailoa's best pass of the game, the dart on the move to Malik Washington.

But the biggest story of the first half was the defense forcing Atlanta into a three-and-out on three of its first four-half possessions, excluding the one kneel-down after the Washington touchdown.

And maybe the biggest of all was Atlanta's opening series after the Dolphins had gone three-and-out and ended with a sack.

The Dolphins entered this game a fragile team, one whose resiliency could be questioned, and a quick deficit would not have been good for the psyche.

Instead, the Dolphins stuffed Robinson on two running plays, then pressured Cousins into throwing the ball early and short to tight end Kyle Pitts on third-and-10 to force the punt.

The Dolphins scored on the ensuing possession and never looked back.

The Dolphins did stick with the running game and it helped them control the time of possession when combined with the defense getting quick stops.

And the game played perfectly into that style.

The running game didn't produce many long gains, with the longest run being Ollie Gordon II's 13-yarder on the third-to-last play of the third quarter.

Even the final numbers in the running game weren't overwhelming — 37 attempts for 141 yards and a 3.8 average. It was about volume.

THE FINAL WORD ON THE DOLPHINS PERFORMANCE

It was about efficiency.

The same can be said about Tagovailoa's performance, even if four touchdowns is four touchdowns.

This was mostly about throwing short, safe passes and avoiding mistakes.

And after back-to-back three-interception games, this was the kind of outing that Tua needed and the Dolphins needed out of Tua.

No negative plays.

In fact, there were very few of those on both sides of the ball.

The Dolphins were penalized only four times in the game, three 5-yard penalties on offense and the defensive pass interference call against Rasul Douglas.

The Douglas penalty put Atlanta in scoring position on the first drive of the second half, but the Dolphins ended the threat by forcing and recovering a Robinson fumble.

The Dolphins simply weren't going to be denied on this day.

It was a combination of good coaching — and it's amazing how nothing is said about the play-calling when the offense is producing and the team wins — and very clean execution.

Now, why couldn't the Dolphins have done this sooner this season?

The obvious first answer is that the opponent has something to do with it, and Atlanta is a middle-of-the-pack team that couldn't overcome a rash of injuries that included its starting quarterback and top wide receiver.

The game circumstances also play a role because, like it or not, playing with a lead is a lot different.

And then there's the simple matter of the quality of the team. The better teams can play this kind of methodical, efficient, mistake-free football more consistently than other teams.

That's why they're a better team.

The Dolphins have a ways to go to show they're at that level where clean football, for a lack of a better term, is consistent.

At least, though, they showed against Atlanta they CAN be that kind of team.

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