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Week 1 Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 13, Washington Redskins 16
What you need to know
| Miami Dolphins |
Miami had just enough offense but not quite enough defense to hang with the Washington Redskins. Trent Green had a decent first start as a Dolphin, throwing for over 200 yards and one score. He completed a good percentage of his passes, although most of them were short, including several dump offs to his running backs. Green seemed to develop some chemistry with wide receiver Chris Chambers (his favorite target with 13 looks) and tight end Justin Peele (his leading tight end target and receiver on the Dolphins' lone touchdown).
Head coach Cam Cameron split up the rushing duties between starter Ronnie Brown and backup Jesse Chatman, but the running game was ineffective against Washington's defense. Brown had more touches than Chatman, but only had a few more total yards (72 to 63).
Chambers, Brown, and Chatman all tied for the team lead in receptions with six. Chambers specifically had some nice chemistry with Green, although he still suffered from some characteristically bad drops. Nevertheless, Green stuck with him, even throwing four straight passes his way in the second quarter. Tight end Justin Peele surprised by having more targets than first string David Martin.
The Dolphins defense played admirably, but grew tired as the game went on. They suffered from exhaustion as the game went into overtime, clearly a result of the 41 times the Redskins ran the ball. Despite tying the game late in the fourth quarter, the game was essentially decided on the coin flip, as Washington took the ball, drove down the field, and kicked the winning field goal.
| Washington Redskins |
Washington opened their season with an overtime victory at home. They focused on the running game, giving 17 carries each to their two-headed rushing attack of Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts. The defense played well, keeping the Miami offense in front of them and limiting them to only one touchdown. They were able to take a tie game into overtime, win the coin toss, and run down Miami's throat to set up Shaun Suisham's 40 yard game winning field goal.
Quarterback Jason Campbell flashed some of his trademark arm strength, while displaying an impressive amount of accuracy on deep throws. His receivers had a few drops, but he was also a bit inconsistent with his short-range accuracy. Campbell primarily targeted his wide receivers, Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El, while tight end Chris Cooley saw an uncharacteristically low number of looks. Randle El set a personal career record with 162 receiving yards, catching three long passes, and leading the team in receptions and receiving yards. Randle El nearly won the game on a tipped Hail Mary pass at the end of regulation, but was stopped just short of the end zone.
Portis and Betts had an equal number of carries, but Portis was the superior back. He scored Washington's only touchdown on a 19 yard rush in the second quarter. Pertinent to both backs is the loss of starting right tackle Jon Jensen. He left the game in the first half with a broken right ankle and could miss the rest of the year.
What you ought to know
| QB Trent Green, Pass: 24 - 38 - 219 - 1 TD / 0 INT |
Green had a decent game in his first ever start for the Miami Dolphins. He completed a high percentage of his passes (63.2%), although a majority of those completions were short dump-off throws. Green rarely looked deep, and when he did, his targets frequently dropped the ball. He seemed to have some chemistry with Chris Chambers, throwing 13 balls his way. Green also passed to his running backs a lot, sending eight balls to Jesse Chatman and six to Ronnie Brown. His lone touchdown of the game can at the very end of the first half, when he scrambled right and found tight end Justin Peele in the end zone. Green did a good job protecting the ball for most of the game, as he was not responsible for any turnovers. He did have a ball that should have been intercepted by Fred Smoot late in the game, but Smoot dropped the ball.
| RB Ronnie Brown, Rush: 11 - 32 - 0, Rec: 6 - 40 - 0 (6 targets) |
Brown got the start at running back over Jessie Chatman, but didn't manage to distance himself from the man behind him on the depth chart. He led the team in rushes and rushing yards, but averaged less than three yards per carry. Brown was more effective coming out of the backfield and catching passes, snagging all six balls thrown his way and finishing third on the team in receiving yards. He had more touches and yards than Chatman, but head coach Cam Cameron seems committed to use a running back by committee approach.
| RB Jesse Chatman, Rush: 7 - 15 - 0, Rec: 6 - 48 - 0 (8 targets) |
Chatman didn't get the official start, but he played significant time as the Dolphins were committed to using both him and starter Ronnie Brown throughout the game. He finished with slightly less total yards than Brown, but had more targets in the passing game.
| WR Chris Chambers, Rec: 6 - 92 - 0 (13 targets) |
Chambers was Trent Green's favorite target. He had some drops but Green still trusted him and the two had definite moments of chemistry. Chambers was the primary target of Green's rare deep attempts, and he managed to haul in one of them for 28 yards---the longest play of the game for the Dolphins. While Chambers caught less than half of his targets, he still led the team in receiving yards and tied for the lead in receptions.
| WR Marty Booker, Rush: 1 - 12 - 0, Rec: 3 - 20 - 0 (6 targets) |
Booker saw most of his looks in the first half. He nearly scored in the third quarter, but was wrestled down short of the goal line. Booker had a drop in the first half, but also converted one of his receptions and an end around into a first down.
| WR Ted Ginn, Rush: 1 - 7 - 0 |
Ginn was not active in the passing game, but did an adequate job returning kicks and even had a seven yard run on an end around.
| TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 2 - 12 - 1 (4 targets) |
Three of Peele's four targets came in the first half, including a one yard touchdown catch at the end of the first half. Somewhat surprisingly, he was the leading tight end target on the team.
| TE David Martin, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (3 targets) |
Martin only caught the first pass that came his way, on the Dolphins' first drive of the game. His other targets were off target and dropped, respectively.
| PK Jay Feely 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points |
Feely made both of his field goal attempts and his only PAT. He made both a 20 yard and a 36 yard field goal, the latter of which was clutch as it tied the game with two minutes left in the fourth quarter.
| MIA Rush Defense |
The Miami rush defense faced a stern test in the two-headed rushing attack of the Washington Redskins. In total, they faced 41 rushes for 191 rushing yards for a 4.7 yards per attempt average. They gave up one score, a 19 yard score by Portis in the second quarter. They were clearly worn out in overtime, as the Redskins ran wild over them to set up the winning field goal.
| MIA Pass Defense |
The Miami pass defense allowed Jason Campbell to complete a high percentage of his passes, but more than made up for it by both preventing the Redskins from scoring and intercepting two passes. Overall, the pass defense gave up 222 yards. Safety Renaldo Hill intercepted Campbell's first pass of the game and defensive back Travis Daniels picked off a Brandon Lloyd red zone target to start the fourth quarter. Both Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor had a sack.
| QB Jason Campbell, Pass: 12 - 21 - 222 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 4 - 29 - 0 |
Campbell had an inconsistent game, completing a high percentage of his passes while throwing two interceptions. He showed great arm strength and accuracy, especially on deep passes. Campbell's favorite targets were his wide receivers. He threw eight passes to Santana Moss and five to Antwaan Randle El.
| RB Ladell Betts, Rush: 17 - 59 - 0, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (1 targets) |
Betts had as many rushes as starter Clinton Portis, but was much less effective with them. He averaged 3.5 yards per carry, with a long of 11. Betts certainly looks to get his touches in Washington's running back by committee, but he was definitely the number two behind Portis.
| RB Clinton Portis, Rush: 17 - 98 - 1 |
Portis got the start at running back and didn't show any signs that his injury concerns affected his play. He scored the Redskins lone touchdown on a 19 yard rush in the second quarter. Portis averaged an excellent 5.8 yard per rush over his 17 carries, but didn't see any targets in the passing game. He was a better back than Betts in week one.
| RB Mike Sellers, Rush: 2 - 8 - 0, Rec: 2 - 6 - 0 (2 targets) |
Sellers caught both of his targets coming out of the backfield, and proved just as tough as ever to bring down. He had several broken tackles on his two touches.
| WR Antwaan Randle El, Rush: 1 - -3 - 0, Rec: 5 - 162 - 0 (5 targets) |
Randle El had a career yardage game while leading the team in receptions and yardage. He was a favorite of Campbell on long targets, catching passes of 35, 49, and 54 yards. Randle El nearly won the game on the last play of regulation, as he caught a tipped Hail Mary pass about five yards from the end zone and nearly scored before being knocked out of bounds. He also fielded punts for the Redskins.
| WR Santana Moss, Rec: 3 - 28 - 0 (7 targets) |
Moss led the team in targets, but only caught three balls as he suffered from some drops and some inaccurate passes from Campbell. He did not perform like a number one wide receiver
| WR Brandon Lloyd (1 targets) |
Lloyd's lone target was in the end zone, but was intercepted by Travis Daniels. He appeared to have a chance to make a play on the ball, but was outfought by Daniels.
| WR James Thrash (1 targets) |
Thrash was technically the target on the Hail Mary pass at the end of regulation, but the pass was tipped by Jason Taylor and caught by Antwaan Randle El. Otherwise, Thrash wasn't a factor in the game.
| TE Chris Cooley, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (3 targets) |
Cooley had a surprisingly quiet game, only catching one of his targets. He was Campbell's first look in the game, but the pass was intercepted by Reynaldo Hill. Cooley's only catch came on the Redskins' game winning drive in overtime.
| PK Shaun Suisham 3 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points |
Suisham made his only PAT, and all three of his field goal attempts. They came from 31, 44, and 39 yards. The latter was the game winner in overtime.
| WAS Rush Defense |
Washington's rush defense did a great job shutting down Miami's running back duo. In total, they only gave up 3.2 yards per rush while only facing 20 attempts. They kept Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman out of the end zone, as well.
| WAS Pass Defense |
Washington's pass defense allowed a high percentage of passes to be completed, but kept the game in front of them and limited the effectiveness of Miami's passing game. They allowed 219 yards and one score. They had no interceptions, but both Rocky McIntosh and Andre Carter had a sack.
