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| Other Week 11 Game Recaps | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARI at CIN | CAR at GB | CHI at SEA | CLE at BAL | KC at IND | MIA at PHI | NE at BUF | NO at HOU |
| NYG at DET | OAK at MIN | PIT at NYJ | SD at JAX | STL at SF | TB at ATL | TEN at DEN | WAS at DAL |
Week 11 Game Recap: Miami Dolphins 7, Philadelphia Eagles 17
What you need to know
| Miami Dolphins |
Rookie QB John Beck got his first NFL start and it was very tough debut for the former BYU quarterback as he only completed nine of 22 for only 109 yards, and no touchdowns. He really had trouble with his accuracy in the game. If there is any hope for Dolphins fans to take from another poor offense performance, it is that Beck looked comfortable in the pocket and seemed to make a connection with fellow rookie WR Ted Ginn. Beck hit Ginn for four passes for 52 yards in the game and looked for him often. Ginn also added an 87 yard touchdown on a punt return in the first half for Miami's only points of the game.
RB Jesse Chatman had another workmanlike performance carrying the ball 22 times for 72 yards. He had an opportunity to score late in the game after he carried the ball 17 yards to the Eagles' one yard line. Chatman got the ball three out of four times near the goal line but was stopped each time, including a 13 yard loss on a pitch on a fourth and goal from the one yard line. Chatman looked good again running the ball but a weak supporting cast of offensive weapons allowed the defense to key on him near the goal line.
Second year S Jason Allen had the best game of his young career by intercepting QB Donovan McNabb twice in the game and adding five tackles.
| Philadelphia Eagles |
Nearly a full year since his torn knee ligament ended his season last year, QB Donovan McNabb went down to injury again in the second quarter of this game with a sprained ankle. Before going out of the game, McNabb struggled completing only three for 11 for 34 yards. He did have a 46 yard touchdown pass to WR Reggie Brown off a flea flicker called back after a holding penalty. Backup QB A.J. Feeley came in to lead the Eagles to a couple of scoring drives in the second half and a 17-7 victory. Feeley had 116 yards passing in relief and connected on a four yard touchdown pass with WR Jason Avant early in the fourth quarter.
RB Brian Westbrook, who was questionable for this game after missing two practices because of swelling in his knee, had a career high 32 carries in the game. He also had a career best 148 yards rushing as he carried the load for the Philadelphia offense with QB Donovan McNabb out of the game. Westbrook only had one catch for zero yards in the passing game, and gave way to backup RB Correll Buckhalter as he ran it in for a touchdown from the eight yard line early in the third quarter for the Eagles only rushing touchdown. Nonetheless, it was another tremendous performance for Westbrook who is clearly the heart and soul of the Eagles offense.
WR Kevin Curtis was the main target again in this game as he caught a game high five passes for 69 yards. He also had a team high nine targets but failed to get into the end zone. WR Reggie Brown had a 46 yard touchdown nullified after a holding penalty, and WR Jason Avant had Philadelphia's only touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter on a four yard reception.
What you ought to know
| QB John Beck, Pass: 9 - 22 - 109 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0 |
Beck, the Dolphins second round pick in this year's draft, got his first NFL start and will likely be the starter the rest of the season as Miami tries to figure out if he is their quarterback of the future. It would be a rude welcome for the former BYU quarterback as he only completed nine of 22 passes for 102 yards and no touchdowns. Beck got off to a good start completing four of seven passes for 55 yards in the first quarter. But things went down hill after that as Beck struggled with accuracy. Beck does seem to have a strong arm and the ability to get the ball deep. He also moved around in the pocket pretty well and was to scramble out of trouble a few times. Beck almost had a touchdown pass late in the game with the ball on the Miami one yard line but, the pass was knocked down at the last second.
| RB Jesse Chatman, Rush: 22 - 72 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (5 targets) |
The Dolphins lack of a passing attack didn't help Chatman's numbers as he only had 32 yards on 12 carries in the first half. Chatman did a nice job of running the ball in the second half and had a great 17 yard run to the Eagles one yard line late in the game. Miami gave him the ball three out of four times from there but he was stopped each time, including a 13 yard loss on a fourth and goal from the one yard line in which Miami attempted a pitch to the right side.
| RB Patrick Cobbs, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Cobbs only got one carry for two yards in the game, as RB Jesse Chatman got all the other carries in this game.
| WR Ted Ginn, Rec: 4 - 52 - 0 (6 targets) |
If the Dolphins took anything from this game it was the fact that their number one pick from this year's draft, Ginn, established a bit of connection with fellow rookie QB John Beck. Ginn caught two long passes on consecutive plays on the Dolphins' third possession of the game. He caught a 22 yard pass over the middle and on the next play caught one for 17 yards on the left side. He would have three receptions for 49 yards in the first half. Ginn did have an 87 yard punt return for a touchdown in the second quarter. It was his first special teams touchdown and only his second career score. Ginn would only have one catch for three yards in the second half.
| WR Marty Booker, Rec: 1 - 19 - 0 (1 targets) |
Booker had no catches and no targets in the first half, but did catch a 19 yard pass early in the second half. It would be his only completion and his only target of the game as Miami's pass offense sputtered to move the ball.
| WR Derek Hagan (4 targets) |
Hagan had four targets in the game, including a couple of deep passes that just missed. But he did not have a catch as rookie QB John Beck struggled to make completions in the game.
| TE Justin Peelle, Rec: 2 - 27 - 0 (2 targets) |
Peelle caught a 21 yard pass late in the fourth quarter, deep in Philadelphia territory. He caught one other pass for six yards.
| TE David Martin, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets) |
Martin only caught his only pass of the game for seven yards in the third quarter.
| PK Jay Feely 0 - 1 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points |
Feely missed a 47 yard attempt in the first quarter on kick that seemed to be affected by the wind and the rain. Feely would not get another attempt for a field goal, but would add an extra point.
| MIA Rush Defense |
The Dolphins run defense, which has been bad all season, had another terrible game giving up 202 yards on the ground to the Eagles, including 148 yards to RB Brian Westbrook.
| MIA Pass Defense |
The pass defense only gave up 150 yards passing but, that was mostly because the Eagles had a lot success on the ground and starting QB Donovan McNabb got knocked out of the game. The Dolphins did have three interceptions in the red zone to help keep this game close.
| QB A.J. Feeley, Pass: 13 - 19 - 116 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 7 - 0 |
Feeley replaced an injured QB Donovan McNabb late in the second quarter. He led Philadelphia on a seven play, 62 yard touchdown drive, capped off by an eight yard run by RB Correll Buckhalter, to start the second half and give the Eagles their first lead of the game. He iced the game with a four yard touchdown pass to WR Jason Avant in the fourth quarter. The former Dolphins quarterback finished the game with 116 yards passing, one touchdown, and one interception.
| QB Donovan McNabb, Pass: 3 - 11 - 34 - 0 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 28 - 0 |
Before spraining his right ankle and leaving the game in the second quarter, McNabb was struggling by going only three for 11 for 34 yards and two interceptions. He had a 46 yard touchdown pass to WR Reggie Brown nullified in the first quarter due to a holding penalty by TE L.J. Smith. McNabb did have a 26 yard run after stepping up in the pocket and taking off deep in Dolphin territory. He would get intercepted two plays later trying to get the ball to Brown again between two defenders. McNabb was picked off a second time deep in Miami territory in the second quarter on a badly thrown ball that was caused by a good pass rush. McNabb would get hurt on a third and long play from the Miami 16 yard line when he rolled out to his right and a defender took him down from behind and in the process twisting his ankle. He would not return to the game.
| RB Brian Westbrook, Rush: 32 - 148 - 0, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (3 targets) |
Westbrook had his longest run of the season on a 36 yard carry off the left side and down the side line. The Eagles keep going to Westbrook on the ground as he had some nice runs against a bad Dolphin run defense. He finished the first half with 12 rushes for 68 yards. Westbrook missed out on a rushing touchdown on the Eagles first drive of the second half when backup RB Correll Buckhalter ran it in from eight yards. With QB Donovan McNabb on the sidelines, the Eagles would turn to Westbrook to carry the load in the second half as he had 20 carries for 80 yards. He would have some really good runs in the second half to help seal the game away for the Eagles.
| RB Correll Buckhalter, Rush: 3 - 19 - 1 |
Buckhalter only had three carries for 19 yards, as fellow RB Brian Westbrook got most of the carries in this game. But he got the teams only rushing score on the first drive of the second half on a nice eight yard run up the middle.
| WR Kevin Curtis, Rec: 5 - 69 - 0 (9 targets) |
Curtis' first catch of the game would be a 23 yard catch in the first quarter. It would also be his longest catch of the game. He would get a first down on a 14 yard reception on the Eagles' first drive of the third quarter. Curtis would catch a 17 pass later on in that same drive to help set up Philadelphia's first touchdown. He would add two other short catches in the game.
| WR Reggie Brown, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (6 targets) |
Brown caught a 46 yard touchdown from QB Donovan McNabb in the first quarter, but the play was nullified after a holding penalty. He would catch two passes for 18 yards in the game.
| WR Jason Avant, Rec: 1 - 4 - 1 (2 targets) |
Avant only had one catch but, it went for a four yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
| TE L.J. Smith, Rec: 4 - 44 - 0 (7 targets) |
Smith was a primary target in the game and caught two passes for 31 yards in the first half. He would catch two more passes for only 13 yards in the second half. His biggest impact may have been his holding penalty that negated a 46 yard touchdown pass in the first quarter.
| TE Matt Schobel, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (2 targets) |
Schobel caught one pass for four yards on the last play of the first quarter.
| PK David Akers 1 - 1 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 5 points |
Akers hit a 34 yard field goal in the second quarter and added two extra points.
| PHI Rush Defense |
The Philadelphia run defense played well holding the Dolphins to only 77 yards rushing and stopping them at the goal four times late in the game.
| PHI Pass Defense |
The Eagles did a good job of keeping rookie QB John Beck confused and not letting him put together any good drives. They held Miami to only 109 yards passing in the game.
