The Miami Dolphins stepped on rakes for most of the first half Sunday, but when they cleaned up their operation after halftime, they did enough to get a 20-3 victory against the Cleveland Browns in Week 17.
Issues for Miami’s offense were immediate with a false start, unnecessary roughness, mishandled snap, and a declined holding penalty all on their first offensive drive. Fortunately for the Dolphins, the Browns offense didn’t fare much better. By the end of the second quarter, Miami had a 6-3 lead thanks to a couple successful field goals from Jason Sanders.
On his way into the locker room at halftime, Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel told sideline reporter AJ Ross that the team would be just fine if it eliminated its self-inflicted errors.
Mission (mostly) accomplished.
A few Dolphins drives fizzled in the second half, including a turnover on downs near midfield, but the offense stopped racking up penalties and put together a 72-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter that put the Browns in a 10-point hole. Thanks to a strong showing from the Miami defense, that proved to be enough. The cherry on top of the day was a 7-yard touchdown from Tyler Huntley to Jonnu Smith that put the game well out of reach.
With the victory, the Dolphins are now 8-8 on the year and still have a chance at the playoffs. Here’s what stood out most in the Dolphins’ Week 17 win: